BY Hayden Seder
Sun Valley Resort ushered in the beginning of its 83rd season on Thursday, Nov. 22, with top-to-bottom skiing open on Bald Mountain’s 3,400 vertical feet. Both Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain opened at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, with seven runs and four lifts operating on Baldy.
Snow over the opening weekend resulted in even more runs being opened, bringing the total to 11 trails and four lifts (River Run, Lookout Express, Kinderspielplatz, and Christmas). The season has already seen 8 inches of fresh snow, making for a 23-inch base and 25 inches at the top.
On Dollar, Quarter Dollar lift was open to take skiers and riders up to the two terrain parks of Prospector and Mineshaft, along with the runs of Poverty Flats and Quarter Dollar.
“We had a very strong weekend,” said Kelli Lusk, Public Relations & Communications manager at Sun Valley Resort. “We had close to 2,000 people. Each opening day is weather dependent, but we had a strong number of guests both in the lodge and on the mountain.”
In addition to runs and lifts, several lodges were also open for snacks and beverages, including River Run Day Lodge, Lookout Lodge and Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge. Warm Springs Lodge is on schedule to open Saturday, Dec. 15, and on the Warm Springs side, the Challenger and Greyhawk lifts are scheduled to open Friday, Dec. 14.
Skiers were even able to utilize the mountain before opening day with a camp held through the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation taking place the week before.