The Sun Valley Nordic Festival isn't just returning for its second year—it's making an entrance. This year, there will be more events and more discounts at valleywide businesses, and all signs point to its attracting more Nordic skiers to the area, as was the plan to begin with.
The nine-day festival, running from Jan. 29 to Feb. 6, was designed as a way to get the word out about the valley's 124 miles of groomed cross-country skiing trails stretching from the southern valley to over Galena Summit in the north. The area has recently dubbed itself Nordic Town USA.
And the buzz about Sun Valley's Nordic offerings seems to be spreading, evident in the number of entries for the annual Boulder Mountain Tour—a race dating back to 1975—which has come to attract nearly 800 skiers every year for the 32-kilometer race. But after a day, the skiers are gone and the celebration is over as quickly as it began—hence the idea for the festival.
Race organizer Kevin Swigert said Wednesday that 870 skiers were already signed up, 214 more than last year at that time. The number includes the Half Boulder race, started last year for racers wanting a little less challenge.
"I'm actually running out of bibs," he said, adding that he'll soon need to close the online entry form for the Half Boulder. "It's a wonderful problem to have."
Even better, he said, only 176 of the racers currently entered are from the valley, meaning 80 percent are travelling here for the race. He said Nordic skiers aren't known for being "big spenders" but they'll still spend while here.
"These racers have to lay their heads somewhere and fill their stomachs," he said.
Swigert said the traffic from last year, which is foreseen to increase this year, has encouraged more businesses to get on board with the festival. Numerous hotels, property managers, restaurants and retailers across the valley are offering deals to festival participants. The deals are listed on the festival's website, www.svnordicfestival.com, under the "Specials" tab.
"It's fantastic," Swigert said. "The thing has really gathered momentum."
Swigert said the hope is that Boulder Mountain Tour participants and their families will stay for the festival, enjoying the other Nordic events, snowshoeing and entertainment.
That seemed to be the case last year, according to Jim Keating, executive director of the Blaine County Recreation District, which maintains nearly 100 miles of Nordic trails. He said it's difficult to track the number of festival participants because events have separate organizers and don't all require enrollment. However, he said, the events that do require entries—such as the snowshoe challenge, sprint races and more—totaled 2,000 entries last year.
"I feel confident we're going to beat that this year, without question," he said. "We were quite pleased in our first year and are optimistic for our second year. The buzz is really good."
A national figure will even be here to compete in the Feb. 5 Boulder Mountain Tour, pushing Sun Valley into the limelight of the Nordic stage. Billy Demong, the only U.S. Nordic skier to win a gold medal in the Olympics, is on his way here for the race from Park City, Utah.
"I e-mailed him, asking 'What do I have to do to get you in the race?'" Swigert said. "He said 'I'm already coming.'"
Demong said in a phone interview that this would be his fourth time in the race.
"The Boulder Mountain Tour has been an annual training race for my teammates and me before heading to the World Championships," he said, adding that many elite racers are competing in a fast, difficult course. "It's a well-organized race that I look forward to every year."
Demong said he won the race his first time and has been in the leading group the other years.
Swigert said the race attracts racers of Demong's caliber because it's a challenge, not the norm. They're not racing in a loop but over a course of hills, gullies and flat stretches.
Some other highlights of the festival are the 11th annual Best of Banff Mountain Film Festival, Downtown Ketchum Nordic Night and Concert, 5K and 10K snowshoe races and 16 kilometers of groomed Nordic skiing along Alturas Lake Creek 37 miles north of Ketchum at the base of the Sawtooth Mountains. But that's only a glimpse at everything planned. Visit www.svnordicfestival.com to view the festival schedule, register for events or buy a nine-day trail pass.
Despite the fact that the Wood River Valley has not received much snow recently, Keating said the skiing conditions are excellent.
"We love good fresh snow, but there are no powder days on a cross-country trail," he said.
It's all groomed corduroy, and the trails have a solid base.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
The 32-kilometer Boulder Mountain Tour race will be one of the highlights of the Sun Valley Nordic Festival. It attracts nearly 800 racers. Photo by Mountain Express
