Phil - Please feel free to move this thread to 'Trip Reports' - Thanks, Tom Karol.
It turns out there may be guided tours after all, though neither of these options were ultimately verified by me:
I talked to a Mountain Host in a yellow Sun Valley jacket at the top of Seattle Ridge on Monday who said there were free guided tours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday forming up at the River Run Plaza at 9:30 AM.
I picked up a current Trail Map & Guide at the Seattle Ridge Day Lodge also on Monday and found a number for Guest Services/On-Mountain Tours (208-622-5371). I called them on Wednesday – you’ll see why below – and I was told that there were free guided tours by a U.S. Forest Service Ranger heading out from the Lookout Restaurant at the top of Bald Mountain on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM. I went there at 10:00 AM on Thursday but didn’t see any evidence of a tour group forming – could have been too early – so I went off on my own.
So, here’s my Sun Valley 1st-timer solo ski log (sorry, no photos):
They don’t call it 'Sun Valley' for nothing: I skied 4 days, and every one was sunny with temps in the 30’s.
I skied well – the Progressor 900’s were a great choice – but there were 4 factors that hampered my endurance:
3x the altitude than I’m used to.
2x the vertical than I’m used to.
More consistent steepness than I’m used to.
The greens were like blues where I come from, and the blues were like blacks, so I stuck to the groomed greens and blues and didn’t venture into the bumped up blacks.
They hadn’t gotten much snow since December, so most everything was moderately crunchy manmade snow. But the snowmaking coverage and grooming was quite impressive. And I’m from New England, so it was just ‘packed powder’ to me. Still, some fairly aggressive edging was required.
I don’t drink or smoke anymore, and I’d skied 8 days so far this season, but I couldn’t go for more than about 500 yards without having to stop and catch my breath. And my legs were done after about 2.5 hours on the hill each day. But at that point, I’d gotten more steep vertical in than I do in 4 hours back home.
A few observations before I go into the day-by-day description:
Lots of good skiers there.
Lots of fast skiers there.
Lots of older skiers there.
The regulars don’t seem to arrive until at least 11:00 AM – at least at the Warm Springs Day Lodge (my chosen base of operations) – which doesn’t get full sun until late morning.
Monday 2/14/22:
Warm Springs Day Lodge around 10:00 AM.
Challenger lift to Lookout Restaurant – astonished by the views.
Upper and Lower College to Lower River Run.
River Run and Lookout Express lifts back up, then Lookout chair to very top of Baldy.
Took Bowl Lane across to Seattle Ridge – more awesome scenery; the bowls looked great but the snow was iffy, and no one was skiing them.
Skied all the groomed runs off the Seattle Ridge chair, and then had a light lunch at the Seattle Ridge Day Lodge.
Skied Broadway down to the Mayday chair, then down Lookout Lane to Warm Springs from top to bottom. Legs were toast; declared it a fine first outing.
Tuesday 2/15/22:
Not being used to skiing 2 days in a row – I’m normally a once-a-week day-tripper – I decided to check out Dollar Mountain for an easy session: Short but sweet – wide open like a big scoop of vanilla ice cream with a great view of Bald Mountain from the top. I skied everything that was open. Old Bowl was my favorite. Great grooming. Nice base lodge.
Wednesday 2/16/22:
Non-ski day - I’d purchased a 4-of-6-day pass – so I did the Sun Valley Village tourist thing with my non-skiing lady companion. Bought matching T-Shirts, and visited the famous (and rightly so) Sun Valley Lodge.
Thursday 2/17/22:
Upper and Lower College to Lower River Run.
Over to Seattle Ridge.
All the way down Broadway to the bottom of the new Broadway chair.
Up the Broadway chair to the Roundhouse Restaurant (top of the gondola).
Not sure how I got there, but I ended up skiing Lower River Run again to the bottom.
Back to the top via River Run and Lookout Express lifts for light lunch at Lookout Restaurant.
Warm Springs from top to bottom and done for the day.
Friday 2/18/22:
Skied all the groomed blues off Warm Springs’ Greyhawk Quad multiple times and absolutely loved it!
So, I sort of did good chunks of the left side (Seattle Ridge) and the right side (Warm Springs) and not too much of the middle – never took the gondola, never got to the Frenchman’s chair – so I guess I’ll have to go back as soon as possible!
