Stories

(Hailey, ID) – The Wood River Valley was represented at the Nature Valley NASTAR National Championship races in Winter Park, Colorado last weekend by five racers.

The Foster family of Hailey held three of those racing slots.  Jesse placed fourth in the platinum category for men, ages 40-44.  Bryce Foster placed fourth in the silver category for boys, ages 7 -8.  Conrad Foster placed fifth in the silver category for boys, ages 5-6.

Two other youngsters also represented the valley well.  Lola Street placed first in the silver category among girls ages 7-8.  Tor Johnston placed sixth in the gold category among boys ages 5-6.  

Twelve hundred racers, ranging in age from 3 to 94, competed in three days of giant slalom racing on twelve courses of varying difficulty.  Participants qualified by ranking in the top five in their age & gender category in their division at any Nature Valley NASTAR resort as of Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

U.S. Ski Team members were pacesetters... (more)

Shot and Edited by Whitney McNees

National Brotherhood of Skiers visits Ketchum, Idaho from City of Ketchum on Vimeo.

Storm action from Sun Valley yesterday!  With over 30 inches of fresh if made for one of the best week of the season.  Enjoy this video!

(Hailey, ID) – You’re Invited!!  Saturday, March 10^th 4-9 pm and it’s FREE.

Celebration time is at hand.  Rotarun will host a fete of 64 years of value to the community for a very wonderful season at the Art Richard’s Mountain.  Rotarun will be open March 10^th , free, for all of those who share, create, enjoy , volunteer and work hard for this wonderful community asset, even if its’ your first time.

Bring your family or a friend/s for a Community Pot Luck.  You bring your favorite vegetable, salad, chili or pasta dish to share.  Bring your favorite beverage.   We will have burgers and hot dogs for $1.00.  Lights will be on at dusk and the Poma Lift will be running.  Free skiing and snowboarding is there for you to enjoy.  Bring your own sled and helmet.  Sledding will be by the new handle tow lift.

This is your chance to once again enjoy an affordable ski area here at home.  This is the place that continues to serve the... (more)

Parents can pre-register their children for Kindercup at Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge, Sturtevants Mountain Outfitters (Hailey and Ketchum locations), Formula Sports, and Radio Shack until Wednesday March 7. Registration forms may also be downloaded from Papoose Club’s website, www.papooseclub.org.

On the day of the race, all Kindercup participants must check in at the registration tables on the lower level of Dollar Mountain Lodge between 8:30 – 9:30am to pick up their bibs. Races will begin at 10:15am, and a medal ceremony for the top finishers in each age group will be held at 12:30pm.

Kindercup is a free community service event that has long been a staple of the Valley’s winter calendar. The race is put on by Papoose Club in partnership with... (more)

(Hailey, ID) –  Cardboard takes to the slopes this Saturday for the Snow Box Derby at Rotarun Ski Area.

Come to watch or to race!   The Snow Box Derby, Saturday, March 3,  is sponsored by the Hailey Kiwanis Club.  Cardboard concoction sledding or being pushed down the Rotarun hill will be in competition for medals awarded for fastest, most creative, and most inspiring creations.  Cameras, dinosaurs, race cars, corn dogs and tanks have slid (or been pushed) down the slope of Rotarun Ski Area in previous years. 

Construction requirements limit materials to only: cardboard, paint, tape and glue.  All snow boxes will be inspected prior to the event.  Participants must also demonstrate that they can stop their snow box if needed.  The Soap Box Derby is open to anyone 5 years and older.  In the name of safety, sledders must go feet first and wear helmets.

The entry fee is $10 per individual, or $25 per business.  Registration will be on at Rotarun... (more)

(Hailey, ID) – Racers, parents, grandparents, and friends were on the fast snow at Rotarun, Friday night. The Telepocalypse series joined with the Friday Night Race Series under a sliver moon and two bright evening stars.  The mountain was packed and the exuberant crowd enjoyed great times under the lights of Rotarun.

This Friday Night series was fun and flexible with dual racing trials.  It was open to all ages and any equipment: alpine, telemark or snowboard were welcomed.  It will be a definite repeat for our next season.  The “dual” format lets two racers compete head-to-head.  At the Feb. 24 finals, in addition to the two-run duals the series points were tabulated and a “ski off” between the top men confirmed the King of the Hill, with the most winning points, Jimmy Grossman  was crowed King of the Hill. There was a Trophy for the Queen of the Hill, but it will be held till next year since there was no consistent female racer to be crowed.

"Snowboarders talk about progression, but evolution is a better way to describe the influential two-decade career of Wyatt Caldwell. From defining film footage, stunning images and street rail mastery to a resume stacked with a Grand Prix Halfpipe Championship, a Transworld Magazine cover and Vans Cup wins in multiple disciplines—Wyatt has made his mark on the international contest circuit and the national professional stage.

But as Wyatt's style has evolved, his focus has shifted from X Games and Dew Tour Slopestyle stops to the untracked terrain park of the backcountry. In this venue he has applied his free-reign style to long powder spines, huge pillow stacks and AK cliff lines with a clean, technical result. Now part of the YES movement, Wyatt has migrated from the Mammoth and Salt Lake scenes back home to Sun Valley and the surrounding ranges where he first learned to ride."

(Hailey, ID) –  Tele, snowboard and alpine disciplines were all represented on the race course at last Friday’s Dual Race at Rotarun Ski Area, sponsored by Hearing Aid Counselors & Audiology.

Friday’s race was the third in the 4-race series presented by 5-B Garage and Rotarun Ski Area.  Racers’ last chance to join the fun is this Friday at the Haemmerle & Haemmerle Dual GS Race.  Competition is open to all ages and any equipment.

Everyone is welcome to practice running gates Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at Rotarun.  Race registration will be at Sun Valley Brewing on Thursday, 7 – 8 p.m.; or just before racing Friday, 5 – 6 p.m. at Rotarun.

 Here are the results for racers completing two runs, which were combined for times:

Here's the details for Leif's Race:

There will be two categories of competition, Alpine and Telemark. You may race the Giant Slalom on alpine skis or telemark skis. Leif didn’t snowboard, but snowboarders are welcome to race. They will compete in the Tele category. 

Giant Slalom – There will be a one run Giant Slalom race down Cozy. The course will be open and easy, so if you aren’t a very good alpine skier, don’t worry. After skiing your GS run, you will head to the Nordic Center (Golf Club) for the….

Nordic Race – The Nordic race will be on Leif’s Loop, which is 2.5 km. Kids born after 2001, and adults born before 1942 have the option of racing just one lap (2.5 km). Everyone else will race two laps (5 km)

Age groups: (awards to top three finishers in each age group)
Class 0 – Born 2002 – present
Class 1 – Born 1992 – 2001
Class 2 – Born 1982 – 1991
Class 3 – Born 1972 – 1981
Class 4 – Born 1962 –... (more)

Welcome to Winter 2012!!!! Yes we were blessed with 3-5 feet of snow. Powder-what a beautiful thing!  It is amazing what it can do to a ski town.  Everyone in town is STOKED!  Yeah yeah…I know we have to shovel it, dig out our cars. Yes it does get tiring on day 4-5 but all is forgotten when you click in

Enjoy this edit from skiing with friends at Sun Valley at the  start of the storm.

Some vids of local, Lexi duPont

With most ski areas having a paltry amount of snow, Taos is offering free skiing to pass-holders from Vail and other ski resorts. Their logic is that if these skiers try Taos, they'll spend money on other things and come back in the future. What's the downside to trying that here? Read the full details in an article on MSNBC - Small ski resorts go after big-time competitors. 

Mother Nature isn't doing a very good job helping skiers enjoy their favorite past time, "Skiing Powder". That's not a problem for people with Sun Valley out their back door.

Click Here for video

P.S. We just had a good storm and now bright blue skys.

Hats off to the dedicated Sun Valley Team!

Melissa Arnot is a professional high-altitude mountaineer. At 27, she’s summited all the peaks you’ve heard of, and lots more you haven’t. She came to Sun Valley for the mountains, and stayed for the people.

The Mountaineer from Visit Sun Valley on Vimeo.

Andy Gilbert coaches the Sun Valley snowboard team, organizes huge competitions like the Rail Jam, rides in the skate park he rallied the community to build, and still finds time to pick up his kids from school.

The Coach from Visit Sun Valley on Vimeo.

Ashley Brown was on the Sun Valley Alpine team growing up. When her racing days came to an end, she found a way to keep skiing Baldy every day, to keep living the way she grew up —outdoors and carefree.

The Ski Patroller from Visit Sun Valley on Vimeo.

Dear Local Tele Skiers,

Telemark Skier Magazine presents its latest effort "Loyalty" this Friday, November 4th, 7:30 pm at Whiskey Jacques.

  *full Wilderness First Responder course running from November 11-20:

*Diverse Collection of Individuals Unite to Help Elevate Awareness of Sustainability Issues and Keep Earth in Business*

What do a beer-brewing CEO, a racecar driver, an artist, a media mogul, a pro-surfer, and a musician have in common? Several things, actually: They live under one sky, share one playground and are all committed to sustainability and giving back through the 1% for the Planet Ambassador Program.

Today, 1% for the Planet, a global network of businesses that invest at least 1% of their sales in organizations focused on sustainability, is pleased to introduce its new ambassadors. The 1% Ambassadors are a diverse group of business-leaders, athletes, artists and activists who are integrating the 1% for the Planet message into their daily lives to help broaden awareness for our global movement. Designed to give influential people a powerful platform to make a difference, the 1% for the Planet Ambassador Program seeks to elevate awareness of sustainability issues while building bridges between corporate... (more)

Happy Summer,   To cool you off....some July ski action from Mt. Hood.

So far the Mt. Niceness~West-topia tour had been great. The Westy kicks ass and I'm rolling in style and comfort...Thanks Go-Westy!Latest blog with more niceness...
http://mountainniceness.com/2011/07/july-skiing-on-mt-hood/

All the best-

Danny Walton

SVSEF’s Jordan and Jay Fitzgerald recently returned from Meribel, France, where they participated in the British National Children’s Alpine Ski Championships.  The Fitzgeralds maintain dual nationality and qualified for the championships after submitting their USSA points to the race organizers.  The national championships are limited to 90 boys and 60 girls, in the equivalent of the USSA’s J-3 and J-4 age categories, and consist of Super-G, GS and slalom competitions.

Though Great Britain is not a dominant ski nation at the World Cup level, most of the elite competitors attend race academies in the U.S., Austria, France or Italy.  Jay remarked, “The competition was extremely strong, especially in slalom because the British skiers train on indoor snow or artificial slopes all year.”

Despite very poor snow conditions, the championships were held in the same race arena that was used for the women’s alpine events during the 1992 Albertville Olympics.... (more)

Winter Two Thousand Heaven~Epic TahoeYeah yeah I know what your thinking when you here the word epic.  Everything seems epic these days but, the snow that dumped down on Tahoe last week was as true to epic as it gets!  I quit counting after 100 inches and that was around Wed.  It was something like a dream the one that you had since you were a kid-where it didn’t stop snowing!!!  As we drove to our friends house we traveled through little tunnels of snow  where you can’t see street signs let alone houses.  Inside the fire was stoked as you couldn’t see out the windows of the house because of 30-40 feet of snow outside.  All this snow was in Meyers, CA.  What would 600 inches look like up at Kirkwood? 

Day 1

18 degrees and 38 inches of fresh greeted us our first morning.  Yes it was a true blower over head all day .  The Patrol at Kirkwood did a great job getting things open so the face shots never stopped..... (more)

Sun Valley's 75th winter season will be one of the resort's longest, continuing through Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011. Beginning April 4 and running through April 10, 95% of Baldy's ski terrain will be served by Lower River Run #1, Lookout Express #5, Frenchman's #8, Challenger #10, Mayday #14 and Seattle Ridge #12. Greyhawk #7 will be in operation April 8-9. Lower River Run, Lookout Express and Challenger lifts will continue operation through April 17.

Last day for the winter season for the Roundhouse restaurant will be April 3. The Roundhouse will re-open for lunch and dinner this summer. The Lookout Restaurant will begin limited food service April 4 with the Lookout Cook-out available Friday - Sundays. Seattle Ridge Lodge and Seattle Ridge will remain open through April 10.

Please check mountain reports for updates as conditions are subject to change and weather dependent. Call 800-635-4150 or visit www.sunvalley.com.

The Mountain Niceness never stops!   Sun Valley was blessed with a great spring storm at Sun Valley.  Enjoy this ski action from a stormy Bald mountain.