Sun Valley's 71st ski season is officially over. Despite a low skier tally and less-than-stellar snowfall totals, the season ended with more of a bang than a whimper.
"It was actually a pretty good year," said Ketchum resident Dan Daigh at Saturday's end-of-season party in Warm Springs Village. "I skied 31 days, which is a record for me, and the non-groomed trails kept some really nice bumps this season."
According to Sun Valley Co., Daigh was one of 362,317 skiers, snowboarders and day-pass visitors on Bald and Dollar mountains this winter. This is 11 percent below the 12-year average and the lowest overall total for that same time period.
Last year, Sun Valley recorded 420,517 visitors on the two ski mountains.
This season saw fewer ski days as well. The length of the season, 137 days, is nine days below the average for the past decade.
Last year, Sun Valley Co. extended the ski season to 152 days.
The paramount factor in the low skier count was probably snow—actually, its scarcity. Last year saw more than 300 inches of natural cover compared to the estimated 144 inches that fell over the 2006-2007 season.
"Pass sales were actually up this year," said Jack Sibbach, the resort's director of sales, marketing and public relations. "What was down was the pass usage. The drive market (which includes Twin Falls, Boise and the surrounding areas) was way down this year."
This means skiers bought passes at the beginning of the season, but low snowfall and less-than-optimal conditions led to fewer road trips for many.
Sibbach said that season pass usage was down roughly 10 percent, 20/20 pass usage was down 15 percent and weekend passage usage was down 20 percent.
For some, though, the low snowfall actually lent to better conditions on the mountain.
Tal Roberts, half-pipe and parks supervisor on Baldy, said conditions in the pipe were "epic. It was always busy up there."
Unlike last year, when fresh snow constantly had to be snow-blown out of the flats of the pipe, this year skiers and snowboarders saw fast runs nearly all year long.
"Even though we didn't get a lot of snow, this year was phenomenal," Roberts said.
With the possibility of a new terrain park on Baldy next season, Roberts has high hopes for expanding his role on the mountain.
"I am definitely looking forward to doing more next year," Roberts said, emphasizing that the terrain park is in no way geared solely toward snowboarders but simply toward "people who want to hit jumps and explore different types of terrain."
Local mountain enthusiast and 20/20 pass holder Kitt Doucette appeared to take the dry year in stride.
"I had some good early days, but my powder days were minimal," Doucette said.
The collective optimism evident throughout Warm Springs Village the day before the end of the season, speaks to the hard work of Sun Valley Co.'s mountain management team and to the world-class snowmaking systems on Baldy and Dollar.
"The mountain department deserves great kudos for what they have done," Sibbach said. "And not just the mountain department, but the groomers as well. I don't know if any other resort could have pulled it off."
Sibbach said the snowmaking capabilities proved to be an invaluable asset "to the local economy and a benefit to the area as a whole. We measure business in more than skier numbers."
Sun Valley Co. is reporting that occupancy rates at the resort were as good as last year.
"We are always optimistic and always moving forward," Sibbach said.
Summer plans for Sun Valley Co. include:
· Saturday, June 30, is the target date for the reopening of chair lifts on Bald Mountain for hiking, biking and sightseeing.
· A plan to reopen in mid-June the Gun Club in its new location roughly a mile east of the former site, on the north side of Trail Creek road.
· A plan to start replacing two of Dollar Mountain's three chair lifts with detachable quads. Quarter Dollar and the Dollar Mountain lifts are slated to be replaced with top-of-the-line Dopplmayr lifts.
· Construction on the new Symphony Pavilion should start this summer. It is scheduled to be completed by mid-summer of 2008.
· Construction of the nine-hole Gun Club Nine Golf Course will resume in May. It is scheduled to be completed in spring of 2008.
· Trail Creek Cabin will be open for the first time in its 70-year history for summer service.
Warm Springs Village featured music, dancing, good times and, of course, hula-hoops on Saturday, April 8, for the annual end-of-season bash. The street dance has become a way for local residents to bid ?adieu? to skiing on Bald Mountain. Photo by Willy Cook
