STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTO BY PAT BRUDER
Santa ran the chairlift.
Elves danced around the mountain on skis.
Dozens of skiers and boarders wore blinking Christmas lights, just in case the sun didn’t rise to the occasion on Christmas morn.
And there was even a skier dressed as Santa who rode a blow-up reindeer (how, we don’t know!) as Sun Valley Resort celebrated its 86th Christmas.
Dressing alike appears to be in this year A group of five showed off their matching Bogner outfits trimmed in fur. And there were several pairs of skiers in matching outfits—and that’s not including the 87-year-old twins Sandra Sheeline and Sibyl Hansen. That said, the twins did show up. And, yes, they were dressed in matching ski outfits.
Sun Valley has been blessed by copious amounts of snow since its opening on Thanksgiving Day. And on Christmas Eve, the resort gave skiers and boarders an early Christmas present, opening Frenchman’s ski area, which had some enormously deep powder in parts that had stacked up this past month.
You can’t even stick a ski pole to the bottom!
Elkhorn resident Pat Bruder showed up before the gondola started running with her husband Rick Bruder, who was “riding” Santa, thanks to the magic of blow-up costumes. They enjoyed plenty of elbow room on the slopes while other would-be skiers and boarders were at home opening Christmas presents.
“The skiing was great in the morning when I skied. The morning visibility was perfect, and it was nice to have some warmer temperatures for a change as most of last week was very cold,” she said, taking note of balmy temperatures that eventually climbed to 39. “All in all, a very nice morning.”