STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Sun Valley Resort has opened its Nordic Center, and it will open the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain on Saturday, Dec. 8.

The Warm Springs side of the mountain will open ahead of the Warm Springs Lodge, which will reopen on Dec. 15, despite the furniture destined for the lodge getting held up in customs.

Skiers can expect to make fresh tracks on Flying Squirrel, Lower Picabo and Lower Warm Springs on Saturday, Dec. 8. Makeshift restrooms and ticketing services will be set up on the Warm Springs side of the mountain until the Warm Springs Day Lodge reopens.

The public is invited to the official grand reopening celebration of the lodge on Saturday, Dec. 22. A ribbon cutting will be held at 11 a.m. and hot chocolate chip cookies—the signature dish of the lodge—will be offered.

The new lodge will have regional craft beers on tap, cappuccino and espresso and pastries served up at the new Konditorei Warm Springs.

• The Roundhouse will open daily for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7. Friday and Saturday evening dinners at the historic restaurant will begin the following weekend on Dec. 14. For reservations, call 208-622-2135.
• Dollar Mountain will reopen for the season on Saturday, Dec. 8 with three terrain parks, three lifts and seven runs in service. Carol’s Dollar Mountain lodge will have breakfast, snacks, lunch and beverages on hand.
• The Sun Valley Nordic Center has opened with four groomed trails and more than seven kilometers of classic and skate skiing, along with eight kilometers of snowshoeing trails. Runs open so far include the Practice Loop, Leif’s Loop, Hemingway Trail and White Cloud Loop.

  And the skiing is smooth as silk, with the sun warming the snow so it's not pasty.

• This is a boon for the Nordic Center, considering it struggled last season to open and remain open. There wasn’t any snow on the ground during the Sun Valley Christmas Tree Lighting in mid-December last year.

• The BCRD, meanwhile, groomed the bike path near Ketchum on Tuesday. And skiers happily played on plenty of snow at Galena lodge, despite cold temperatures. It was minus-17 at the lodge when Muffy Ritz pulled into the parking lot early Tuesday morning. But a bunch of VAMPS led by Sloan Storey happily followed adult and baby wolf tracks up Horse Creek in the warming sun.

CATCH THE MUSIC:

Apres ski music will this weekend will feature the Andrew Sheppard Band from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at the River Run Day Lodge. The Piston Bullies will play on Saturday, Dec. 8.