More than 124 miles of cross-country ski trails meander through the Wood River Valley.
From east Hailey to the Sun Valley golf course to the base of Galena Summit, the extent of groomed terrain equates to the same distance as driving from Ketchum to Challis by way of Highway 75, a two-and-a-half hour car ride.
But that's not all.
The valley also has another surprise in store for Nordic skiers: a premier year-old facility at Sun Valley's Clubhouse, called the Sun Valley Nordic and Snowshoe Center. Inside the 58,000-square-foot clubhouse, skiers have a bar, restaurant and marble-laden locker rooms at their disposal. And the center's 24 miles of daily-groomed trails lead right up to the back door.
Center Director Sean McLaughlin called the previous center "a tiny, little cabin" about the size of the current front desk area. The new center has quadrupled its predecessor and includes 11 towering sets of shelves for storing rental skis and boots. Despite carrying loads of heavy equipment, the shelves are positioned in parallel rows as in a library and easily float back and forth on two rails for increased storage.
"Nordic skiers are used to dingy cabins," McLaughlin said. "It's definitely Gucci for a Nordic center."
McLaughlin said winters in the Wood River Valley are pristine Nordic conditions for maintaining trails—cold, sunny weather to keep the snow hard—and now people just need to spread the word. And that's his goal—to make the area not only an alpine skiing destination but also a Nordic destination.
The common occurrence is that people come here to hit the slopes and might supplement that with some cross-country skiing.
"Dad will ski on the mountain, and mom will take the kids cross-country skiing," McLaughlin said.
To bring Nordic into the limelight, the center is partnering with organizations valley-wide to put on a nine-day Nordic festival running from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7. The organizers hope it will be an annual celebration and valley moneymaker. They've also been pushing the branding of "Nordic Town, USA," hoping the name will stick.
The Nordic Center is only a small part of cross-country skiing in the valley, with the Blaine County Recreation District providing most of the 124 miles of trails. The recreation district will also participate in the festival, as will many non-ski-specific businesses. They including retailers, restaurants, the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, and the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau.
After a couple months of planning, organizers have finally nailed everything down, including concerts, Nordic races and a plethora of discounts offered to anyone buying a $49 festival pass, which provides access to all 124 miles of trail during the festival.
Eric Rector, director of trails and operations for the recreation district, said getting the word out about the valley's vast array of Nordic ski trails has proved difficult.
"It's such a small market," he said. "People are still stumbling upon it."
Maybe the festival will be the answer. But first must come the snow.
In the base of the valley, the recreation district and Nordic center are still waiting to start the season.
McLaughlin said the valley has more snow than the same time last winter, but is still only one third of the way there, needing at least 10 inches for grooming.
On the other hand, 30 inches of snow has fallen near Galena Lodge, 25 miles north of Ketchum, enabling the recreation district to open those 31 miles of trails.
The district also runs valley trails, such as Quigley in east Hailey at the end of Fox Acres Road, the Wood River Trail used by bicycles in the summer, extending from Ketchum to Bellevue, and the Harriman Trail, eight miles north of Ketchum at the Sawtooth National Recreation Area headquarters. The latter trail gains a gentle 1,200 feet in elevation as it winds its way north and west to Galena Lodge.
North of Galena Summit, the Sawtooth Valley trails offer 34 kilometers of classic and skate skiing at Alturas Lake, Park Creek west of Stanley, and just outside of Stanley.
All trails should be open come festival kickoff in one month, and festival organizers are challenging skiers to traverse all 124 miles of Wood River Valley trails during the weeklong event. Those who complete the task will be entered into a prize drawing.
For more information about the challenge or the festival, go to svnordicfestival.com. At the site is a form for the challenge, which is to be filled out by skiers as they go.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
Nordic trail information
· To see which Blaine County Recreation District trails are groomed, go to www.bcrd.org, pull down the "winter trails" tab at the top of the page, then go to "conditions" and "grooming report."
· To see which Sun Valley Nordic and Snowshoe Center trails are open, go to www.sunvalley.com, pull down "The Mountain" tab and scroll down to the center's link.
· For information on the Sun Valley Nordic Festival, go to www.svnordicfestival.com.
Two Nordic skiers make their way around Sun Valley’s Clubhouse on a groomed trail heading over the golf course.
Photo courtesy of Sun Valley Resort
