STORY BY JOHN W. LUNDIN

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE COMMUNITY LIBRARY

During the first year of Sun Valley’s operation during the winter of 1936-37, skiers reached the Proctor Mountain chairlift by riding a bus from the Sun Valley Lodge out what is now Fairway Road.

They took it approximately two miles east to a turnaround where the loading station for a J-bar was located.  The J-bar, called a “drag line,” pulled skiers three-quarters of a mile uphill to the beginning of the Proctor Mountain chairlift.  

Sun Valley Ski Instructor Florian Haemmerle prepared the grub at the Hot Potato Inn on Proctor Mountain.

An aerial picture of the Sun Valley area taken about 1938 shows a road, now called Old Dollar Road, leading from Sun Valley to where it splits at the present four-way stop sign where Sun Valley’s City Hall now stands. One branch goes west along Trail Creek, and was known as Dollar Mountain Road until the 1990s when it was renamed Fairway Road.

Buses from Sun Valley took skiers on this road to reach the Proctor Mountain J-bar in 1937, and directly to the chairlift from 1938 on.  The other branch goes south to the base of Dollar Mountain and its chairlift, where it ends.  Today, that branch continues into Elkhorn and is known as Elkhorn Road.  Saddle Road is not shown in this picture.

The J-bar had an angle station where it changed directions and led to the lower terminal of the Proctor Mountain chairlift.  In summer 1937, the J-bar was moved to Ruud Mountain, and the road was extended to reach the base of the Proctor Mountain chairlift.

In winter 1937, the Proctor Mountain J-bar moved at 400 feet per minute 3,050 feet up a narrow valley to the base of the chairlift, which was 320 feet above the valley.

Charles Proctor helped lay out the runs on Proctor Mountain.

The ski tow line was similar in all essential respect to the chair lines except that padded bars were provided in place of the chairs.  On this line the skier grabbed a rope and allowed himself to be conveyed up the incline standing up.       

At the end of the J-Bar, skiers loaded onto a chairlift taking them up the mountain to a small plateau below the peak of Proctor Mountain, an elevation gain of 1,500 feet.

The J-Bar cable was manufactured by American Steel and Wire, and attachments were hung from a circulating overhead cable in a similar manner to chairs on the area’s chairlifts.

However, the J-bar wasn’t a very good lift, according to Val McAtee: “It swung so bad that the cable kept coming off the wheels.”

Sun Valley was a snowy expanse when skiers first tried carving turns on Proctor Mountain and Dollar Mountain.

Ed Seagle said the J-bar hung from cables but would sag between the poles going up the hill.  People would compensate by leaning back, sitting on the padded seat support cussing. And then they’d fall off.   As a result, it was just used for one year.

When Sun Valley opened in December 1936, it offered two chairlifts giving quick and easy access to surrounding terrain: one on Dollar Mountain, the beginner’s area with “short, easy runs” and the second on Proctor Mountain, the expert area, that gave access to “a large area of country for open downhill running of all kinds.”

Bald Mountain was considered too challenging for skiers in 1936 so chairlifts were not installed there until the winter of 1940, although the mountain was used for backcountry skiing for those willing to climb up before skiing down.

Sun Valley’s publicity said the lifts “are of a new design which will carry the skier up in a comfortable chair but will not necessitate the removal of skis.”

A skier makes some nice turns on Proctor Mountain despite the heavy wooden skis of those days.

Proctor Mountain offered expert skiing with more terrain and longer runs, and Dollar had easier skiing and was where beginner’s ski lessons were offered.  Small cabins were built on top of Dollar and below the summit of Proctor, where skiers could escape the elements, have lunch or relax. Sun Valley buses left the lodge every 10 minutes, taking skiers to the ski hills.  Lift tickets cost $15 a week and ski lessons were $3.50 for a half-day and $5 for all day.

From the top of the Proctor chairlift, there was a variety of skiing in all directions--both steep and long and steep and gentle--to the valley floor. Climbing from the top station to the top of Proctor gave access to longer runs of one or two miles on open slopes and ridges, through valleys and ravines.

Skiers could go along the top of Elkhorn Ridge to access runs into Elkhorn Valley or east into the Pioneer Mountains for backcountry skiing.

Sun Valley’s extensive backcountry areas were described in two documents.  “The Skiing” is a document in the Proctor Family Collection, likely written by John E.P. Morgan and Charles Proctor in either late 1936 after the chairlifts were built or early 1937 before the Harriman Cup downhill was held on a mountain north of town.  It provides details about the extensive backcountry skiing available around Sun Valley.

Backcountry routes were marked for skiers to follow.  A book published by Union Pacific in 1948, Sun Valley Ski Guide, by Sun Valley ski instructor Andy Hennig, described ski runs at Sun Valley, both on the lift-served mountains and at the numerous locations for backcountry around the resort.  

According to Hennig, Proctor Mountain was the principal lift-served mountain from 1936 to 1939--“an ideal ski mountain, offering every type of terrain and every grade of ski slope.  The snow conditions most of the time are excellent.”

It was located at 7,500 feet elevation, had a vertical drop of 1,150 feet and it was 3,540 feet long.  In early winter, the hill had powder snow, and it offered “wonderful spring snow.”  The top lift station and the nearby Proctor cabin were sheltered by peaks and ridges.

Hennig showed 25 runs on Proctor, plus variations for several of them, some requiring climbing to the top of the mountain from the top lift station.  Some runs led to areas east of Proctor Mountain into the Pioneer Mountains, where backcountry skiing could take place.  

The Face Run, for advanced skiers, started from the top station, went down Proctor Mountain’s west face, and had several variations: runs to the right and left of the chair, and one along the chairlift to its base.     

From the top of the Proctor lift, skiers could climb up to a ridge, gaining 500 feet of elevation, reaching longer runs providing still greater variety.  Skiing down the spectacular north face slope of this peak into the tremendous, wide bowl, “is in itself an exciting thrill for the expert skier.” The guide said.

From the base of the bowl, several runs continued down the hill to the bottom of Proctor Mountain.

Beutter Ridge, to the right of the chair going uphill, was reached by skiing down from the top lift station into a wide bowl, followed by a 15-minute climb to the next ridge’s summit (later named Ruud Mountain when a ski jumping center was created there), to a slope that dropped 1,000 feet into the valley, providing a 1.5-mile run with 1,150 feet of vertical.

Back Pay Gulch named for the mountain’s original name was Proctor Mountain’s easiest run.  From the top station, skiers went right, crossed the upper part of the bowl, then skied down a timber-free slope to Back Pay Gulch, which widened as it descended to a bus pickup point.  The run was 2.5 miles long with 1,550 feet of vertical.

Several ski runs led away from the top of Proctor Mountain.  To reach Dry Creek Run, skiers climbed for 10 minutes from Proctor Cabin to a saddle, traversed to the next ridge, then went east down a long, partially timbered ridge to Trail Creek Cabin, where bus transportation could be arranged back to Sun Valley.

Victor Run, for intermediates, was a gentle combination of a downhill run and a cross-country trip.  It began by going left from the top station, climbing for 30 minutes up White Face, then skiing through a “thrillingly long and wonderful ski bowl,” ending between Proctor Mountain and Prospect Hill where skiers could go to the Dollar lift station.

From the top of Proctor Mountain, ski routes led east into the Pioneer Mountains toward Uncle John’s Cabin and the Corral Creek Road.  Snowcat skiing, which began in 1938, is shown on the map up the Corral Creek Run to the northeast of Sun Valley.  Pioneer Cabin could be reached by skis from Corral Creek, offering extensive backcountry skiing in the surrounding basin and hills.

Morgan Ridge Run, named for John E.P. Morgan, was for advanced skiers and provided excellent skiing from February until late May.

“For those who like to ski on untracked snow fields and enjoy touring, this trip is highly recommended,” the guide said.

The run was four miles long, had 2,100 feet of vertical and involved a climb of 1.5 to 2.5 hours.  From the Proctor Cabin, skiers climbed 10 minutes to a saddle, then followed several ridges until the last long one led to the top of Morgan Ridge.  From there, two long and steep timber-free ridges led east into the Pioneer Mountains down into the Corral Creek valley.

The left ridge ended near the junction of Trail Creek Road and Corral Creek Road.  The right ridge ended further back on Corral Creek, near Uncle Johns Cabin.  It was important to start before 11 a.m., and it “should not be undertaken unless good weather conditions prevail,” the guide cautioned.

Skiers could arrange for a dog team to meet them at Uncle Johns Cabin for a return to the Lodge.

From the top of Proctor Mountain, advanced skiers could also go south along the rim of Elk Horn Canyon (the original spelling) to reach three excellent runs from the rim down into the canyon leading to the Elk Horn Cabin.  The longest route consisted of a total of five miles of skiing on the Elkhorn ridge top from the Proctor lift south, a 2.5-mile downhill run into the canyon and a mile and a half of flat skiing on the Elkhorn Horseshoe.

“It is a beautiful tour for the skilled skier with necessary endurance,” skiers were told.

Charles Proctor’s article about Sun Valley in American Ski Annual, 1936, said “cabins and shelters have been located at convenient places so the ski tourer will find comfortable camps for spending the night or for lunch.”

They included Elk Horn cabin in Elk Horn Valley, Uncle Tom’s Cabin just east of the Elk Horn Ridge south of Proctor Mountain and Saw Mill Cabin further east on Corral Creek.

“The Skiing” describes backcountry ski trails to Corral Creek Cabin and the Devil’s Bedstead Area.  Corral Creek was four miles from the Lodge, and the Corral Creek Cabin or Sawmill Cabin was at the forks of Corral Creek.

One fork of Corral Creek led four miles farther into the Devil’s Bedstead section of the Pioneer Range to an elevation of 12.000 feet. Corral Creek Cabin could be reached by skis or dog sled carrying provisions and sleeping bags.  The Devil’s Bedstead run went along a ridge down to the cabin.  It was suitable for skiers of medium ability but some skiing in the spring was for the expert only.

“Do not undertake an outlying section, such as this one, without a guide,” skiers were warned.

Proctor Mountain was Sun Valley’s expert hill until chairlifts were installed on Bald Mountain, which opened for general skiing in winter 1940.  Thereafter, Proctor Mountain was just used occasionally, as advanced skiers preferred Baldy.

The Proctor chair was removed in 1951 and transferred to Baldy, ending Proctor Mountain’s status as a lift-served ski area.  Backcountry skiers continued to climb Proctor to take advantage of its variety of slopes. It continues to be a popular ski hill to this day.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Learn about the ski jumping competitions that followed and more when John W. Lundin’s look at Proctor Mountain concludes in Eye on Sun Valley. Lundin, a lawyer, has written several ski history books, including the award-winning “Skiing Sun Valley: A History from Union Pacific to the Holdings.”