BY KAREN BOSSICK

After two days of going head-to-head racing around giant slalom gates, bouncing over moguls and catching big air, Harlan Collins had one last statement to make.

He hoisted the two-foot-wide Sun Valley Stampede trophy to his shoulders, took it to the top of Bald Mountain and skied down to the mid-mountain Roundhouse Restaurant with it, making an overexuberant entry skiing onto the concrete to the astonishment and bemusement of those enjoying afternoon fondue.

The inaugural Sun Valley Stampede—a test of speed, technical control and freestyle moves--is in the books. And, by all accounts, the first-of-its-kind race is one competitors can’t wait to see brought back.

Skiers tested their speed on the first part of the course. PHOTO: Karen Bossick

“It’s an incredible event, and it brought together so many incredible skiers,” said Jackson Hole’s Jim Ryan, who finished runner-up in his quest to prove himself Best Male Skier in the West.

The event was capped at 190 racers, leaving multiple other wanna-be racers looking on as spectators because that’s all Sun Valley Resort could handle during the qualifying rounds on Saturday.

They competed through snow showers, sun, sprinkles, sun, snow showers and more sun. And on Sunday the top 32 men and the top 16 women returned to compete on the course again—this time on what locals said was the hardest snow Sun Valley has had all winter after Saturday’s soft snow froze following overnight lows of 12 degrees.

“It was scary,” said Ellis Mallett, a Sun Valley ski racer who wore glitter on her face to add to the good vibe. “The conditions on Sunday were not great—they were icy. But it’s a small town thing so I thought I might as well give it a try. I made it through the qualifier but Sunday’s conditions were more interesting.”

A skier slides across a rail. PHOTO: Karen Bossick

Racers started the course just below Challenger mid-station, racing around Giant Slalom gates before traversing off Warm Springs where they performed back flips, front flips and 720-degree spins on big air jumps.

From there they raced through the bumps on an off-piste section sporting brushy conditions given this year’s low snowpack. At the bottom they caught another jump, curved around a banked section and rode through a skier cross section before coming out onto a playground of rails and more jumps.

“Wow! said one ski instructor as she watched skiers compete.

Competitors came from throughout the West—from Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Red Mountain in Canada, Crystal Mountain and Mt. Baker in Washington, Palisades in California and Alta and Powder Mountain in Utah.

Two jumps at the top of Race Arena offered opportunity to catch big air. COURTESY: Sun Valley Resort

There was even a race team from Bozeman, Mont.

But, when it was over, two Sun Valley skiers stood with $2,500 checks in their hands.

Harlan Collins, a professional skier-turned big mountain skier, won Best Male Skier in the West. His final competitor in his fifth matchup on Sunday was ski racer-turned big-mountain skier Jim Ryan, who lost a ski in the final race but finished the course in bold style making multiple jumps on one ski.

Ruby Smith, a 17-year-old ski racer, won Best Female Skier in the West, beating her Sun Valley teammate Samantha Milne.

Rocky Mountain Hardware designed the trophy.

Collins’ friends poured beer on his head as he crossed the finish line. And Smith’s friends were loud and proud.

Other skiers were honored for things like Best Crashes and Best Turns.

Sun Valley skier Banks Gilberti performed a 900-degree spin on his last jump, while big mountain skier Drew Peterson of Sun Valley decided the course looked like so much fun that he traded in his judging scorecards for a racing bib.

“He dropped judging to compete because the course looked like so much fun, and he’s now in the finals,” enthused Jake Moe as the brackets continued to their conclusion. “The Sun Valley Stampede lost a judge because the judge saw that the course was too much fun. I love that.”

It was Jake Moe, the co-founder of POWDER Magazine, who pitched the idea for a fun race to stoke the spring vibe at Sun Valley Resort. He had pitched the idea to Whistler, B.C., 10 years earlier.

With Whistler turning him down, he pitched the idea to Sun Valley a few years ago. After the Resort built a World Cup course last year that earned raves from the world’s fastest skiers, Resort officials said, “Let’s go!” in a bid to stage a fun competition in years it’s not hosting the World Cup Finals.

“So, this is a complete dream come to fruition for me. And, once again, Riley Berman—Sun Valley’s competition manager and course setter—rose to the top,” Moe said as he scanned the course on Lower Warm Springs. “His course setting is phenomenal. His creativity, design…he implements things that are a challenge.”

The reason Warms Springs works well as a venue is the sunshine, the music and the steep face, Moe added.

“No other ski area has this. And then you have a resort that provides the full complement of rentals, lodging, food and drink right at the base,” he said.

“The competitors have all told me, ‘This is the funnest thing I’ve ever done.’ One guy told me, ‘This is the best--they need to put this in the Olympics.’ And a 15-year-old kid—Daker Dunn—made it into the finals and his parents were thrilled. He went up against a very seasoned pro in Collin Collins so he didn’t win, but what a thrill.”

The Sun Valley Stampede cements Sun Valley’s reputation as a place of serious skiers.

“And that’s what Averell Harriman set out to do,” said John Lundin, who wrote the history book “Skiing in Sun Valley.”

Sun Valley Resort will host the 2027 Audi FIS World Cup Finals in downhill, Super-G, giant slalom and slalom next March. But the Stampede is expected to return in 2028.

It’s possible it could be expanded to include qualifying runs on Friday so more skiers could take part, Moe said.

“And, perhaps, a Jumbotron could be set up so those sitting on the patio can see the entire races from start to finish,” he added. “Hopefully, we can have the Stampede, World Cup, Stampede and, hopefully the World Cup again.”

THE REST OF THE BEST

Harlan Collins won the Best Male of the West. Others who made it past the top 32:

Jim Ryan

Anders Coulter

Ridge Dirksmeier

Banks Gilberti

Connery Lundin

Teton Brown

Marcus Caston

Harper Mallett

Lucas Campbell

Kole Harle

Kyle Cooper

Collin Collins

Joe Dunn

Alex Leahy

Ethan Marx

Ruby Smith won the 2026 Best Female Skier of the West. Others who made it past the top 16:

Samantha Milne

Madison Rose

Luma Randolph

Parker Crawford

Ella Viesturs

Allison Rathfon

Riley Revallier