local weather Click for Sun Valley, Idaho Forecast
 front page
 classifieds
 calendar
 last week
 recreation
 subscriptions
 express jobs
 about us
 advertising info

 sun valley guide
 real estate guide
 homefinder
 sv catalogs
 

 

 hemingway

Produced & Maintained by Idaho Mountain Express, Box 1013, Ketchum, ID 83340-1013 
208.726.8060 Voice
208.726.2329 Fax

Copyright © 2002 Express Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 


For the week of December 18 - 23, 2002

Features

It’s a wonderful 
time of the year!

Sun Valley shines with 
Christmas tradition


By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

As the nation’s oldest destination ski resort, Sun Valley abounds with tradition, and at no time is that more evident than during the Christmas holiday season.

After days skiing on the sun-splashed slopes of Bald Mountain, holiday revelers by the hundreds retreat to Sun Valley’s quaint village for a horse-drawn sleigh ride, fireside aperitif, or an elegant banquet in the majestic Sun Valley Lodge.

Days off from skiing prompt cross country ski trips to historic Trail Creek Cabin, shopping in ornamented boutiques, and casual strolls to Ketchum past the famed "Red Barn" at the city’s western entrance.

However, for many visitors and residents alike, one long-standing Sun Valley tradition stands above them all: the Christmas Eve festivities at Sun Valley Lodge.

"It’s a gathering for the holiday spirit," said Jack Sibbach, marketing and public relations director for Sun Valley Resort. "It attracts not only the guests of the resort, but also the locals and their kids. It has become a tradition for a lot of families, an event where they can spend some time to really focus on Christmas."

The Christmas Eve celebration this year will begin with a gathering at 5 p.m. on the terrace of the Lodge, across from the resort’s outdoor ice rink.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., carolers from the Utah State University Drama Department will perform for the crowd, followed some 10 minutes later by the resort’s "Christmas on Ice" show on the outdoor rink.

At approximately 6 p.m., members of the Sun Valley Ski School will lead an extraordinary torchlight parade down the snow-covered slopes of Bald Mountain. To cap off the parade, a fireworks display will light the sky over Bald Mountain, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

After the last flare is launched, Santa will arrive at the ice rink on his sleigh and hand out candy canes to the children.

The evening will conclude after guests are invited to skate on the ice rink that made Norwegian Olympian Sonja Henie a figure-skating film star.

For many, the Christmas Eve celebrations at the Sun Valley Lodge not only elicit a genuine image of Christmas in the Rocky Mountains, but also embody the essence of what Christmas traditions are really all about.

"It’s been a long time this tradition has been going on," Sibbach said. "People have been gathering there at the ice rink on Christmas Eve since 1937."

He added: "For me, and I think for many people who are quite busy during the holidays, that’s when Christmas begins."

Sibbach said many Sun Valley Lodge guests have returned to the resort year after year to celebrate Christmas in and around Sun Valley.

"We have some people who have come back to the Lodge for 45 years, and now they bring their kids and their grandkids," he said. "It’s part of their tradition."

Following the Christmas Eve festivities outdoors, many guests head upstairs in the Lodge for a sumptuous holiday dinner in the Lodge Dining Room, Sibbach noted.

"We have some people who have had dinner there every Christmas Eve for 30 or 40 years."

In addition, other Sun Valley traditions will continue this year throughout the holiday season.

Starting the weekend of Dec. 21, Sun Valley will offer daily sleigh rides and sleigh ride-dinner combinations. Sleighs will take guests to Trail Creek Cabin for lunch or dinner, with nightly departures typically at 6, 7 and 8 p.m.—plus additional trips on certain days.

(If warm, dry weather conditions prevail through the holidays, hay rides will be offered in lieu of sleigh rides, Sibbach noted.)

Starting Friday, Dec. 20, the historic Roundhouse restaurant on Bald Mountain—the ski mountain’s original day lodge—will open for daily lunch service.

From Dec. 16 to Dec. 30, the Utah State carolers will serenade holiday visitors throughout Sun Valley’s main village and its restaurants, as they have done for decades.

For additional information about Christmas Eve events and other holiday activities in Sun Valley, call Sun Valley Resort at 622-2001 or 622-2097.

 

Ski Reports

Homefinder

Mountain Jobs

Formula Sports

Idaho Conservation League

Westridge

Windermere

Edmark GM Superstore : Nampa, Idaho

Premier Resorts Sun Valley

High Country Property Rentals


The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.