STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Cyndi Terry couldn’t bear the thought of Sun Valley Resort’s ski season uniforms going to the landfill when she heard the resort was getting new Mammut uniforms this year.

So, she concocted Uni Cycle, a combination of the words “uniform” and “upcycle.”

With the resort’s permission, Terry began busying herself turning uniforms worn by ski instructors, ski patrol, lift operators and guest services volunteers from 2015 to 2024 into Christmas stockings, pillows, tote bags, pouches, sunglass cases, fanny packs, backpacks and even cute little teddy bears.

Each item comes with Sun Valley ski pins that Cyndi Terry is recycling, as well.

The eco-conscious creations are available at the Brass Ranch at River Run Plaza and at Pete Lane’s in the Warm Springs Lodge.

“It’s difficult for Sun Valley to donate the old uniforms because they don’t want people walking around with the Sun Valley logo. But I couldn’t bear the thought of them going to a landfill,” said Terry, a Guest Services supervisor who is in her seventh year of working with Sun Valley’s “Yellowjackets.”

Some at Sun Valley had looked into the idea of having someone back East recycle the uniforms. But Terry easily convinced them: Why do it there when I can do it here?

Terry also knits ski hats, calling them CAT KNIT hats for the initials of her name.

Even the Park Crew has made it into Cyndi Terry’s little day pack.

“I’m an Idaho girl from Pocatello and I would accompany my friends to the LDS Church’s afterschool program, even though I am not Mormon. And there I would learn to knit and sew. And my mother and grandmother did it all, too, so I come by these skills honestly,” she said.

Terry said she quickly realized that, in order to truly upcycle something, every part of the new creation had to come from a uniform.

“There are no new parts in anything I make except for the thread and my label. Each item also features a unique Sun Valley pin from past seasons, which would have otherwise been discarded,” she said.

Terry is constantly trying to think up new creations with the discarded uniforms, which came in red, yellow and dark blue colors. And she hopes to release more items in time for the World Cup Finals.

What youngster wouldn’t want a teddy bear posed to whisper the answers to any question into the child’s ear?

That may be stretching it, though. After all, Terry has been working since last week to shepherd some 300 volunteers assisting with all aspects of the 2025 Audi FIS World Cup Finals being held at Sun Valley March 20-27. That includes hosing down the race courses and parking cars.

“It’s a lot of moving parts—someone gets sick and then you have weather forecasts that call for anywhere between one to 2 feet of new snow. All that means that you end up working by the seat of your pants,” she said. “But it’s so fun and exciting.”

Those who purchase the upcycled items, including the overalls to the right, are in possession of a unique piece of Sun Valley history, says Cyndi Terry.