Thanks  giving came early on Saturday as Sun Valley-area residents lauded Sun Valley Owners Earl and Carol Holding for the new gondola on Bald Mountain.

                About 3,200 people took advantage of free rides to the Roundhouse Restaurant where the Holdings greeted gawkers and posed for pictures, big smiles on their faces.

                “I’m going to the moon,” 3-year-old Liam Nelson chortled to his grandmother Debbie O’Neill, as they prepared to board the gondola. Then he promptly fell asleep.

                The line of people stretched out around the River Run Lodge across the bridge into the parking lot as people awaited their turn.

                “I’m just a little disappointed,” joked Carol Holding as she prepared to cut a humongous ribbon with scissors the size of a hand saw. “Looking around, I’m afraid there’s a few more here than when I opened Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge.”

                As light snow fell, Carol Holding thanked onlookers for their support. “Without your support none of this would have happened. So many of you have said, ‘Welcome home,’ and that’s how we feel—that we’re home.”

                Those attending the Gondola-ganza included a couple from England and a farm family from Wendell. They were greeted by free fudge from Sun Valley’s Chocolate Foundry, free fleece shirts featuring the Sun Valley Heli-Ski logo, and more.

                Young’uns like 3-year-old Whit Brown, of Hailey, climbed aboard a shiny yellow snow groomer while his father Chad Brown had the opportunity to check out the weight of a foot of lift cable.

                Everywhere, smiling Sun Valley employees greeted the crowd.

                “Sun Valley is in a transformation. There are a lot of little things, like the new fire pit for people to hang around after skiing, that will really add up,” said Bill Snadecki, who will check tickets this year.

                Those who made it past the free cookies and cocoa found an array of dishes offered up by Sun Valley’s ski  lodge chefs for just a few bucks, including wienerschnitzel with lingonberry sauce, a garlic chili beef flatbread sandwich, sweet and sour barbecue chicken, seafood jambalaya and blackened salmon Caesar salad.

                “I like the idea of slightly smaller portions—and the price is certainly right,” said Marcia Grabow, looking at the samples, which were about half the size of a regular plate.

                The gondola-ganza even brought out nine Olympians who thumbed some of the first rides on the gondola. They included Betty Bell, Dates Fryberger, Reggie Crist, Sondra Van Ert, Tyler and Terry Palmer, Jon Engen, Maria Maricich, and Muffy Davis.

 “This could be the biggest day of the year,” said Hailey resident Rick Boddie, gazing around at all the people. “This was a great idea. It makes the community more into the mountain.”