Sun Valley, Idaho is no Silicon Valley but it has certainly seen its fair share of startups in its day. Smith Optics, Scott USA, Club Ride, DECKED, Powder Magazine, and Snowboard Magazine all got their start in this small town. Now a slew of new innovators is changing the economic scene of Ketchum including hunting apparel company First Lite. photo: courtesy First Lite Believe it or not, co-owner of First Lite, Scott Robinson, had never even hunted before moving to Ketchum when he was 23. Robinson grew up living in Seattle but ski racing and visiting Sun Valley often, so the place always held a spot in his heart. “Kenton [Carruth, co-owner of First Lite] and I both moved to Ketchum in 1993 or 1994 for the same reasons most people do—to take a break from the real world, do some skiing, and have fun in the outdoors,” says Robinson. The real world he desired to take a break from was working as a CPA in Seattle. He continued to work in financial management roles for 10 years in Ketchum before leaving Ketchum for a three-year stint at Nike. In 2004, he came back and worked for local company Smith Optics, running …
Guide to Renting Ski, Snowboard, Nordic and Snowshoe Equipment in Sun Valley
Whether you’re new to town and didn’t bring your own gear or a local just looking to try a new sport, there exist a myriad of rental options in the Wood River Valley for skis, snowboards, Nordic, and snowshoes as well as a host of shops waiting to tune, deliver, and help you learn more about all your gear! Check out our guide below for all your winter rental needs. Ski Rental Gear Sturtevant’s With locations in Ketchum, Hailey, Sun Valley and at the base of Warm Springs, Sturtevant’s is perhaps the easiest venue to find for ski gear rental. They offer rentals and demos and event season leases on their skis and snowboards. Ski rental options include their Adult Sport package for beginner to intermediate skiers, Adult Performance Demo package, a line-up of best-selling, all-mountain retail models, Adult Premium Demo for testing Sturtevant’s entire selection of skis, Junior Sport package for first-time skiers up to advanced junior skiers, and Junior Race and Twin Tip package for advanced and expert juniors. All types of rental reservations are available online through their online rental program. PK’s PK’s Ski and Sports offers ski rental packages for kids, adult sport (for softer, recreational skiers), adult performance (for …
What We’re Made Of: Sun Valley Guides Owner – Zach Crist
A Local Legend Some folks are legendary in Sun Valley and some folks are lifers. Zach Crist is both. A Ketchum native, Crist has been through all iterations skiing has to offer—riding professionally, being featured in Warren Miller movies, coaching, owning a backcountry guide company—all while still living in the place he wouldn’t dream of not calling home. Now married to Emilie DuPont and father to four kids (ages 1, 3, 8, and 12), Crist has settled into his newest role as the owner of Sun Valley Guides and couldn’t be happier. Crist is evidence that you might think you’ve done all this town has to offer, but there’s always a new angle to enjoy the culture of Sun Valley, Idaho. The Educational Years Though he was technically born in California, Crist is an Idahoan through and through. He moved to Ketchum with his parents and siblings Danielle and Reggie (also a former professional skier) when he was 6 years old. With his experience on skis since he was 2, Crist ended up joining the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and was eventually picked for the U.S. Ski Team, joining his brother Reggie on the World Cup Tour. After seven …
What We’re Made Of: Restauranteurs – The Mason Family
The food scene of Ketchum would truly be a different landscape without the Masons and as their family continues to grow, so too does the family business.
What We’re Made Of: Local Artist Molly Snee
For being a tucked away mountain town, the greater Sun Valley area is home to an incredibly robust arts community. The lure of the outdoors and unassuming networking opportunities seem to continually draw mavens to the region. From skilled craftsmen to award-winning film makers to highly coveted painters and beyond, the Valley is teeming with talent. Molly Snee happens to be one of these sensationally skilled individuals that call Sun Valley home. If you’ve roamed the streets of Ketchum, chances are high that you’ve spotted some of Molly Snee’s work around town. From posters for City-sponsored events to various outdoor murals to her self-published guides to Ketchum, Snee’s particular brand of illustration is hard to miss. If you have yet to venture to the Sun Valley area, there’s still a chance that you’ve Molly’s work. In addition to her creative endeavors and local jobs in her home-base of Ketchum, Snee has started to expand into the national market with recent gigs illustrating for the New York Times, Restoration Hardware, Southwest Airlines, and The Boston Globe. Snee’s ability to make the Ketchum scene work for her career while also helping to enhance the creative spirit of the town makes her the perfect example of the characters that make this Idaho town unique. Snee grew up in Virginia …
Sun Valley Bike Path Sightseeing Tour
The Wood River Trail aka “the bike path” runs over 20 miles between the Wood River Valley from Bellevue up to Sun Valley. The area encompassing Ketchum and Sun Valley is full of unique and historical sights, all easily viewed in a day by foot, bike, or any other way you choose to explore the bike path! We’ve put together a Sun Valley bike path sightseeing tour guide with all of the must-see spots along the scenic byway. There are a number of ways to go about this sightseeing tour. We’ll leave the navigation up to you! Spur Sculpture Located just off the bike path between St. Luke’s hospital and Ketchum, John Grade’s sculpture Spurwas commissioned in 2016 by the Sun Valley Center for the Arts with significant support from the City of Ketchum as part of a larger project celebrating Craters of the Moon National Monument during the 2016 National Park Service Centennial. Spurwas located at Craters during that summer before relocating to its current long-term site. Based in Seattle, artist John Grade visited Craters of the Moon several times before beginning work on Spur. He was fascinated by the park’s extraordinary geology, and using a technology called LIDAR, he digitally mapped …
Dog-Friendly Guide to Sun Valley & Ketchum
Bobby and Alli here, from Traveling Newlyweds! When you think of Sun Valley you probably immediately think of skiing, epic scenery, award-winning restaurants and friendly locals. At least, that’s what we always think of! We’d always heard people say that Sun Valley is dog-friendly, but we had never thought of bringing our pup with us. This summer we decided bite the bullet and let our big, sassy fur ball named Sally come with us to Sun Valley… and see if it REALLY is as dog friendly as we’d heard. Let’s just say it blew our expectations out of the park! (Dog park, if you will.) Here’s our Dog-Friendly guide to Sun Valley, because if you have a dog, you have to bring them with you. End of story. Stay The Limelight Hotel We can’t rave about this new hotel enough. Located right in the heart of Ketchum, The Limelight is modern, classy, and unbelievably dog friendly! From the goodies they give you at check-in (frisbee, treats, water bowl, etc.) to the dog-friendly lobby (the human food is amazing – and your pet will feel like a VIP!), it really is something special. We didn’t want to leave! Knob Hill Inn On past …
What We’re Made Of: Snowboard Coach, Screen Printer & Family Man – Andy Gilbert
While many think of skiing and its long history when they think of Sun Valley, snowboarding its own legitimately legendary history in as well. Since the inclusion of snowboarding into the Olympics in 1998, there has been a Sun Valley rider on every Olympic snowboard team. And, playing a huge role in that is Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Snowboard Coach Andy Gilbert who has helped guide the careers of snowboarders like Kaitlyn Farrington and Chase Josey as well as all other level of snowboarders in his 25 years as a coach (along with several other amazing coaches and staff at SVSEF over the years, of course!) Despite the caliber of snowboarder he’s worked with and traveling the world over, Gilbert still calls Sun Valley home, a place where his wife and two kids can hit the slopes and he can also work in screen-printing, another passion of his. Since moving to Ketchum in the winter of 1993, Gilbert has been a snowboarding coach, primarily for SVSEF, but also last year as the U.S. National Team Rookie Halfpipe Coach. “Last year, the U.S. team lost their rookie coach right before the season and I was on the short list,” says Gilbert about the …
What We’re Made Of: Terrain Park Manager – Nate Sheehan
Sun Valley, Idaho, known for its terrain perfect for mountain biking, skiing and snowboarding, hiking, and so much more, is home to all forms of adventure seeker from the weekend warrior to the ski bum living out of his car. Nate Sheehan, Sun Valley Resort’s Terrain Parks Manager, heard the siren call of this mountain town himself and accepted the job four years ago having only been to Sun Valley once in 2009. His love of snowboarding and the mountains as well as hitting the single-track on his mountain bikes in the off-season have instilled in him a love of the Sun Valley area as well as a passion for creating a terrain park on Dollar Mountain that will cull the adventurous spirit in all skill of rider. photo: Tal Roberts // Sun Valley Resort // Rider: Nate Sheehan Despite only having ridden in Sun Valley once, Nate brought a life time of snowboard and park expertise with him to the job of Terrain Park Manager. Growing up in Fairfield, Pennsylvania, the home of Ski Liberty, Nate was an avid snowboarder and was even competing in the Mid-Atlantic Snowboard series by the time he was in high school and would …
The Wood River is Not Your Typical YMCA
It’s Fun to Visit Our YMCA! Much like everything else in our small mountain town, our local YMCA is not your average gym; it’s not even an average YMCA where typically concrete abounds and people are looking to get in and get out rather than stay a day. The Wood River YMCA is so much more than just a gym, it’s a community center, an activity hub, and a truly integral part of life in the Valley. Whether it’s working out and doing group classes, catching free screenings of movies, giving kids an area for after-school, or learning new gardening skills, the YMCA offers more than just dumbbells and yoga mats. What They Offer Opened in late 2007, the YMCA has been offering family-friendly workouts, equipment and more for over 10 years in the Valley. The gym itself is open Monday through Friday from 6am-8pm, Saturdays 7am-6pm, and Sundays 10am-6pm. During that time, access to the upstairs gym is always available where you’ll find a mix of cardio machines including elliptical, treadmill, stair master, erg machine, and stationary bikes. Strength training machines are set up for easy transitioning between sets and there is a dedicated space for free weights and benches. Yoga …