STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain opens for the season today, just one week after the opening of Sun Valley Resort’s 84th winter season.
Flying Squirrel will provide access to the Warm Springs side from the top of the mountain. Lower Picabo Street and Lower Warm Springs will also be open, said Kelli Lusk, Sun Valley’s communication manager.
They join Ridge and Blue Grouse, which opened on Friday to scads of eager skiers and boarders who couldn’t wait to make their first turns of the year on Ridge. They made their turns in the sun as Baldy poked through a silver white cloud cover that stretched from Timmerman Hill to the mountains north of Sun Valley, leaving mountain tops jutting through like islands.
The Challenger lift will ferry skiers 3,400 feet from the bottom of Warm Springs to the mountain top. And the gondola resumed service for the season after a brief hiatus following Thanksgiving Weekend and
Sun Valley had a strong opening to its season, thanks to two feet of snow that fell on Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day, said Lusk. Skier counts were up 17 percent from last year.
“We’re so excited. We can’t wait to get the rest of Baldy open,” she said.
Mountain managers elected to leave Dollar Mountain closed on Thanksgiving Weekend to give their utmost attention to Bald Mountain after a balmy November full of bluebird skies. But Dollar Mountain will open for the season on Friday, Dec. 13.
The historic Roundhouse Restaurant opened for lunch on Friday, with a menu that included Lobster Roll and Harriman’s Croque Monsieur. It will open for dinner beginning Friday, Dec. 13. Call 208-622-2800 for reservations.
Trail Creek Cabin will also open for the winter season on Friday, Dec. 13, with a menu featuring Buffalo Tenderloin and Rocky Mountain Venison Chops. Call 208-622-2135 for reservations.