Sun Valley is a
resort city in the
western United States, in
Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of
Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
in the
Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the
2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.
[Spokesman-Review]
– 2010 census – Sun Valley, Idaho; accessed January 7, 2012 The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
The ...
.
Among skiers, the term "Sun Valley" refers to the
alpine ski area, which consists of
Bald Mountain, the main ski mountain adjacent to Ketchum.
Dollar Mountain, which is adjacent to Sun Valley, is suited for novice and lower intermediate skiers. Bald Mountain, or "Baldy," has a summit of and a vertical drop of . The treeless
"Dollar" at has a moderate vertical drop of .
The term "Sun Valley" is used more generally to speak of the region surrounding the city, including the neighboring city of
Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
and the
Wood River Valley area winding south to
Hailey and
Bellevue. The region has been a seasonal home to the rich and famous since first being brought to public attention by
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
in the late 1930s.
Scheduled passenger airline service is available at
Friedman Memorial Airport in
Hailey, approximately south. Visitors are relatively close to the
Sawtooth National Recreation Area, accessed over
Galena Summit on
State Highway 75, the ''Sawtooth Scenic Byway''.
History
Union Pacific Railroad (1936–64)
The first destination winter resort in the U.S. was developed by
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...
, the chairman of the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
, primarily to increase ridership on U.P. passenger trains in the Western United States.
[Engen, Alan K. (1998) ''For the Love of Skiing: A Visual History'' Gibbs Smith ISBN 0-87905-867-6 p. 90] The UP's ''
City of Portland'' (from Chicago and Omaha) and ''Portland Rose'' (from Kansas City) went to
Shoshone in southern Idaho, where buses (then called "motor coaches") took travelers to Sun Valley. Sleeping car passengers from Los Angeles were able to take direct carriages on the UP's ''Pony Express'' from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, and the ''Sun Valley Special'' from Salt Lake City to Sun Valley.
The success of the
1932 Winter Olympics in
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsbur ...
, spurred an increase in participation in winter sports (and
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...
in particular). A lifelong skier, Harriman determined that America would embrace a destination mountain resort, similar to those enjoyed in the Swiss
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...
, such as
St. Moritz
St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...
and
Davos.
During the winter of 1935–36, Harriman enlisted the services of an Austrian Sportsman,
Count Felix von Schaffgotsch, to travel across the Western U.S. to locate an ideal site for a winter resort. The Count toured
Mount Rainier,
Mount Hood,
Yosemite, the
San Bernardino Mountains,
Zion,
Rocky Mountain National Park, the
Wasatch Range,
Pocatello,
Jackson Hole, and
Grand Targhee
Grand Targhee Resort is a ski resort in the western United States, located in western Wyoming in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, near Alta, the closest town to the resort. It is northwest of Jackson and is accessible only from the west, t ...
areas.
Late in his trip and on the verge of abandoning his search for an ideal location for a mountain resort development, he backtracked toward the
Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
area in central
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...
. A
U.P. employee in
Boise had casually mentioned that the rail spur to
Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
cost the company more money for snow removal than any other branch line and the Count went to explore.
Schaffgotsch was impressed by the combination of
Bald Mountain and its surrounding mountains, adequate snowfall, abundant sunshine, moderate elevation, and absence of wind, and selected it as the site. Harriman visited several weeks later and agreed. The Brass Ranch was purchased for about $4 per acre and construction commenced that spring; it was built in seven months for $1.5 million. Publicist Steve Hannagan named the resort "Sun Valley" and developed the tag line: “Winter sports under a summer sun". (Count Schaffgotsch returned to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and was killed on the
Eastern Front during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.) The centerpiece of the new resort was the Sun Valley Lodge, which opened on December 21, 1936.
The 220-room, X-shaped lodge's exterior was constructed of concrete, poured inside rough-sawn forms. The wood grain was impressed on the concrete finish, which was acid-stained brown to imitate wood. The Swiss-style Sun Valley Inn (originally the "
Challenger Inn") and village were also part of the initial resort, opening in 1937.
Hannagan wanted swimming pools at the resort, "so people won't think skiing is too cold."
Both the Lodge and the Inn have heated outdoor swimming pools, circular in shape. Hannagan had the pools designed this way, unique at the time, in the hope they would be widely photographed, providing free publicity, and it worked.
Chairlifts
The world's first
chairlifts were installed on the resort's Proctor and
Dollar mountains in the fall of 1936. (Proctor Mountain is northeast of Dollar Mountain). They have since been removed, but parts of the base of the Proctor Mountain chairlift can still be seen near the Proctor Mountain trail, along with a plaque identifying the area as the location of the world's first chairlift. Additionally, the original lift operator's station (now repainted) for the chairlift on Dollar Mountain is still standing. One of the early single chairlifts was transported to Cordova, Alaska in the 1970s where it now serves
Mount Eyak
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
Ski Area as the oldest operating charlift in the world. The U.P. chairlift design was adapted by an engineer recalling banana loading conveyor equipment used for tropical fruit ships' cargo. Single-seat chairlifts were developed at the
U.P. headquarters in
Omaha in the summer of 1936. The chairlift went on to replace primitive
rope tow and other adaptations seen at ski areas at the time. The original Proctor Mountain Ski Lift is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
.
Celebrities
Author
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
completed ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls,'' while staying in suite 206 of the Lodge in the fall of 1939. Averell Harriman had invited Hemingway and other celebrities, primarily from
Hollywood, to the resort to help promote it.
Gary Cooper was a frequent visitor and hunting/fishing partner, as were
Clark Gable,
Errol Flynn,
Lucille Ball,
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
, and several members of the
Kennedy family. Hemingway was a part-time resident over the next twenty years, eventually relocating to
Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
("Papa" and his fourth wife are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery). The Hemingway Memorial, dedicated in 1966, is just off Trail Creek Road, about a mile northeast of the Sun Valley Lodge. You can still visit a number of locations that have Hemingway ties, including the Ketchum Cemetery.
Sun Valley was featured (and promoted) in the 1941 movie ''
Sun Valley Serenade'', starring
Sonja Henie,
John Payne,
Milton Berle, and bandleader
Glenn Miller. Scenes were shot at the resort in March 1941. Sun Valley transfer local and future
gold medalist Gretchen Fraser
Gretchen Kunigk Fraser (February 11, 1919 – February 17, 1994) was an American alpine ski racer. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing. She was also the skiing stand-in for ice skater Sonja Henie in the movies ...
was the skiing stand-in for
Henie Henie is the surname of:
* Sonja Henie (1912–1969), Norwegian Olympic and world champion figure skater and film star
* Marit Henie (1925–2012), Norwegian figure skater, cousin of Sonja Henie
* Wilhelm Henie (1872–1937), Norwegian track cyclin ...
.
In February 1958, the cast of "
I Love Lucy" filmed an episode of their follow-up series of hour-long specials, known in syndication as "
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour", at Bald Mountain.
In 1971, ''
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to land on the Moon. It was the first J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greater focus on science than ea ...
'' astronaut and avid skier
Jim Irwin
James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. He served as Apollo Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landi ...
, when stepping upon the surface of the Moon's
Hadley–Apennine, exclaimed that it was like Sun Valley.
Adam West who played
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
on television had a ranch in the area. Other notable residents have included
Scott Glenn,
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including '' American Graffiti'' (1973), '' Jaws'' (1975), '' Close Encounters of th ...
,
Clint Eastwood,
Sondra Locke and
Janet Leigh.
Sun Valley's oldest resident was former actress and
silent movie star
Barbara Kent. Another resident was actress
Ann Sothern.
[
Hollywood actor, politician, and businessman, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a frequent visitor of Sun Valley and owns a residence in Ketchum, ID. He has a ski run named after him.
]
World War II
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the resort was closed in 1942 and converted to a convalescent hospital for the U.S. Navy (Pacific Theater), which was operational in July 1943. It re-opened to the public in December 1946.
After the war, the resort's clinic operated on the third floor of the northern wing of the Sun Valley Lodge (wing closest to the Trail Creek Rd.) until the Sun Valley Community Hospital was built in 1961. That facility was named after Dr. John Moritz when he retired in 1973; the Nebraska-born surgeon had served as the resort's year-round physician for 33 years. The Moritz Hospital was closed shortly after the new St. Luke's branch hospital opened (south of Ketchum) in November 2000 and the Moritz building now serves as employee housing.
Bill Janss (1964–77)
After World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Harriman focused on his career in government service and the Union Pacific gradually lost interest in the resort. Rail service to Ketchum was discontinued in 1964 and that November the resort was sold to the Janss Investment Company, a major southern California real estate developer, headed by a former Olympic ski team member, Bill Janss (1918–96), founder of Snowmass Snowmass may refer to:
*Snowmass Village, Colorado, a town in Pitkin County, Colorado, U.S.
**Snowmass (ski area)
** Snowmastodon site, an archaeological excavation near the town where well-preserved fossils of mammoths, mastodons, and plants were ...
. (Janss was an alternate on the 1940 team, but the games were cancelled due to the war). The railroad's management had called in the Janss Corporation as consultants[ and it was determined that it would take a lot of work and no less than $6 million for a face-lifting. The Union Pacific decided to sell and brothers Ed and Bill Janss bid just under $3 million.]
During this Janss era of ownership, the north-facing Warm Springs area was developed, as well as Seattle Ridge, and condominium and home construction increased significantly. Seven chairlifts were added, and the number of trails increased from 33 to 62. The first two double chairs on Warm Springs were installed in series in 1965; the upper "Limelight" had a vertical rise, the greatest in the U.S. at the time for a chairlift.
Bill Janss bought out his brother's share of the resort and gained full control of Sun Valley in 1968. Snowmaking was introduced on a limited basis in the fall of 1975, covering up to an elevation of
The original Seattle Ridge double chairlift was installed in 1976, but due to a very poor snow year in 1976–77 it was not operated until December 20, 1977, christened by local legend Gretchen Fraser. Janss also has a ski run named after him, called "Janss Pass," to the skier's left of the Frenchman's chairlift. Janss' wife Ann, age 54, died in early 1973 while helicopter skiing near Sun Valley.
Later that year, Janss married Mrs. Glenn Cooper, a widow, family friend, and mother of five, including World Cup racer Christin Cooper, silver medalist in the women's giant slalom at the 1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games ( Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки иг ...
.
Under Janss' ownership, the Elkhorn area southeast of Dollar Mountain was developed by the Sun Valley Company and Johns-Manville, beginning in 1972.
During excavation, ancient tools dating back nearly 7,000 years were discovered. Elkhorn's golf course was opened in the summer of 1975.
Earl Holding (1977–2013)
Janss was running low on funds in 1977 and had entered into negotiations to sell the resort to the Walt Disney Company. While the negotiations were strung out by Disney, Earl Holding, a Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
businessman, learned of the situation through a small article in ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' and contacted Janss and arranged for a meeting. For about $12 million, Holding purchased Sun Valley through his company, Sinclair Oil, which operates the Grand America Hotels & Resorts
Grand America Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Little America) is a chain of eight hotels and resorts in the Western United States.
History
The first Little America, called Little America Wyoming, is west of Green River, and west of Ro ...
.[ Holding was initially distrusted by many locals: "Earl is a Four Letter Word" was a popular bumper sticker in the late 1970s in Blaine County.] But time proved that Holding did not buy the resort for property speculation; like his other assets he meant to operate and improve for the long-term. One of his first changes was the removal the archaic single-seat chairlift on Exhibition, replacing it with a triple.[ A daily lift ticket for Baldy during Holding's first season (1977–78) was priced at $13.]
Under Holding's ownership there have been substantial improvements on the mountain: extensive snowmaking and grooming, high-capacity chairlifts, and the construction of four impressive day lodges, a gondola, and the renovation of the classic Roundhouse restaurant. The resort's golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The ...
was redesigned in the late 1970s by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
In 1977, the Warm Springs side boasted of snowmaking up to an elevation of , thought to be the highest anywhere at the time.[ During the late 1980s and early 1990s, snowmaking was significantly expanded on Bald Mountain. Three high-speed quad chairlifts were installed during the summer of 1988 (Christmas, Challenger, & Greyhawk).]
An impressive day lodge, constructed of logs, river rock, and glass, opened at the base of Warm Springs in the fall of 1992, replacing the 1960s "Northface Hut" cafeteria. Similar day lodges were later opened at the Seattle Ridge summit (1993), and the River Run base (1995). A fire of undetermined origin damaged the Warm Springs lodge in 2018; it occurred shortly after the end of the ski season, while unoccupied at night in
An older cafeteria, the modest one-floor "Lookout Restaurant," is below the summit at , at the top of three chairlifts. Built in 1973, it is the ground floor of a multi-story building that was never completed, resulting in its "basement-like" atmosphere. Nevertheless, the mountain views from this near-summit lodge are quite impressive. However, the resort's recently approved master plan has the facility slated for eventual replacement.
Four additional high-speed quads were installed in the 1990s. Two of these replaced older chairlifts on River Run (1992) and Seattle Ridge (1993), and two cut brand new paths: Lookout Express (1993) and Frenchman's (1994). The chairlift from River Run was purchased by Eldora Mountain Resort in Colorado. Baldy's 13 chairlifts have a capacity of over 23,000 skiers per hour. With an average of 3,500 skiers per day (& less than 6,000 skiers per day during peak periods), Sun Valley has kept the lift lines to a minimum, a rarity among major resorts.
The Dollar mountain Lodge opened in November 2004. This day lodge replaces the Dollar Cabin, and also serves as the headquarters for the Sun Valley Ski School. It is similar in construction to the newer day lodges at the big mountain.
The interior of the original Sun Valley Lodge has been remodeled twice during Holding's ownership, in 1985 for the golden anniversary and again in 2004. The Sun Valley Inn was also remodeled recently.
The Sun Valley Golf Course
Sun Valley Golf Course is a resort golf complex in the Rocky Mountains of the Western United States, western United States, located in Sun Valley, Idaho. It consists of three courses totaling 45 holes: Trail Creek, White Clouds, and Elkhorn Golf C ...
saw significant improvement in the summer of 2008, with the opening of the new "White Cloud Nine" course on the site of the old Gun Club (relocated further down along Trail Creek road), as well as the opening of the "Sun Valley Club", a full service golf course club house built in the style of the resort's mountain day lodges, replacing a much smaller and older facility.
The year also saw the opening of the "Sun Valley Pavilion," built in partnership with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony as a permanent home for the orchestra's annual three-and-a-half-week series of free concerts. The Pavilion is a performing arts facility that has hosted several well-known musical artists and more slated to perform in the near future.
In 2009, the resort installed the "Roundhouse Express Gondola" on Bald mountain, which runs from the mountain's River Run Base to the Roundhouse Restaurant (located midway up the mountain, at . The Exhibition triple chairlift, originally as a single chair in 1939, was removed with the addition of the new 8-passenger lift. The new gondola carries both skiers and non-skiers to the restaurant for lunch and eventually dinner year-round. The Roundhouse Restaurant was built in 1939 and was finished being remodeled to accommodate its new year round role in 2010.
In 2021, the resort opened a new 380 acre and expansion. This included the installation of a High-Speed Quad lift named "Broadway".
Earl Holding died in April 2013 and his family continued to run the resort. In 2006, ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine estimated that Sun Valley was worth in the range of $300 million.
Ski racing
In the years before the World Cup circuit, the Harriman Cup at Sun Valley was one of the major ski races held in North America, along with the "Snow Cup" at Alta
Alta or ALTA may refer to:
Acronyms
* Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage
* American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry
* American Literary Translators Associatio ...
, the "Roch Cup" at Aspen Mountain, and the "Silver Belt" races at Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed on ...
, north of Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake ...
. Originally known as the "Sun Valley International Open," the Harriman Cup races were the first major international ski competitions held in North America, beginning in 1937. The first three competitions of 1937–39 were held in the Boulder Mountains north of Sun Valley. Beginning in 1940, the Harriman Cup was held on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain, decades before chairlifts were installed on that north face of the mountain. American Dick Durrance
Richard Henry Durrance (October 23, 1914 – June 13, 2004) was a 17-time national championship alpine ski racer and one of the first Americans to compete successfully against Europeans.
Durrance was born in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and m ...
won three of the first four Harriman Cups, stunning the overconfident Europeans.
In the final season before the launch of the World Cup, Sun Valley hosted the world's top racers in 1966 at the "American International" in late March, with a full slate of races for both men and women. With the 1966 World Championships not run until August, it was one of the biggest alpine racing events since the 1964 Olympics 1964 Olympics refers to both:
*The 1964 Winter Olympics, which were held in Innsbruck, Austria
*The 1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held fro ...
. The Austrians swept the men's downhill ( Heini Messner, Karl Schranz, and Egon Zimmermann), while Jean-Claude Killy of France won the slalom, with Schranz as runner-up. The two switched places in the one-run giant slalom. Erika Schinegger of Austria, Nancy Greene of Canada, and Marielle Goitschel of France were the top three in the women's downhill, while Goitschel and teammate Annie Famose finished 1–2 in the slalom.[ Goitschel, Greene, and Famose were the top finishers in the giant slalom and France took the overall team title.]
In March 1975 and 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...
, Sun Valley hosted World Cup ski races, with slalom and giant slalom events for both men and women, run on the Warm Springs side of the mountain.
The 1975 slalom was won by Gustavo Thoeni
Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It has been a common name for Swedish monarchs since the reign of Gustav Vasa.
It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv ...
, the dominant World Cup skier of the early 1970s (which turned out to be his last win in the slalom discipline). A young Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, perhaps the greatest technical ski racer ever, took the giant slalom title both years. Thoeni and Stenmark left Idaho tied in the overall standings in 1975,[ which Thoeni won in the finals of a parallel slalom the next week in Italy. Phil Mahre of White Pass, Washington, age 19, won the ]1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...
slalom race over Stenmark, with twin brother Steve
''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen
Notable people with the name include:
steve jops
* Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people
* Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people
* Steve ...
placing third. It was Phil's second win (he had won a GS in France in December), but his first victory in the slalom and first in the U.S., and being from the Northwest, very close to home.
The present ownership has declined to host any World Cup races since, as it involves closing off runs for a significant time. But during the 2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...
in Salt Lake (about to the southeast), Sun Valley was used as a training site for many nations' alpine and Nordic ski teams. The alpine speed events for the Olympics were held at a sister resort, Snowbasin, outside of Ogden, Utah.
Sun Valley is scheduled to host the U.S. Alpine Championships in 2016 and 2018, held after the World Cup season in March. It last hosted the event in 1951.
Olympic medalists from Sun Valley include Gretchen Fraser, Christin Cooper, Picabo Street, snowboarder Kaitlyn Farrington, and disabled skier Muffy Davis, a founding and honorary board member of Sun Valley Adaptive Sports. All five have runs named after them on Bald Mountain: three are on Seattle Ridge (Gretchen's Gold, Christin's Silver (ex-Silver Fox) and Muffy's Medals (ex-Southern Comfort)), Picabo's Street (ex-Plaza) on Warm Springs, and Kaitlyn's Bowl (ex-Farout Bowl) on the Bowls. US TV's legendary sports commentator Tim Ryan (CBS/NBC) also lives in Sun Valley as well as Ski Racing Magazine's proud owner, Gary Black Jr.
Culture
The non-profit Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities (SVC) was initiated in 1969 by Mrs. Glenn Cooper and Bill Janss, who later married.[ It attained ]non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
status and was officially founded in 1971; the original campus was located off Dollar Road in Sun Valley. Studios and workshops were open to the public and focused on ceramics, founded by James Romberg; photography, founded by Sheri Heiser and Peter deLory; and fine arts, founded by David W. Wharton. The SVC offered year-round workshops, lectures, and exhibitions by nationally recognized artists and craft persons to both residents and tourists to Blaine County. Today the Sun Valley Center for the Arts has its main building in nearby Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
as well as a historic house and classroom in Hailey.
The annual Sun Valley Writers' Conference (SVWC) was founded by journalist Reva B. Tooley], with the inaugural event run in 1995. Robin Eidsmo is executive director (since 2014), and novelist John Burnham Schwartz, essayist Anne Taylor Fleming
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Liaquat Ahamed help to mount the event each year.
In 2014, FOCUS Mountain Media, a publishing group based in Sun Valley, launched a quarterly magazine about mountain culture with a specific view towards life in Sun Valley.
In 2018, The Argyros Performing Arts Center opened in downtown Ketchum. Since opening, the 450-seat theater has hosted nationally and internationally recognized artists such as Robert Cray, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Isabella Boylston, Peter Cetera, Kristen Chenoweth, Rita Wilson, and others.
Adaptive sports for the disabled
The Sun Valley region boasts a wide variety of year-round adaptive sports programs for the disabled including the local DSUSA Chapter – Higher Ground Sun Valley; Wood River Ability Program; Sage Brush Equine Training Center for the Handicapped and Camp Rainbow Gold, a youth cancer program.
Two sections
A small mountain saddle splits the city of Sun Valley into two sections. The northern section is centered around the famous Sun Valley Lodge, Inn, and the "village" complex of shops, condominiums, and original 18-hole golf course (27 holes by 2008), which winds its way up the Trail Creek valley to the northeast. This area is referred to as simply "Sun Valley."
The southern area of Elkhorn, adjacent to Dollar Mountain, has its own condo complex and 18-hole golf course. Quite distinct and separate, including a drier " sagebrush" appearance, it was initially developed in 1972.[ The Sun Valley Company took over day-to-day operations of the Elkhorn Golf Club in July 2011 and named Rick Hickman director of golf operations for the company.]
Adjacent to Sun Valley is the older city of Ketchum Ketchum may refer to:
Towns, cities, and, geographic features
* Ketchum, Idaho, United States
* Ketchum, Oklahoma, United States
* Lake Ketchum, Washington, United States
* Ketchum Glacier, a glacier in Antarctica
* Ketchum Ridge, a large ri ...
, which is just a mile downstream of the Sun Valley Lodge (along Trail Creek). Ketchum comprises primarily the 19th-century town center (with its limited grid system) and lands adjacent to Bald Mountain along the Big Wood River and Warm Springs Creek.
The Sun Valley/Ketchum CVB offers area wide information on events, vacation planning information and area resources.
On September 11, 2005, the Dalai Lama visited Wood River High School in Hailey to give a speech on understanding and friendship in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 Attacks and offered condolences to the many thousands affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina.
Geography
Sun Valley is located at (43.680491, −114.342711), at an elevation of above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
The ...
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy
An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Climate
The climate of Sun Valley is classified as dry-summer humid continental ('' Dsb''), just narrowly avoiding a subarctic (''Dsc'') classification. Due to the altitude and aridity of the climate diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak ...
is high, with summer swings especially significant with hot days combined with nights just above the freezing mark in July and August. Sub-zero nights are common in winter, while days usually average around freezing.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,406 people, 622 households, and 367 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,597 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.4% White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.2% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 4.6% of the population.
There were 622 households, of which 15.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.0% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.45.
The median age in the city was 53.9 years. 11.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.8% were from 25 to 44; 32.1% were from 45 to 64; and 30.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.8% male and 49.2% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,427 people, 594 households, and 343 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,339 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.43% White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.35% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.42% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 4.20% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 7.15% of the population.
There were 594 households, out of which 16.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.50.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 11.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 36.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $71,000, and the median income for a family was $85,000. Males had a median income of $31,979 versus $27,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $50,563. About 2.7% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.
Sun Valley in popular culture
*Part of Abbott and Costello's 1943 film ''Hit the Ice
''Hit the Ice'' is an ice hockey sports video game originally released by Taito, WMS Industries, Williams and Midway Games, Midway for video arcade, arcades in 1990. The game is a cartoonish representation of the sport with three players on each ...
'' was shot at Sun Valley.
*'' It Happened in Sun Valley'' was recorded and featured by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra in the movie '' Sun Valley Serenade''.
*Exterior filming for '' Duchess of Idaho'' was shot and set in Sun Valley.
* In the Frasier episode "RDWRER", the Crane family attempt to reach Sun Valley in time for New Year's Eve 1999.
* The movies '' Bus Stop'' (1956) starring Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
, ''I Met Him in Paris
''I Met Him in Paris'' is a 1937 film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Wesley Ruggles, written by Claude Binyon, and starring Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, and Robert Young.
It was the first film shown at Washington, D.C.'s Newt ...
'' (1937), '' Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941) and '' Ski Party'' (1965) were partly filmed in Sun Valley.[Barth, Jack (1991). ''Roadside Hollywood: The Movie Lover's State-By-State Guide to Film Locations, Celebrity Hangouts, Celluloid Tourist Attractions, and More''. Contemporary Books, pp. 18–19; ]
* The movie '' Town & Country'' (2001) features Sun Valley as one of the locations.
Television
* RSN, Ch. 14
See also
* Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference
The Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference is an annual media finance conference hosted and funded by private investment firm Allen & Company. The conference has taken place in Sun Valley, Idaho for one week each July since 1983. The gathering ...
* Magic Valley
*The Ski Tour The Ski Tour is a professional Alpine skiing and a Half-pipe Freeskiing league founded in 2007 and sanctioned by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. In addition to the sporting events, The Ski Tour also features an entertainment package — The ...
* Treasure Valley
* Wood River Valley
References
Further reading
* Sauter (2011) ''Sun Valley Story'',
* Atkeson and Miller (2000) ''Ski & Snow Country, The Golden Years of Skiing in the West 1930s–1950s'',
* Holland (1998) ''Sun Valley, An Extraordinary History'',
* Marshall and Conley (1985) ''Idaho'',
* Conley, Cort (1982) ''Idaho for the Curious'', , p. 348–355
* Taylor (1980) ''Sun Valley'',
* Oppenheimer & Poore (1976) ''Sun Valley: a biography'',
* Hennig, Andy (1948) ''Sun Valley ski guide'', Union Pacific Railroad, OCLC 9161619
* SKI Magazine "Sun Valley Refrain," by Stu Campbell, October 2000, p. 128–134
* SKI Magazine, "The Sun Rises Again," by Jamie Marshall, December 1996, p. 108–112
* '' The Idaho Statesman'', 21 December-1977
External links
City website
Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau
Resort website
University of Idaho Library
– images of early Sun Valley
Ski Map.org
– vintage trail maps of Sun Valley
Alpine Style 56
– vintage photos of Sun Valley
{{authority control
Cities in Blaine County, Idaho
Ski areas and resorts in Idaho
Cities in Idaho