Andy Munter is the owner of Backwoods Mountain Sports in Ketchum.
By ANDY MUNTER
Ketchum, Idaho, now aka Nordic Town USA! Finally, we are going to say boldly to the whole country what many of us have known and have heard from many others for years—we have the best Nordic skiing in the U.S.—and we might as well tell more skiers.
Our self-proclaimed nickname was the idea of Sun Valley Ski Education head Nordic coach Rick Kapala. It came up as a group of us, including the Hailey and Ketchum-Sun Valley chambers, the Blaine County Recreation District and the Boulder Mountain Tour committee, were brainstorming marketing ideas for this February's Sun Valley Nordic Festival, held in conjunction with the Boulder Mountain Tour. Rick just said, "We have the best Nordic skiing anywhere—let's be Nordic Town USA." Sounded good to all of us, so now it's official.
What makes us the best? It's a combination of facilities, terrain, weather, affordability and community. We have an abundance of warm days, sunny skies and cold snow, probably more Piston Bullies per capita than anywhere else, more than 200 kilometers of varied, groomed terrain, many skied-in trails up local side canyons, thousands of Nordic pass holders, multiple ski races including the Boulder Mountain Tour, hundreds of dedicated volunteers for these races, a top-ranked junior program and a large, one-of-a-kind women's program—the Vamps.
And we can't forget the equally dedicated and passionate doggies who are out there nearly every day, and their mostly highly responsible owners who ski the portion of trails open to dogs and pick up after them.
Many areas have a few of these amenities, but nobody has it all the way we do. There is a reason that the Norwegian Olympic team has chosen us as the place to hold its pre-season training camps for the 2002 and 2010 winter games.
The terrain is truly varied and unique, and all the trail segments have their own personality. Quigley Canyon is minutes from downtown Hailey and the bike path is literally out the back door of residents from Bellevue to north of Ketchum. I love the long, cruising downhills at Sun Valley in late afternoon light and the short, steep hills at Lake Creek in morning light on classic skis. The lower Boulder and North Fork trails are great for an easy, quick dog ski and the Prairie Creek loop is best early or late when no one is around and the light on the mountains is spectacular. Billy's Bridge always seems to take hours with the dog—always lots of yakkin' with new and old friends.
Galena is everything a community ski resort should be—world-class skiing with great food and drink.
And my personal favorite—Alturas Lake trails, aka the old Busterback trails. For the true Sawtooth Valley experience, be sure to leave the Wood River Valley behind as you cross the summit. Maybe pull your hat a little lower on your ears and a little higher on your forehead. Don't be surprised to see some blue jeans and metal-edged skis on the trail. If you see David the track setter come by on his grooming snowmachine, stop and talk a bit. That's what you do in the Sawtooth Valley. When you cross the old wooden bridge on Alturas Creek, stop and let the creek and the mountains talk to you. That's also what you do in the Sawtooth Valley.
Sometimes I think I'm the luckiest person in the world—I came the Ketchum for one year for the Baldy experience more than 30 years ago, and dang it if I didn't by coincidence land smack dab in the middle of Nordic Town USA!
A lot of people complain about all the problems we have in the Wood River Valley, but come to think of it, I don't hear my Nordic friends complain much.
