If you’re someone who likes to earn their turns (or just doesn’t want to pay to ski or ride), skinning up Baldy or Dollar is the move, garnering you plenty of runs for the cost of free-ninety-nine. But as both mountains are operated by the Sun Valley Resort, there are a couple rules to follow to ensure a safe and fun skin, as well as a few guidelines on what gear you’ll need. The Rules All of Sun Valley’s rules and guidelines for skiing Baldy and Dollar can be found on their website (or app) under “After-Hours Access.” This page is full of all sorts of information, including the mountain report, which will tell you the temperature (at both base and top); runs that are open and/or groomed; how much it has snowed this season, in the last week, in the last 24 hours, and overnight; how fast winds are blowing; and a small blurb giving any pertinent announcements/updates, weather forecast, webcams for various spots on both mountains. You can also sign up for email and/or text alerts for uphill access, which will let you know about closures, conditions, and more that might affect skinning. Baldy: The rules for each …
24 Hours with a Local: Monarch’s Blair Brown
January is a time of resolutions and new beginnings, when the promise of a new year drives us all to do better—especially for our minds and bodies. Blair Brown is no stranger to incorporating wellness for mind, body, and soul into her daily life. In 2023, Blair founded Monarch in Ketchum, a full-body wellness center with a variety of practitioners, devices, and treatments (like cold plunge, infrared sauna, lymphatic massage, etc.). After moving to Ketchum from Alaska when she was 11, Blair grew up skiing and playing in the mountains, instilling in her a lifelong love of both nature and this town. Before moving back to the Valley part time in 2016 (and full time in 2019), she lived in New York, working in the wellness space, with a particular focus on artisan cannabis and CBD apothecary products (her company Verté Essentials was featured in Forbes), even writing two books on CBD and hemp-derived wellness. The birth of her son, Rhodes, in 2019 spurred her move back to Ketchum full time, where she channeled her expertise in the intersection of wellness, beauty, and sustainability into creating Monarch. She and her five-year-old Rhodes live in Elkhorn with their dog Biggie and …
24hrs with a Local: SVSEF Gold Member Peter Wolter
A lifelong local (seriously, he was born in the old Sun Valley hospital), cross-country skier Peter Wolter has made his hometown his full-time base again as he competes with SVSEF’s XC Gold Team, racing nationally and internationally throughout the year. After graduating from Community School, Peter attended Middlebury College, where he was a two-time All American and Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association’s Rookie of the Year. He graduated Middlebury in 2022 and moved back to the Wood River Valley, joining the SVSEF XC Gold Team, for which he trains about 600–750 hours throughout the year, doing all manner of activities, from cross-country skiing to running, biking, roller skiing in the gym, and bagging peaks. Though he also works part time for Decked, doing digital marketing, Peter still spends about half the year travelling outside the Valley and competing; last year he raced in Minnesota, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Utah. In his two post-collegiate years, Peter has accumulated numerous accolades, including placing third overall in the SuperTour 2022–2023 season, fourth place at the US Nationals Classic 20k, and twelve World Cup starts. Though Peter admits that he doesn’t have a ton of free time, he is passionate about automotive …
Cold Outside? These Movies Will Keep You Entertained
When the temperature drops and stepping outside feels like a challenge, the right movie can make all the difference. Whether you crave suspense, laughter, or an electrifying casino experience, there’s always something worth watching. From heart-racing thrillers to feel-good comedies, these films will turn a chilly evening into a memorable one. Grab your favorite blanket, settle in, and let’s explore some of the best picks for a cold day indoors. Best Movies to Watch When It’s Too Cold to Go Outside Nothing keeps you warm like a film that gets your heart racing. Thrillers bring tension, unexpected twists, and edge-of-your-seat moments. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo offers a chilling mystery, perfect for a cold evening. If you enjoy psychological tension, Gone Girl delivers with gripping performances and a storyline that keeps you guessing. These films pull you into their worlds, making the weather outside an afterthought. Action. Explosions, high-speed chases, and adrenaline-pumping scenes can make any dreary day feel exciting. Films like Mad Max: Fury Road and John Wick provide nonstop action that keeps your mind off the freezing temperatures. Watching these characters face impossible odds with raw determination can be just as thrilling as stepping into a casino …
Visit Sun Valley, Sustainably!
Traveling sustainably is an important aspect of modern-day travel, and being mindful of our environmental impact while traveling has never been more critical. Fortunately, there are simple things we can all do to help preserve the environment and make our travels more sustainable. From using reusable items to picking up litter, shopping locally, and reducing our carbon footprint, these small actions can go a long way in helping protect the places we love to visit. In this blog post, we’ll cover some easy ways to travel sustainably while enjoying all that the Ketchum area has to offer. Bring reusables! Did you know that Americans use over 100 billion plastic bags each year? If 25% of families used 10 fewer bags per month, we would save 2.5 billion bags per year! Grab that reusable bag and water bottle and hit the town! This is a simple way to do your part when out and about and stopping in shops and groceries. Plus, our local tap water is out of this world. Pick it up! It can be a damper to roll up to a campsite, trailhead, lookout, or even a park and see pieces of trash around. Be sure to pick …
Winter Tips for Visiting Sun Valley
Ski Towns all have unsaid rules, but Sun Valley in the winter comes with its own set of tips and tricks that can make your day here even better!
How to Recreate Responsibly
There’s no wonder that folks such as John Muir have been preaching the benefits of venturing to the wilderness with its fresh mountain air, views for days, free recreation, wildlife abound, and so much more. While many have been drawn to these attributes for a long while now, an influx of others are discovering the incredible offerings out there. Like anything new, there tends to be a learning curve for figuring how to do things the right way. There’s no exception for recreating. To give you a head-start and ensure that everyone heading outdoors here has a good time, it’s important to recreate responsibly which means following trail etiquette, Leave No Trace, and geotagging responsibly principles. Trail Etiquette For the majority in the Wood River Valley, their first and most frequent access to the outdoors is through the area’s vast system of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. With so many users, trail etiquette is of the utmost important to make sure the trails stay pleasant for everyone. Stay in control Know your limits, slow down around blind turns, step to the side to let others pass when appropriate. Maintain awareness of your surroundings by keeping music volume low …
Women’s History Month: Early Women of the Wood River Valley
For the second week of Women’s History Month, we are honoring four women who have shaped the history and heritage of Sun Valley. These ladies have all had an impact on the Wood River Valley, dating back to before the establishment of the ski resort and through its early years. Two of these women were integral in establishing the Community Library in 1955. They, along with 14 other trailblazing women, “founded the Community Library Association, a privately-funded, privately-governed public library to encourage intellectual and creative adventures in the remote mountains of central Idaho,” (ComLib). All four women contributed to the pioneer spirit of the Valley, fostering a momentum for woman-led innovation that is alive to this day. Marge Brass Heiss 1910-2007 Marge Brass Heiss, daughter of Ernest Brass, was born in Caldwell, Idaho in 1910. She moved to Ketchum two years later when her father bought what became known as the Brass Ranch until the family sold the land to the Union Pacific in 1936. He traded 3,888 acres for $39,000, and Sun Valley was born. In fact, Marge, along with her sister Roberta, gave a tour of their ranch property to Count Felix Schaffgatsch. Within a few months of …
Women’s History Month: Honoring Sun Valley’s Native Land and its People
Women’s History Month, celebrated during the month of March in the United States, highlights the contributions of women to historical events and modern society. Most people know that Ketchum, Sun Valley, and the entire Wood River Valley have a storied past, one marked by celebrities and old, Western mining culture. However, archaeological evidence indicates that as far back as 10,000 years ago, the Wood River Valley was home to Native peoples from the Shoshone, Bannock & Lehi tribes. To kick off Women’s History Month, we are looking back to the Wood River Valley’s first inhabitants and commemorating the women who have ensured that their stories and culture live on. We are constantly told that we were never here, but our presence is in the petroglyphs, teepee rings and other cultural resources. These are traditional artifacts from time immemorial. We continue to come back to the areas of our ancestors to let the communities know that we have not forgotten our past association with these lands. We come to pay homage to the spirits of our ancestors. We let the communities in and around Sun Valley know that we are a living culture, not a prehistoric culture to be forgotten. Lionel …
Locals Guide to the Miscellany II
On Wednesdays, there is one thing that everyone in the Wood River Valley, no matter where they are, where they live, or where they work does: read the Mt. Express. This long-time local source of news not only catches one up on the past week’s highlights, but also features a fun, long-standing tradition: Miscellany II aka Misc II. It is like Craigslist and internet trolling long before the internet. A section of the newspaper where anyone can submit free, anonymous commentary, Misc II is a must-read for anyone looking to be kept in the loop on town happenings, drama, or missed connections. In 150 words or less, submitters espouse on topics as diverse as dog poop at trailheads to the status of local hotsprings to calling someone out (though without using any names—a rule of Misc. II). To get the real scoop behind this small, but mighty section, Visit Sun Valley spoke to two lifelong locals, Spencer Cordovano and Jacob Frehling. Cordovano was born in Ketchum and is the man behind F11 films through which he has made movies with notable clients such as Matador Network, Smith, the Sun Valley Film Festival, Dropbox, and more. Frehling is the owner of …