The Sun Valley Co. is one step closer to installing a gondola at the foot of River Run after gaining floodplain design review approval for a base station from the Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission.
At a meeting on Monday, Nick Latham, architect for many of the resort's projects, presented plans for the gondola base station, which would look similar to the terminals for the high-speed quad chairlifts built on Dollar Mountain last year.
City Planner Stefanie Webster said that while the property is actually located in Blaine County, it's Ketchum's responsibility to process permits at River Run, as determined by an area-of-city-impact agreement between the county and Ketchum.
Webster said that although portions of the property lie in the floodplain, the gondola station would not, nor would it be in a riparian area.
The lower terminal would be about 75 feet long and 28 feet high, and be located behind the day lodge on the southern end of the patio near the mountain operations building. Latham said the terminal's two foundation supports would be covered in river rock and capped with concrete to mimic the design of the River Run day lodge.
Stairs would lead up to the station, which would be raised above the existing patio, as would an ADA-accessible ramp. The station would be designed to allow wheelchairs to roll directly into the gondola cars without the need of an additional ramp.
Latham said the gondola would be used year-round and make downloading easier for hikers and exhausted skiers.
Gunnar Gladdics, an associate architect with Ruscitto/Latham/Blanton, said construction can begin as soon as Sun Valley Co. obtains a building permit. He said that even if the permit is received in the next couple of weeks, the concrete footings might not be poured until next spring depending on the schedule of Doppelmayr, a well-known gondola manufacturer.
Once constructed, the gondola would take skiers up to the Roundhouse Restaurant, the renovation of which, along with the gondola, is part of Phase 1 of the Bald Mountain Master Plan, approved by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management last winter.
Commissioner Rich Fabiano voiced the only concern regarding the terminal station, saying it could mean the end of concerts at River Run.
