For the week of August 27 - September 2, 2003

Sun Valley starts work on half-pipe on Baldy

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley Co. last week started construction of a new half-pipe feature on the lower Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain.

Work crews used earth-moving equipment to begin excavating an area on Lower Warm Springs ski run, below an intermediate run called Race Arena.

The half-pipe construction project is expected to take approximately one month to complete. When finished, it will measure approximately 300 feet long and 150 feet wide.

The half-pipe is planned to feature an irregular shape that resembles a bird’s wing, rather than the true semi-circle shape of many ski area half-pipes.

Wally Huffman, Sun Valley Co. general manager, said earlier this summer that the company is planning to open the half-pipe early in the ski season, as soon as possible after the scheduled opening of Bald Mountain on Thanksgiving Day. However, he noted that because the feature will require significant amounts of snow to be usable, it may not be opened until mid or late December—depending on the weather.

Half-pipes are used mostly by snowboarders, who ride the inclines and curves in the features to perform acrobatic spins and flips.

Snowboarders and skiers alike could be in for an early and abundant snow year in the Wood River Valley. The newest edition of the Old Farmers’ Almanac predicts that the Rocky Mountain West will experience a cold and snowy winter season in 2004.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.