STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The winter of 2018-19 put a big smile on the faces of those who work for Sun Valley Resort.
Sun Valley counted 426,500 skier days during the season—one of the highest in 20 years. Lusk said 436,000 skier visit days were recorded during the 1996-97 season.
February broke all records for most snow piling up in one month with 136 inches or 11.5 feet falling on Bald Mountain.
The resort got about 215 inches for the season—just under the seasonal average of about 220 inches, said Kelli Lusk, resort spokesperson.
Sun Valley’s season extended 151 days, starting with an early opening day as Thanksgiving fell on Nov. 22. With Easter coming late, it ended its season later than some years on April 21.
In between the resort launched the new and improved Warm Springs Lodge, built in just over 200 days after suffering massive damage in a fire a few days following the end of the 2017-18 season.
“We appreciate the support of our guests, Mother Nature and the dedication of our outstanding resort team for making this an exceptional season, said Tim Silva, Sun Valley Resort’s vice president and general manager. “We had one of the strongest seasons to date with record-setting snow in February and conditions that kept the momentum going through spring.”
Sun Valley joined the Epic Pass collective and is offering a new Sun and Snow Pass with sister resort Snowbasin for the 2019-20 season. Those and other passes are being offered at best pricing points through the end of May.
Next year the resort will also see the return of the National Brotherhood of Skiers, a group of African-American skiers who know how to stir up fun wherever they go.
And Sun Valley will host a Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame induction gathering.
The eagerly awaited new Cold Springs lift, Broadway expansion and addition of Turkey Bowl to Sun Valley’s skiing acreage will be put on hold one year, however, due to a revamping of the original plans for the chairlift. The reconfigured chairlift will provide a better experience, said Mike Fitzpatrick, Sun Valley’s director of marketing.