The rope tow is gone as are midnight races on cafeteria trays and after-party parties, but for those in search of an authentic Tyrolean dining experience, the nearly 70-year-old Roundhouse restaurant serves it up hot with some mean chili and an excellent croque monsieur.
Snowbound in the glow of the four-way fireplace or soaking in streaming sunshine on the deck, the Roundhouse offers a bright respite from the weather and a rousing morning of deep powder turns. In fact, some say stomping a path from the bottom of the Christmas Lift up the death-defying wrought iron stairs to the Roundhouse entrance is like a trip in a time machine.
Opened in 1939, the Roundhouse has been a winter getaway for dishwashers and celebrities alike, a passage to bygone ways of merrymaking.
"We'll have another bottle of wine, please," said the leader of a pack of skiers reveling last winter at a table by the massive stone fireplace in the octagonal structure. Pumping the bellows on his squeezebox, the omnipresent accordion player Tim Eriksen smiled and struck a lively cord to match the "Gemutlichkeit" in the room. For over half a century Eriksen has been accompanying midday meals and other events at various venues with his deep treasure trove of folksy songs.
There is no direct translation for the German word "Gemutlichkeit," but it has something to do with enjoying cold beer, hearty food and great conversation in a friendly atmosphere. That's the essence of the Roundhouse.
For now, according to Sun Valley spokesman Jack Sibbach, the ambiance at the Roundhouse will continue as is.
With impressive views of the Pioneer Mountains to the East and a glimpse of the valley, nearly 2,000 feet below, it is not hard to imagine Averell Harriman admiring the spot in the company of Austrian Count Felix Schaffgotsch as they scoped out the ski terrain in the 1930s.
The Roundhouse was built with some $20,000 in funds saved from the $205,000 budget for Bald Mountain's first ski lift. Pleased with the success of the lift construction, the Union Pacific engineer, William Castagnetto, who oversaw construction spearheaded a project to build a structure using a number of available resources, including a stone mason, who was working in the Grand Canyon.
Reportedly, Harriman balked when he heard that 46 windows had been ordered from Omaha, Neb. for the project, but when he rode up to see the project "he liked it so well that he's the one who named it the Roundhouse," Castagnetto is reported to have said.
Today, the historic restaurant still fills a niche as a fine sit-down dining experience. Although the building was closed for three years in the late 1990s with the advent of the Seattle Ridge and River Run lodges, demand for the experience has kept the Roundhouse alive and kicking.
Since its first season in 1940, the lodge, which has always been a winter establishment, has gone through only minor renovations. In 1954 the original outside deck was enclosed and Wally Huffman, Max McKinnon and Sawtooth Construction put on a new deck in 1976. However, the future of the Roundhouse remains in question.
Strong opinions circle that the structure should remain in its authentic rustic state for the richness of the experience it provides, but language in the Sun Valley Master Plan, now being reviewed by the U.S. Forest Service, elicits a future that provides "more efficient utilization of the Roundhouse facility by extending the operating periods so that the restaurant can be operated on a year-round basis, including evening dining."
Whatever happens to the building with the intended removal of the Exhibition triple chairlift, changes are likely to be tied to plans for a new gondola to run from the River Run base to the Roundhouse.
Master Plan language hints at a new Roundhouse restaurant, but Sibbach said no formal plans have yet been drafted. The plan further indicates that "dining and sightseeing can be offered both during the day and in the evening. When the Christmas lift is replaced with a gondola, the top of Bald Mountain would make an ideal location for evening star gazing when conditions are suitable."
Whatever the future holds, again this winter one of the coziest places for an authentic Sun Valley experience is certainly by the stone fireplace in the Roundhouse with the antique wooden skis crossed above the mantle.
The Roundhouse is located midway up Bald Mountain on the River Run side. The day lodge offers sit down service around a four-sided fireplace and an extensive wine list. Non-skiers may buy a "foot traffic" pass to meet friends for lunch. Reservations are recommended.
Rustic competes with glamour at the Roundhouse. Photo by
