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Spring, Summer, Wellness

Sun Valley: Where the Beer and Healthy Initiatives Flow Like Wine

SKI towns typically are not synonymous with health. After a full day of shredding we post up for pints, happy hour discounted nachos, and chicken wings. Our mogul-mashing thighs have earned it, right? Après festivities filled with celebratory beers, and Irving’s Hot Dogs are the norm. However, this all shouldn’t overshadow the abundance of healthy initiatives that lie at the core of this Valley. The abundance of wellness oriented events, fitness clubs, spas, and health conscious food resources here in Sun Valley encourage an overwhelming sense of well-being to locals and visitors alike.
 

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Fall, Spring, Summer, Wellness, Winter

Take a Wellness Weekend in Sun Valley

Wellness is the pursuit of a healthy life, nourishing both mind and body. Call us biased, but there’s no better place to restore a healthy outlook than Sun Valley. Between relaxing spas, invigorating workouts, and simple but delicious meals, you’ll realign your outlook on life. Only have a weekend? That’s plenty of time. Here’s our recommendations for two perfect days of wellness in Sun Valley. Where to Stay Did you know that lack of adequate sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan and the development of serious medical conditions? That simply won’t do. Catch up on some much needed shut-eye with a stay in Sun Valley. Dive into soft sheets, nestle in a pile of pillows, and let the quiet mountain air lull you to your best sleep in weeks. Knob Hill Inn The remodeled Knob Hill Inn is a European-style hotel with serious charm and luxurious details. Limelight Hotel Ketchum Newly opened Limelight Hotel Ketchum is in the center of the action on Main Street in Ketchum. Sun Valley Lodge The Sun Valley Lodge is not only the epitome of luxury, but its world class spa and year round outdoor pools are close enough to access without removing your …

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Arts & Culture, Dining, Spring

Idaho Craft Beer Month – Sun Valley Style

Idaho is rich in all things beer from the finest of ingredients to the beloved finished product. Idaho Brewers United and Idaho Tourism took it upon themselves to pay tribute to the flourishing beer culture in the state by dedicating April as the official Idaho Craft Beer Month. While we may be small here in Sun Valley, we have plenty to be proud of when it comes to contributing to Idaho’s beer pride. We’ve put together a few ways to maximize the Idaho Beer Month experience in Sun Valley and beyond. Fun Idaho Beer Facts Gelande Quaffing Sawtooth Regional Gelande Quaffing Championships | April 7 Local Sun Valley Breweries Sawtooth Brewery Warfield Distillery & Brewery Sun Valley Brewing Company River Bend Brewing Best Places to Enjoy a Beer The Power House Grumpy’s Lefty’s Wiseguy’s Don’t forget the breweries listed above (with the exception of River Bend)! Other Great Idaho Breweries to Check Out With the 50+ breweries in Idaho, we didn’t have room to list them all. Check out the Visit Idaho page for a few more listings or scan the Google search to find one closest to you! Photo of Earnest Hemingway by John Bryson 1959     Now that you’ve got the info, venture out …

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Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter

Host a Meeting or Event in Sun Valley

Looking to have a meeting or event in Sun Valley? Your guests will thank you. With excellent meeting venues both indoors and out, and a town filled with great food, fun activities, and the beauty of the surrounding mountains, you’ll be getting a pat on the back from even the most discerning meeting attendee

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Spring

8 Things You Don’t Want to Miss in Sun Valley This Spring

Spring in a mountain ski town frequently goes unsung and frequently nearly unnoticed.  It’s not uncommon for skiers to forget that the best skiing is right up to even after the mountain closes, as dreams of sunny beaches or rolling vineyards in lands far off frequently enchant those who wish spring would just do her thing and get on with it.  But spring is awesome and a time when renewed energy for stretching the legs and the mind in new directions spawns a whole new level of creativity.  So check out these fun, educational, artistic, or even downright goofy things you don’t want to miss out on in Sun Valley this spring! 1. The End of the Season Party It’s a bit sad when the season ends, but Sun Valley rally’s like no one else to close out a great year of spending days one end with good friends. Just don’t leave the top of the mountain too soon…(photo: Mark Oliver)   The season ender is always one of the highlights/low points of being a skier/snowboarder.  You’re sad because it’s over but somehow that makes you even more fired up to get after it and celebrate it properly.  And Sun …

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Spring, Winter

Cornucopia of Awesomeness- March Madness in Sun Valley

March in Sun Valley is the best. The short, cold days of winter slowly fade away as the sun climbs higher in the sky.  The daily routine slows down dramatically with the timing of snow conditions.  So take it from me, first off, there is no rush.  Start the day out right and drop by your local coffee house in town for an expertly made cappuccino before hitting the slopes.  After that caffeine hits your veins, the day will start to blossom.  It’s the time of year when the snow begins to soften around midday and you take comfort in knowing that it’s possible after a day of riding to slide your feet into the luxurious embrace of flip flops while having an après-ski beer on the outdoor patio at Lefty’s, Apples, or Warm Springs Lodge, sharing in the camaraderie of good friends.  At times it’s a challenge to just live in the moment.  So I advise relishing every second of every day.

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Spring, Winter

Its the End of the Season As We Know It: Sawtooth National Gelande Quaffing Championships

Gelandesprung (v): German for a downhill ski jump in the style of Oympic nordic jumping, yet with fixed heels. Quaff (v): to drink rapidly with much vigor The legend of the Gelande Quaff was born back around the time snow was new.  On a dark winter evening as the boys huddled for one last round, tipping back cold beers honoring their mastery of the backscratcher into couloirs in tight neon stretchpants, the bar tender slid frosty mugs down the bar to eager hands.  It was a normal night until an order was called, the one who ordered got distracted, and the beer slid past only to leap off the end of the bar.  Fortunately, stationed at the end of the bar, there stood one lone, alert skier who snatched the beer out of the air, pounded it back and slamming it on the table proclaimed, “Gelandequaffing!!” and the rest was history. As the story goes, a new form of sport drinking was born.  It began to catch on in small mountain towns where long winters and poor odds lead to various devices of distraction.  Like most new sports, the development of rules and competition formats would follow as well as the kind of innovation that was tracking in freeskiing and snowboarding.  And today, after nearly a decade of progression Gelande Quaffing has evolved into a World Championship-level competition.  Getting an invite to the said World Champs stands as one of the more coveted mountain town trappings anywhere.

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Fly Fishing, Spring, Winter

Rites of Spring – Stalking Steelhead

Idaho is a landlocked state but what few realize is that it’s connected via one of the longest river systems in the US to the Pacific Ocean.  For millennia, a certain species of traveler, the steelhead trout, has migrated through this river corridor, the Salmon, from the mountains of central Idaho to the ocean and back again.   And a mere hour drive from Sun Valley lies the headwaters of the Salmon River, the origin of the steelhead run. Set amidst the awe-inspiring Sawtooth Mountains, these freestone waters play host to spawning spring steelhead.

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Spring, Winter

Rain or Shine Closing Weekend Will Always Go Off

If there are two truths to be said about Sun Valley over the years, one is never trust what the weather man tells you. The second: if you give any local a reason to dress up, they most definitely will. The weather report rolling through the weekend was anything but favorable for dressing up. Yet from most everyone I talked to, that was not going to deter them from hitting the Goldmine, pulling out their vintage gear, busting out the margarita machine, or breaking out the fire pit and camper for a blowout of a last weekend on the hill.

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Skiing & Snowboarding, Spring, Winter

Orage Masters, This Really Did Happen In Sun Valley

The Orage Masters mascot for 2013. Surreal entry to a surreal event. photo: G Randolph   They call it the anti-comp.  “They” being more specifically the French Canadians and their international brand of irreverent entertainment, vices, and ski apparel bearing the name “Orage”.  A battle royale for the ages.  Visually disorienting; competitively uncompetitive.  And yes, “It” really happened in Sun Valley. Back flipping Pizza? Check. Or is it pizza you’ll flip for?   Thought not an entirely novel concept–get crazy and party your brains out at the end of the year– the Orage Masters returned after a two year hiatus from the anti-competition circuit bringing a flare of end-of-the-year revelry that caught the Sun Valley locals a little off guard.  Accompanying their traveling gong-show was some heavy local talent with Collin Collins, Banks Gilberti, and Karl Fostvedt back on home turf to represent. I was stoked to bring my young, impressionable pre-teens to see them rip and they did not disappoint. Visual chaos might be the most appropriate way to describe the Orage weekend. photo: G Randolph   The notion is fairly simple:  get together all of your best buds after a season of traveling, competing and filming where the …