When it comes to making Sun Valley one of the top ski resorts in North America, Earl Holding is not resting on his laurels.
After making numerous costly improvements that have helped ensure Sun Valley is perennially ranked with the likes of Aspen, Colo., and Park City, Utah, the longtime resort owner last year proposed an ambitious set of projects for enhancing skiing and snowboarding facilities on Bald Mountain, the resort's main ski area.
The most significant aspects of the plan call for installing a gondola from the River Run base area to Roundhouse restaurant, development of new beginner ski terrain between the Seattle Ridge Lodge and Turkey Bowl and construction of a new expert ski trail on Guyer Ridge, on the western edge of the Warm Springs face.
The plans were presented in February 2005, as part of a proposal to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management—the managers of Bald Mountain's public lands—to extend the ski area operating permit and update the Bald Mountain Master Development Plan.
Sun Valley Co.'s ski-area use permit for Bald Mountain is set to expire in December 2007. The resort operator is now seeking to extend the permit for 40 years and to gain approval for a 10-year update of the mountain's development plan.
Wally Huffman, Sun Valley Co. general manager, has said installing the River Run gondola and completely remodeling the historic Roundhouse restaurant are two high priorities for the company.
The gondola would not only give novice skiers easier access to the Seattle Ridge area of Baldy, Huffman has said, it would allow the resort to offer year-round dining at Roundhouse, in the day and the evening.
The projects in the proposed 10-year master plan are divided into three phases, with those in Phase 1 comprising the highest priorities for Holding and Sun Valley Co.
Phase 1 of the plan proposes:
· Constructing a new expert trail on Guyer Ridge, located immediately west of the existing ski area boundary. The trail would run from International ski run along the ridgeline and into Cozy ski run, requiring a boundary adjustment and cutting and filling of the landscape.
· Constructing a new intermediate ski trail on Seattle Ridge, covering 6.1 acres between Christin's Silver and Broadway ski runs.
· Gaining approval to use existing snowmaking facilities in the Frenchman's Gulch area. Noise tests of that equipment, to determine if it would disturb Ketchum residents, are being conducted.
· Installing new snowmaking facilities on Olympic Lane, Roundhouse Slope, Upper and Lower Broadway, Upper Cozy, Upper Hemingway, Christmas Bowl and Brick's Island ski runs.
· Installing the River Run gondola to the Roundhouse and removing the Exhibition triple chairlift.
· Remodeling the Roundhouse building and expanding its operating period.
· Developing a terrain park.
Phase 2 of the 10-year plan proposes:
· Developing a set of new beginner trails southeast of the Seattle Ridge Lodge, on a 72-acre parcel located adjacent to the southern edge of the ski area boundary. A new detachable quad chairlift and snowmaking would service 483 vertical feet of terrain off the top of Seattle Ridge.
· Replacing the Cold Springs double chairlift with a detachable quad chairlift.
· Replacing the triple Mayday chairlift with a detachable quad chairlift.
· Upgrading and expanding—or replacing—the Lookout Restaurant.
Phase 3 of the plan, the final phase, calls for:
· Replacing the existing Christmas quad chairlift with a detachable quad or 6-place chairlift.
· Developing new ski terrain in a 100-acre area called "Pod G," located east of the Cold Springs lift and south of Olympic Ridge. The area—which is within the currently permitted ski-area boundary—would include several intermediate and advanced ski trails serviced by snowmaking and a detachable quad chairlift.
· Replacing the existing Challenger detachable quad chairlift on the Warm Springs side with a new high-speed chairlift or gondola.
In his approximately 30-year tenure as owner of Sun Valley, Holding has installed one of North America's premier snowmaking systems on Baldy, built four world-class day lodges at Baldy and Dollar Mountain, and has upgraded many of the lifts. The improvements cost tens of millions of dollars.
"The investments he's made, especially in the snowmaking, have made Sun Valley the great ski resort that it is today," said Jack Sibbach, the resort's director of sales, marketing and public relations.
Ecosign Mountain Resort Planners, based in Whistler, British Columbia, developed the Bald Mountain Master Development Plan update. The last update of the plan—which was approved in 1989—is considered to be mostly built out.
Currently, Bald Mountain is developed with 14 ski lifts, 65 ski runs and five restaurants.
The Forest Service has tentatively endorsed the plan and will conduct an environmental-impact study of the proposed projects. A final decision on whether to approve the proposed 40-year permit extension and master plan update could be made by later this year.
Also in development are plans for improving facilities at Dollar Mountain. They include replacing the Quarter Dollar, Half Dollar, Dollar and Elkhorn lifts with detachable quad chairlifts, installing permanent snowmaking equipment across the mountain, a new snowboarding half-pipe and a new terrain park.
