SUN VALLEY
Ski & Snowboard Resort Review
Sun Valley, IDAHO, is the oldest and one of the most famous ski & snowboard resorts in the USA.
Sun Valley Skiing and Snowboarding Terrain
The resort is made up of 2 mountains, Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain. Bald Mountain has steep fast trails some groomed and some ungroomed, open powder bowls and treed terrain. Dollar Mountain is a gentle beginner mountain.
Advanced Skiing and Snowboarding
On a powder day head to Lookout and Powder Bowl for steep and deep turns leading down into treed terrain. The very steep lower terrain of Christmas Bowl and Inhibition Trail are mogul covered and challenging.
Intermediate Skiing and Snowboarding
Intermediate skiers and snowboarders have access to corduroy groomed trails from each chairlift on Bald Mountain. The trails to the right of the Challenger Chairlift are long and fast; Warm Springs particularly good for morning warm up runs.
The intermediate bowls to the left of the Mayday Chairlift are particularly good after fresh snowfalls for gaining confidence in steeper terrain.
Beginner Skiing and Snowboarding
The Dollar Mountain terrain is the perfect beginner are with gentle cruising slopes and no trees. The Sun Valley Ski and Snowboard School has lesson packages for first timers which includes a 2 hour lesson, lift ticket and ski or snowboard rental.
Sun Valley Superpipe
The superpipe, located on Bald Mountain to the left of the River Run Chairlift, is meticulously maintained. The Sun Valley Ski and Snowboard School even offer skiing and snowboarding superpipe lessons.
Other Activities at Sun Valley
Off piste activities to enjoy at Sun Valley include watching a movie at the theatre; swimming, bowling, ice skating, snow tubing at Dollar Mountain, cross country skiing, sleigh rides and even mountaineering.
To really relax go to the Sun Valley Salon and Day Spa for a facial or a massage.
Shopping at Sun Valley
Sun Valley has a wide range of skiing and snowboarding equipment shops, fashion boutiques, gift and souvenir shops as well as art galleries, a homemade chocolate shop and food and liquor market.
Pete Lane’s Mountain Sports, located in the Sun Valley Mall and the Warm Springs Lodge, has the latest skiing and snowboarding equipment for sale and rent.
Sun Valley Restaurants
The Village at Sun Valley has casual dining, fine dining and quick meals to grab on the go.
Located in the Sun Valley Lodge Gretchen’s family restaurant serves pasta, salmon and delicious Idaho lamb in a friendly warm atmosphere.
Bald Mountain Pizza & Pasta serves some of the best pizzas you will ever taste along with steaming bowls of hot pasta with homemade sauce.
Go to Konditorei for a quick coffee and pastry, they also do a great breakfast and hearty lunchtime sandwiches.
For fine dining the Lodge Dining Room, in the Sun Valley Lodge, has European inspired excellent cuisine, top service and a buffet brunch on Sundays.
On the slopes Bald Mountain has three main day lodges; the Warm Springs Day Lodge and River Run Day Lodge are both at the base of Bald Mountain and open for breakfast, lunch, and après ski drinks. The Seattle Ridge Lodge perched at 8,800 feet at the top of the Seattle Ridge Chairlift has amazing views of the surrounding mountains; it is open for lunch only serving grilled meats, pastas and salads.
Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge, located at the bottom of Dollar Mountain, has a European décor and delicious menu items like roast chicken and wood fired pizzas, it is open for breakfast and lunch.
Sun Valley Nightlife
The Duchin Lounge, located on the first floor of the Sun Valley Lodge, is a popular socialising night spot with great music, dancing and specialty drinks. It is open until 2am every night.
The Boiler Room is home to the Mike Murphy Comedy Show; who is rated as one of the best après ski entertainers in America. Live comedy events happen every Friday and Saturday night while cheap drinks and Karaoke attract big crowds every Wednesday and Thursday night.
New for 2007/2008 at Sun Valley
The 2007/2008 winter season brings significant upgrades to Sun Valley's Dollar Mountain.
The Quarter Dollar and Dollar lifts have both been replaced by new high speed quad chairlifts which will double the passenger capacity of the old lifts.
60% of Dollar Mountain has been equipped with snowmaking equipment ensuring good snow coverage at the start of the winter season.
More About Sun Valley
Your Sun Valley Ski & Snowboard Resort Reviews
Kristy, NJ. March 2006 Everything about Sun Valley totally rocks. The skiing is awesome and the way the mountain is divided it really caters for all levels and aspects of skiers and board riders. Dollar Mountain is were the beginners go, it has a really good ski school (one of the best I have encountered) and top children's programs. Dollar is also good for finding your legs on the first day of your vacation. Baldy Mountain is for the advanced and strong intermediate skiers, it's complex and challenging with long wide speedy cruisers and endless bowls full of powder. It's really extreme, the 'Exhibition' run is steep and has moguls the size of cars! Chairlift 2 goes directly overhead so the not so advanced (myself included) can watch and see how it should be skied. Crowds are not that much of an issue, of course over peak weekend periods it can be a bit of a wait at the bottom but once everyone spreads out across the mountain it's not bad at all. There are continuos shuttles running to and from the Sun Valley lodging area as well as the town of Ketchum so getting to and from isn't an issue. The lodging at Sun Valley is hideously expensive and seems a bit 'corporate' for my liking, we like to 'rough it' in Ketchum. This year we stayed at the Clarion Inn, and will be returning next year for sure.
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Statistics |
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Elevation |
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Average
Snowfall |
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230
inches |
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Lifts |
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21 |
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Trails
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map |
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Terrain
% |
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Halfpipe |
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1
super pipe |
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Terrain
Park |
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1 |
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Resort
Website |
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