During the kickoff to what is always one of the busiest tourism weeks of the year, Sun Valley Resort officials certainly did not want to see rain falling in the Wood River Valley. But rain it did in the days preceding Christmas, and then again on Monday, Dec. 26.
However, it appears that Mother Nature's uncooperative ways have been little more than a nuisance, creating soggy conditions at lower elevations but actually dropping measurable amounts of new snow on the higher flanks of Bald Mountain. And, weather forecasters are saying, wet weather moving in this week will be met with colder temperatures, producing snow in most areas in and around the valley.
Jack Sibbach, Sun Valley Resort sales and marketing director, said the unseasonably warm, wet weather in the past week did have some impact on the resort but perhaps not to the extent some might think. Skier numbers at Sun Valley were solid until Monday, when steady rain fell in the Ketchum area, except near the top of Baldy. Approximately 4,600 skiers and snowboarders hit the resort's slopes Friday, Dec. 23, followed by just over 4,300 Saturday and 3,300 Sunday, Christmas Day.
On Monday, the number dropped to 2,819, well below average.
"Historically, the day after Christmas we should be between 4,000 and 5,000," Sibbach said. "The people who were skiing said it was pretty good but you just couldn't see that well."
Typically, the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is one of the busiest of the year for Sun Valley. This year, Sibbach said, holiday season reservations at the resort are ahead of last year, with occupancy rates at hotels and vacation rentals well above 90 percent.
The wet weather in the valley inconvenienced some air travelers but did not prompt a rash of cancellations, Sibbach said. Nonetheless, he said, if poor weather persists, the resort's bookings for later in the winter season—which are currently very solid—could suffer. Word-of-mouth reports about weather and snow can be very persuasive.
"If this doesn't get better, the weather, we're looking at March reservations, (whether people are) coming back," Sibbach said.
Fortunately, the weather is forecast to improve. The National Weather Service Tuesday predicted that snow showers would move into Central Idaho by Tuesday night and would persist into Thursday and beyond.
Meanwhile, most of Baldy is open for skiing. The mountain received about 2 inches of new snow Monday, bringing the snow base at the top to 58 inches.
"The top half of the mountain is skiing tremendously," Sibbach said. "The snow on the mountain is holding up well."
Compared to other Rocky Mountain resorts, Sun Valley is faring very well, despite the aberrant warm weather. Bogus Basin Mountain Resort, north of Boise, temporarily closed last week because of rain and soft snow conditions. Vail ski area, in Colorado, where reports of very good skiing have abounded, reported Tuesday that it had a 47-inch snow base at mid-mountain. Baldy's mid-mountain base Tuesday was 44 inches.
And, Sibbach said, skier numbers at Sun Valley so far this season are ahead of last year.
Carol Waller, executive director of the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, expressed confidence that the region's tourism industry would hold strong through the holidays.
"People are still streaming in," she said Tuesday. "The weather could have been better, but it's one of those factors you can't control."
Cameron Anderson, of Seattle, foreground, makes his way through the line for the Challenger lift at the Warm Springs base of Bald Mountain Tuesday. "It's nice. They did a great job on the grooming," Anderson said. Another skier described the conditions as "fantastic." Photo by Willy Cook
