TR Sun Valley March 5-6, 2025

[marzNC]

Sun Valley was the start of my ski safari in early March with a small crew of three. We arrived on March 4 and skied SV March 5-6, 2025. @Ski Sine Fine checked out Dollar Mountain for the first time. I was hoping to check out the new glades off Seattle Ridge at Bald Mountain, but the snow and weather conditions meant sticking to groomers most of the time. In the weeks before we arrived, there had been warm temps, rain, then cold temps, and not enough new snow to cover up the frozen stuff. It was too cool for the snow to soften enough to be fun off the groomers at either Dollar or Bald.

As often happens for my trips out west, my advanced ski buddy, Bill (old bachelor, schoolmate), drove from Albuquerque to meet up in SLC. When Bill is part of the crew, it means he is driving his well equipped Range Rover Sport with snow tires, two ski boxes, and enough room for three people to be comfortable when traveling with ski gear and luggage. After Sun Valley, we drove to Boise for the rest of the ski safari. Bonus is traveling with a driver who has plenty of mountain driving experience with snow on the roads.

The three of us were quite comfortable in a 2-story condo at Hawthorne 4 that is perfect for senior friends looking for a quiet comfortable place for a few nights when the alternative was three motel rooms. The condo was a block from a bus stop, a short walk to the River Run base, and easy walking distance from Ketchum town center restaurants. We made good use of having a kitchen. The condo complex has a private outdoor hot pool and a large sauna. The unit was had was a very short walk to the Rec Center, which was a bonus.

Bottom line is that we all had a good time in spring skiing conditions. Good visibility made it easy to explore off all the lifts. Ketchum as a ski town is small enough to be friendly and big enough to have assorted types of good restaurants for dinner. I would go back in the future for a longer stay, but perhaps a bit earlier in the season. In general, spring skiing comes a bit sooner to Idaho than other destination resorts in the northern Rockies, partially because of the lower elevation.

Read on for the rest of the trip report and photos (there is a limit on the number of photos per post).

Happy to answer questions about travel planning for Sun Valley and Ketchum. SV was on Ikon and the Mountain Collective for 2024-25.

 

[marzNC]

Dollar Mountain, March 5-6, 2025

The first day I drove @Ski Sine Fine to Dollar Mountain in the morning. I wanted to check it out in general, which didn’t take long. Then I drove 10 minutes to Bald Mountain to meet up with Bill for lunch at Lookout (at the top). He had walked over to the River Run base, which took about 10 minutes along the hiking/biking/ski trail. It was also possible to walk across the parking lot from the back of the condo complex. SSF used the free bus between the condo and Dollar Lodge both days without any issues. The Gold bus runs enough often between the Dollar Lodge and the River Run Lodge, based on a set schedule. I walked across the parking lot the second morning to ski with Bill, then took the bus back from River Run at lunch time. I opted to explore more at Dollar in the afternoon since I hadn’t ridden the Elkhorn lift and Bald Mountain groomers get skied off by lunch time. Afterwards I took SSF to see the Sun Valley Lodge.

Dollar Mountain has mostly green and blue trails. However, they are steeper than at most destination resorts. The greens are shorter then the greens on Bald Mountain but most are “Sun Valley steep” except for the trails off the Quarter Dollar lift. I imagine advanced beginners who are comfortable on all the greens and blues at Dollar Mountain can enjoy Bald Mountain greens.

I saw a Mountain Host (yellow jacket) helping an adult beginner walk down most of the steeper pitch of the green trail from the top of the Dollar lift. She should’ve stayed on the short greens off the Quarter Dollar lift. Or taken a lesson. Watched a man who was obviously an adult beginner using the short magic carpet right in front of the lodge. The view from the Half Dollar lift of the base was worth the slow ride. He was quite tall and his instructor (a senior at least 55+) looked very short in comparison. There were plenty of experienced instructors teaching children and adults.

What I hadn’t realized is how much off-piste terrain exists on Dollar Mountain. Most of the terrain off the Elkhart lift is bowl skiing (blue), with a couple of green access trails. There is also blue and black off-piste terrain off the Dollar lift. After skiing Dollar Mountain trails, it makes more sense that the original skiing for Sun Valley was all on Dollar Mountain. Bald Mountain opened the fourth season, 1939-40.

There is a classic picture in the Dollar Lodge that has three skiers skiing powder, with the Sun Valley Lodge in the background. When I looked at the view from inside the Sun Valley Lodge towards Dollar Mountain (looking over the ice skating rink), the relationship between the Lodge and the mountain made more sense than before.

Front of Dollar Lodge, Gold Bus stop right there, walking through the door and through the building goes directly to snow level


Parking lot side of Dollar Lodge
The parking lot is fairly small. There is an overflow lot down the road. With the free buses, not as much reason to drive if spending the entire day at Dollar. The door from the parking lot leads to the lower level hallway with restrooms and a small locker room with free cubbies. There are wide stairs and an elevator to get up to the main floor where the Children's Ski School, ski shop, and cafeteria are located. The hallways are decorated with vintage photos. There are a few showcases with Sun Valley memorabilia in the hallway near the restrooms.


Magic carpet and Dollar chairlift


Trails off of the Dollar lift
Getting to Elkhorn involves taking a fairly long cat track, which had very thin cover in a few spots


View of the Elkhorn lift from the cat track heading to the base of Elkhorn
From the top of Elkhorn, end up skiing down to the top of the Dollar lift when going back to the main area


View of the front of Bald Mountain from the top of Elkhorn, part of Ketchum visible just below Bald
Hard to see in the picture but it was easy to spot the gondola line and the River Run chairlift, which both load at the River Run base.

 

[marzNC]

Bald Mountain, Part 1

Bald Mountain has several distinct sections and two bases: River Run, Warm Springs. It takes a while to figure out how to get between sections. We kept looking at the big trail maps on the mountain. Plus there are often knowledgeable mountain hosts happy to answer questions near the trail maps at the top of lifts. There is a free mountain tour Mon, Wed, Fri mornings. We had a great tour in 2016 but didn't join one this time.

Sun Valley has an app that includes the trail map. Not the worst app, but not the best either.

Since Bill and I had skied Sun Valley before, it was not a surprise that the green and blue groomers are much steeper than at other destination resorts. Most of the greens that aren't cat tracks would be blues anywhere else. The second morning the groomers were more fun because there was a few inches of snow overnight on the upper mountain. I even had fun on the bumps on the ungroomed side of Limelight, the steepest black groomer that leads to the Warm Springs base. Even though there weren’t that many people, popular groomers were skied off by lunch time. I’m sure northeast skiers would’ve consider the snow conditions “edgeable” and not been concerned at all. I don’t have that much experience on slick groomers and wasn’t that happy trying to keep up with Bill on the steeper groomers. There were some bumps that were decent in between the greens on Seattle Ridge. But it wasn’t the time to ski in the trees or in an open bowl with sun exposure. We did a little testing where it was possible to bail and would head back to the groomed quickly. A fun green cruiser was Lower Broadway.

I was glad my skis are treated with Phantom Glide. Otherwise might have needed a wax between the two days. Also good that I had sharp edges from a full tune done during the previous ski trip to Taos. Normally not as important when skiing out west.

As has been noted in another thread, Sun Valley hosted World Cup races in late March. The prep had just started during our ski days. The public was not allowed to unload at the Challenger mid-station. Limelight (black, blue) to Lower Warm Springs (green) was the only way down to the Warm Springs base. We saw a few racers riding the Challenger lift.

March 20, 2025
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/o...race-course-for-the-fis-ski-world-cup-finals/

Riding up Lookout lift, view of Ketchum and the backside of Dollar Mountain


Seattle Ridge lodge, bowls off Bowl Lane in the background, Mountain Hosts in yellow jackets


Fence on I-80 cat track blocking access to Warm Springs Face


Views of race prep from Challenger lift



Top of Lookout and Christmas lifts

Challenger also goes to the top where the Lookout lodge is located. The lodge is all one floor with restrooms, a small cafeteria and bar. There are doors from both sides of the building. In the mornings, the private lesson instructors meet their clients inside and outside the building. The instructors have laminated numbers to help their client find them. As a result there can be a lot of skis on the ground on the side of the lodge closest to where the lifts unload. It's a little bit uphill to get to the lodge doors where there are racks.

To get to the top from River Run, can either take the gondola and then do a short ride on the Christmas chairlift or the short River Run chairlift and the long Lookout Express.

 

[marzNC]

Bald Mountain, Part 2

Sun Valley lifts usually open at 8:30. There seem to be plenty of seniors who like first tracks on groomers who line up early, even midweek. Especially after even a small snowstorm. The second day Bill and I started on the River Run chairlift. Rode up with a local couple who moved from the PacNW and raised their children in Ketchum. We also met people at the condo who drove from Park City or California. In general older people were friendly and happy to chat, regardless of where they were from.

Gondola line at 8:45am, Thursday, March 6, 2025


Tables outside Lookout Lodge, perhaps 3 inches of snow overnight


View of Seattle Ridge green trails from Bowl Lane
One of those dots in the bowl below is a skier. Didn't seem to be having that much fun. Shortly afterwards we watched a woman test the snow with her pole, then decide to drop in, but after making a few turns she quickly traversed all the way across to the groomer at the edge of the bowls. We opted to stay on Bowl Lane. On the side of Broadway Face, we checked the ungroomed terrain . . . and went back to the groomed snow. Dust on crust is probably the correct description. Too cold for the sun to soften the frozen snow under the fresh snow.


View of the new Seattle Ridge glades, to the left of the green trails


View from near the Roundhouse, just above the start of Olympic Lane


River Run base from the gondola, about 11:30am
Since I hadn't ridden the gondola yet, I took it for a last run. Bill opted to stay at Bald for lunch at Seattle Ridge while I went back to the condo for lunch before driving to Dollar to meet up with @Ski Sine Fine .

 

[marzNC]

Since the stay in Ketchum was short, we only ate one interesting dinner in a restaurant. After walking by the Sawtooth Club after a basic dinner the first night, we went in to take a look. The place was quite busy and the menu looked interesting. Bonus was that they took reservations. Only by phone, so no need to mess with an online system. After a little research online, I booked a table for 5:45 the next evening. It was pretty clear that having a reservation was a good idea.

Turns out that Sawtooth is a lot bigger than it appears because there are three floors. Happy Hour specials are only served on the ground floor. We opted for the main menu. I went for a special, clams with pasta. Yummy!

For a better sense of Sawtooth, I found this blog article from 2023.

The Sawtooth Club - Ketchum, Idaho - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Our server Kara (who resembles Maggie Gyllenhaal but much more attractive) reasons that The Sawtooth Club is the number one restaurant in the country. That was news to me so I asked how she arrived at that conclusion. Her reasoning is that the Sawtooth Club has been the highest rated...

www.nmgastronome.com

 

[santacruz skier]

Since the stay in Ketchum was short, we only ate one interesting dinner in a restaurant. After walking by the Sawtooth Club after a basic dinner the first night, we went in to take a look. The place was quite busy and the menu looked interesting. Bonus was that they took reservations. Only by phone, so no need to mess with an online system. After a little research online, I booked a table for 5:45 the next evening. It was pretty clear that having a reservation was a good idea.

Turns out that Sawtooth is a lot bigger than it appears because there are three floors. Happy Hour specials are only served on the ground floor. We opted for the main menu. I went for a special, clams with pasta. Yummy!

For a better sense of Sawtooth, I found this blog article from 2023.

The Sawtooth Club - Ketchum, Idaho - Gil's Thrilling (And Filling) Blog

Our server Kara (who resembles Maggie Gyllenhaal but much more attractive) reasons that The Sawtooth Club is the number one restaurant in the country. That was news to me so I asked how she arrived at that conclusion. Her reasoning is that the Sawtooth Club has been the highest rated...

www.nmgastronome.com

Yup we had a great meal there too!

 

[marzNC]

Yup we had a great meal there too!

Do you remember the other places you had a good dinner?

We tried to go to Rickshaw but the wait at 5:45 was going to be at least an hour. Ended up eating a simple meal at a place on the Main Street that isn't even listed on Yelp. That place clearly mostly does business at lunch time. At 6pm there were people waiting outside all the other places tourists want to eat at.

 

[santacruz skier]

We ate at a little taqueria hole in the wall place the first night. Sawtooth Grille was delicious. Funny story. I ordered fresh trout and asked the server if it was farmed. Well friends had a good laugh and @Bookworm says, "You're so CALIFORNIA" and the server agreed! It was delicious !
We had great fun another night at the Sun Valley Lodge having drinks and appetizers (kind of dinner). We bought groceries from the local market and some prepared items as well as cooked some dinners. Our living room was right on the trail that @marzNC mentioned so we skied in and out as far as we were able to every day. Also hit Dollar Mtn one day as 2 of us only had 5 day passes and it was $89 so quite the deal. We worked on technique, ran cones, skied backwards, did jumps, and made it a fun few hours. One of my favorites at SV Bald Mtn was the big bowl on top of the Mayfair lift (turn left) and ski before you get to Broadway. These were pretty wide open with some sharks and iffy snow black rated bowls that scooted through the trees towards the bottom. My favorite !

 

[marzNC]

The mention of Sun Valley Lodge reminded me of what I found in the gift shop. There is a new book published in 2024 about SV ski patrol in the 1960s, written by one of the patrollers who went on to become a writer and historian. Dave Laster did an event after the book was published that was recorded.

January 2024

Skis, Shovels, and Stories: History of the Sun Valley Ski Patrol in the 1960s with Dave Laster

Hot off the presses, Dave Laster has just published a book on the history of Sun Valley’s Ski Patrol during the 1960s and will talk about his experiences here in Sun Valley teaching and patrolling. Laster was raised in Seattle and educated as a historian and geographer in Bellingham, before...

visitsunvalley.com

To get to the presentation, go to the Community Library website, find Event Archive under Programs, which will take you to Vimeo, and then search for Laster.

 

[Christy]

At 6pm there were people waiting outside all the other places tourists want to eat at.

Sounds like it was pretty busy for March weekdays! I wonder why--maybe it was all the workers or volunteers prepping the race courses?

Then I drove 10 minutes to Bald Mountain to meet up with Bill for lunch at Lookout (at the top).

How much are tacos now? That was the great thing about the Lookout, the $2.50 tacos to get people to eat in what is the least attractive building on the mountain. It was great. Then Covid and labor shortages ruined that...last year tacos were $6 each.

Rickshaw is always that busy so we either go very early, or go before we are hungry then have a glass of wine at the fire pit.

A couple other of my faves that are easy to overlook are Konditeri, at Sun Valley between the Lodge and the Inn. I never get excited about breakfast/brunch places but I love Konditeri and if I win the lottery, I'm going to open a place exactly like it in my Seattle neighborhood. It's meant to be Austrian style (kinda) and has rosti and crepes and just really good versions of the standards, plus a big dessert/pastry case. Then there's the Peruvian place called Serva, which is currently moving locations. They are the loveliest people; there are many Peruvians in the valley that came to work in the sheep industry.

I also wish I could twist everyone's arm and make sure they have a lunch at the Roundhouse and a dinner or at least a drink at the Pioneer. We always have a drink in the bar before getting seated for dinner and have had some fun conversations meeting people there. Make sure you ask to sit upstairs at the Pio. Downstairs is a little weird and claustrophobic.

 

[marzNC]

Sounds like it was pretty busy for March weekdays! I wonder why--maybe it was all the workers or volunteers prepping the race courses?

The Sun Valley Music Festival started on March 5 and ran through that weekend. I knew that when I was planning the trip but forgot by the time I was actually packing to head to Idaho.

How much are tacos now? That was the great thing about the Lookout, the $2.50 tacos to get people to eat in what is the least attractive building on the mountain. It was great. Then Covid and labor shortages ruined that...last year tacos were $6 each.

Don't remember, but definitely more than $5. I had the soup of the day and it was very good.

What I noticed was that there is free hot water at Lookout. In general, Sun Valley does a good job with little things like having tissue boxes in the restrooms. I kept thinking that Taos Ski Valley could learn a thing or two about what makes guests happy that don't really cost a lot of money.

I also wish I could twist everyone's arm and make sure they have a lunch at the Roundhouse

Did that the first time we went to Sun Valley. Didn't want to take the time for a sit down lunch this trip. Also @Ski Sine Fine was skiing Dollar, not Bald.

Bill and I went onto the porch for the view right around the time Roundhouse opened at 11:00. There was a pretty long line of people who had lunch reservations. Included several families with little kids who had paid to ride up the gondola without ski gear. Nice to have that option for groups that include non-skiers.

 

[Christy]

What I noticed was that there is free hot water at Lookout. In general, Sun Valley does a good job with little things like having tissue boxes in the restrooms. I kept thinking that Taos Ski Valley could learn a thing or two about what makes guests happy that don't really cost a lot of money.

Totally agree. I haven't been to Deer Valley in 15 years but I still remember the free sunscreen and tampons in the restrooms. If I forget sunscreen, I am toast. The favorable impression stuck with me.

At Sun Valley the free cubbies at River Run (and Warm Springs I think) were one of those things for me. It made life SO easy, and it was so pleasant booting up in front of the fire with a bowl of steel cut oats then putting my bag in a cubby. They stopped allowing that during Covid then last year only had outdoor bag check for IKON passholders. I found this to be such a bummer even (though the ski check that allows free ski check for lodge guests guys let me leave my bag with them for free when I was skiing). Are the River Run cubbies still either gone or not usable?

 

[Christy]

We will have to brace ourselves for potentially big changes at SV. Owner Mrs. Holding died in December; Mr. Holding died a few years ago. SV was their pet project; they had their oil money and didn't care too much if SV was profitable. They famously had a saying that "anything worth doing is worth overdoing." They just wanted it to be the best. There has long been speculation about what will happen when their kids get their paws on the resort. The nightmare of course is that it's sold to Alterra or Vail or any other money grubbing entity that doesn't care about doing everything right.

Resort owner Carol Holding dies at 95

Carol Holding, matriarch of the family that has for decades owned and stewarded Sun Valley Resort, died Sunday at age 95.

www.mtexpress.com

The Holdings purchased Sun Valley Resort for about $12 million in 1977...After buying the resort, the Holdings launched a quest to improve its infrastructure for the long term and set a course to return it to its glory days of the 1930s and ‘40s...

In 2006, Claude Guigon, then Sun Valley Co.’s assistant general manager, told the Express that Carol and Earl Holding worked as a team every time they visited Sun Valley, personally inspecting hotel rooms and meeting with staff members.

 

[marzNC]

At Sun Valley the free cubbies at River Run (and Warm Springs I think) were one of those things for me. It made life SO easy, and it was so pleasant booting up in front of the fire with a bowl of steel cut oats then putting my bag in a cubby. They stopped allowing that during Covid then last year only had outdoor bag check for IKON passholders. I found this to be such a bummer even (though the ski check that allows free ski check for lodge guests guys let me leave my bag with them for free when I was skiing). Are the River Run cubbies still either gone or not usable?

Don't know. I didn't go into the River Run lodge at all this trip. Since I either drove or walked from the condo, didn't have a reason to go in. Wanted to check it out but ran out of time since I decided to head have lunch at the condo the second day before driving to Dollar.

 

[marzNC]

We will have to brace ourselves for potentially big changes at SV. Owner Mrs. Holding died in December; Mr. Holding died a few years ago. SV was their pet project; they had their oil money and didn't care too much if SV was profitable. They famously had a saying that "anything worth doing is worth overdoing." They just wanted it to be the best. There has long been speculation about what will happen when their kids get their paws on the resort. The nightmare of course is that it's sold to Alterra or Vail or any other money grubbing entity that doesn't care about doing everything right.

Resort owner Carol Holding dies at 95

Carol Holding, matriarch of the family that has for decades owned and stewarded Sun Valley Resort, died Sunday at age 95.

www.mtexpress.com

The Holdings purchased Sun Valley Resort for about $12 million in 1977...After buying the resort, the Holdings launched a quest to improve its infrastructure for the long term and set a course to return it to its glory days of the 1930s and ‘40s...

In 2006, Claude Guigon, then Sun Valley Co.’s assistant general manager, told the Express that Carol and Earl Holding worked as a team every time they visited Sun Valley, personally inspecting hotel rooms and meeting with staff members.

Thanks for the link.

There is a large portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Holding on the main floor of the Dollar lodge. Officially the name is Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge.

Have you looked at the new Master Plan for the Sun Valley Village?

July 2024

Sun Valley Resort eyes large village revamp

The Sun Valley Village first sprang up nearly 90 years ago, when the historic Sun Valley Lodge opened in time for the 1936 ski season. Now, preliminary plans are looking at what the next chapter of the area might look like as it heads towards its 100-year birthday. The Sun Valley Company...

boisedev.com

There is a website dedicated to the future of Sun Valley.

The Future of Sun Valley

Explore the future of Sun Valley

www.futureofsunvalley.com

There is a huge book (500+ pages) about the history of Sun Valley that was published in November 2020. Written by the same man who recently published the book about being on SV ski patrol in the 1960s. It's clear that the archives that exist for Sun Valley are extensive for a variety of reasons. He had a lot of pictures to choose from for inclusion in the book.

 

[Christy]

The Village is so quiet and underutilized, and not historic, so I don't think anyone will mind if that changes. Konditeri is there but so popular I don't thick they will nix it. I love the Opera House, or the fact of it anyway, but it's ancient on the inside. It's not super comfortable to see a movie there. Renovating that would be great.

 

[marzNC]

There is a huge book (500+ pages) about the history of Sun Valley that was published in November 2020. Written by the same man who recently published the book about being on SV ski patrol in the 1960s. It's clear that the archives that exist for Sun Valley are extensive for a variety of reasons. He had a lot of pictures to choose from for inclusion in the book.

Got mixed up. The Sun Valley history book was written by John Lundin. He wrote the Foreword for the book by Dave Laster.

 

[VickiK]

Do you remember the other places you had a good dinner?

La Cabanita Mex, on 5th St. Great food and lively atmosphere.

Sawtooth Club had the best, most tender, moistest meatloaf I've ever had. Wonderful artwork throughout the place, at least on the 2nd floor.

Sun Valley Lodge was amazing. So elegant. I loved the long hallway filled with photographs of all the celebrities who stayed there and skied there. Like Jean-Claude Killy below...

 

[marzNC]

Got mixed up. The Sun Valley history book was written by John Lundin. He wrote the Foreword for the book by Dave Laster.

For people curious about the big history book . . .

Scroll down for a detailed introduction to Skiing Sun Valley: a History from Union Pacific to the Holdings, published by The History Press in 2020, by John Lundin. Lundin had a career that had nothing to do with being a ski bum. What makes Sun Valley unique is that the concept of "resort skiing" stems from what was created in Ketchum back in the 1930s and re-vitalized by the Holding family starting in the late 1970s.

Books – John W. Lundin

The installation of snow making on core groomers made a huge difference for Sun Valley, both at Dollar and Bald. Otherwise, there was no way to guarantee slopes would be open by the Christmas winter break. The same could be said for Snowbasin, bought by the Holdens in 1984. As someone who skis in the Southeast at 4-season resorts founded in the 1960s or 1970s with 100% snowmaking, makes sense.

 

[marzNC]

@VickiK , @santacruz skier : what were a couple of your favorite runs on Bald Mountain?