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Sun Valley suggestions

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'll be in Sun Valley the first weekend in March and have never been before. I like to start easier and work up on mountains I've never skied before and I understand than SV might be steeper than some places I've been (greens ski like blues, blues like blacks etc). Which green runs and blues are the easiest ones?
Once I get there and ski around a bit I can see for myself which runs I will feel comfortable on but just looking for any inside tips as to how to first approach the mountain.
Which area tends to soften up first? Is there an area that is best skied early due to getting more skied off etc?
I plan to start out of the River Run base if that makes a difference.
Thanks
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I went last year.. If you want to warm up you can Start at Dollar Mt- Right behind Sun Valley Lodge! Great beginner ski area devoted to beginners,
I'd suggest take the Sun Valley Mt. Tour- Free! meet at the Sun Valley Lodge in one of the side rooms past the cafeteria, think it was 1030.

Let them know what you are seeking, the tour stays on greens and blues.
It's a great Mt. Yes it's on the steep side greens are more like eastern blues. The grooming is Top Notch and they make snow!

Follow the Sun for the softest snow. Have too much fun, I can't wait to go back, town is great (flat easy walking)
 

DeweySki

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
@Christy goes almost every year, she should have some advice :smile:
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
I'll be in Sun Valley the first weekend in March and have never been before. I like to start easier and work up on mountains I've never skied before and I understand than SV might be steeper than some places I've been (greens ski like blues, blues like blacks etc). Which green runs and blues are the easiest ones?
Once I get there and ski around a bit I can see for myself which runs I will feel comfortable on but just looking for any inside tips as to how to first approach the mountain.
Which area tends to soften up first? Is there an area that is best skied early due to getting more skied off etc?
I plan to start out of the River Run base if that makes a difference.
Thanks
Also recommend the free mountain tour.

Given what you skied at Alta, I don't think it's worth starting out at Dollar. While the greens at Bald Mountain are steeper and longer than greens at most resorts, first thing in the morning you should be fine given how well SV grooms. The only time I found the green/blue groomers an issue was later in the afternoon when they were skied off. There were a few places where I found it easier to ski the ungroomed edges, but I think those were mostly blues.

There were groups of seniors who went straight up to Lookout and took Upper College and Lower College as their warm up run. They lined up early to get first tracks. I wandered down Olympic Lane in the afternoon. It's mostly a cat track. I would say Lower Olympic is an easy blue for SV. The greens on Seattle Ridge are what I think of as "hard" greens, long and relatively steep but plenty wide.

At the end of the tour we had lunch at the Seattle Ridge lodge.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I've never done the mountain tour but I remember what a great experience MarzNC and co had--that seems like it would be a great way to get started.

Which area tends to soften up first? Is there an area that is best skied early due to getting more skied off etc?

In this snowy year you may not need anything to soften up--it might be very soft already! But starting on Upper College is a thing. It gets the sun first, and it gets skied out first. That's the run that has the iconic view of Ketchum. The light is also really good in the am for a photo. :smile: At the bottom of UC you can either cut over on Roundhouse Lane and take the chair back up the mountain, or, Upper College>Lower College>River Run is a really fun top to bottom green run (steeper than most greens though). A lot of people do will do that then move to Seattle Ridge. You can go Roundhouse Lane>Guntower Lane> Seattle Ridge chair, or, if you've skied to the bottom, just take the gondola back up and take Guntower Lane to SR. Seattle Ridge is all greens but everyone skis there--don't think it's just for beginners. The snow always seems to be good there. There are nice mellow (or sometimes bigger) bumps on the sides of some of the runs (Gretchen's for instance) that I like to practice on.

If you are into first (or early) tracks, it's faster to take the River Run and Lookout Express lifts to the top than it is to take the gondola and Christmas.

Warm Springs, which is a run you really have to do--3200' of true fall line skiing--doesn't get sun until the afternoon. I sometimes like to go there in the morning when conditions are good because so few others do.

Which green runs and blues are the easiest ones?

The easiest is the short River Run run. Since this is at the very bottom, if there's been any freeze/thaw, it probably won't be good in the morning. It's also really short. Second easiest, and more of a real run, is Leigh Lane>Broadway on Seattle Ridge. Then the rest of the Seattle Ridge runs. When you want to leave the Seattle Ridge area you can take Lower Broadway down to the Cold Springs lift which delivers you right to the Roundhouse. Lower Broadway is the other easy mellow run on Baldy and for some reason I just love it. Hardly anyone ever goes on it or the Cold Springs chair (which is quite old) so I do big wide turns and have a lovely time. Oh and there's also Olympic Lane/Ridge but those are mostly cat track and just go to the bottom. Lower Olympic is probably the easiest blue on the mountain.

Most of the blues have a pretty good pitch, so I wouldn't say there are any easy blues (from the standpoint of pitch). Something I love is Upper College>Flying Squirrel>Lower Warm Springs. Flying Squirrel just doesn't get much traffic.

If you want restaurant or other tips let me know. A few things to know, there are free cubbies in the River Run lodge so it's easy to boot up there. The Lookout has the best food deals on the mountain (it's Mexican) because it's an old ugly building and that's how they get people in the door. The new lodges ie Seattle Ridge are very comfortable but I find them a little generic--they could be anywhere--so I prefer The Roundhouse. The food is fantastic. If you don't do a sit down lunch you can stop in for a cup of water and to warm up at the fireplace, or get a drink at the bar. Don't worry about just barging in and just looking at the photos or warming up at the fire, people do it all the time. When the weather is warmer, and it may be for you, the Roundhouse deck is a lovely place to be.

If you have a car and extra time, drive up to Galena Pass or Galena Lodge. You leave all development behind about 10 minutes out of SV and it's so pretty. There are a ton of hot springs in the area too.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Warm Springs is one of my favorite All time runs.. 3200 vert on a perfect fall line.. ahhhhhhhhh
 

Christy

Angel Diva
They're having an animal shelter fundraiser on Baldy on Saturday that looks so fun--you have to figure out the most efficient way to get past all 8 checkpoints, and you can't speed. https://www.carvingforcritters.org/about-us

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Christy

Angel Diva
My fingers are crossed for you. As the veteran of many diversions though I will say it's a fact of life trying to fly into Hailey. We were really excited that last fall when the FAA approved Alaska's technology that will allow them to fly in when other airlines can't, but still, on our first flight there this year, diverted. We flew in and out of Boise last time and the flight home was cancelled for other reasons so so much for that tactic. I'd like to go for one more weekend this season but given the hassle of both plane trips this year, I'm not feeling super inspired. Alaska at least does give you an automatic $100 credit for being diverted.

In any case I hope you have good conditions and a good trip, and hopefully you'll do one of your fabulous trip reports. Look like it's going to get warm during the day--you called it when you mentioned freeze/thaw...
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Of course as soon as I wrote that I didn't feel like dealing with the hassle I pulled up alaskaair.com and looked at flights. After all, it's not common for SV to have this much snow, and wouldn't some spring skiing on a deep base be fun? What if they never get as much snow again?
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes, there will be a trip report :smile:
The forecast looks like chance of snow each day starting tomorrow night. So hoping my flight gets a clear window. I'm supposed to land about 12:30pm.
It's amazing to have picked this year to go there since they've already surpassed the yearly average.
 

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