Sun Valley Is A Modern Ski Experience With A Nod To The Past

11.03.2024 - 19:31 / forbes.com / Ernest Hemingway / Louis Armstrong / Clint Eastwood

There’s this little yellow sun smiling throughout Sun Valley. It graces the doorknobs and room number plaques at the luxurious Sun Valley Lodge. It decorates the exterior of the free community shuttles toting eager skiers around the bases of Bald and Dollar Mountains and through the town of Ketchum. This smiling sun, with its dimpled cheeks and plump lips, is stamped on the back of the Sun Valley ski guides’ red Helly Hansen uniforms as they lead groups down runs like College or Arnold - the latter trail named for actor, politician and Sun Valley resident, Arnold Schwartzenegger.

While one could chalk up this ubiquitous emblem, a golden smiling sun, to brilliant branding, for those who visit Sun Valley, the logo functions almost metaphorically. It’s hard not to smile when you’re traversing the birthplace of the American ski resort.

“We’ve been coming to Sun Valley for 17 years and it’s hard to imagine going anywhere else,” said Brad Fischer, an accountant based in San Francisco. “When you think about the quality of the snow, the runs, the history, and with zero lift lines or attitude, it’s tough to find a better mountain with a better vibe.”

Visiting Sun Valley is taking a trip back to a time when you might have worn black tie on a ski vacation. Walk the halls of the Sun Valley Lodge, the family-friendly heritage hotel dating back to 1936 and meticulously renovated from 2012 to 2015, and you’ll discover black and white photos of Louis Armstrong entertaining crowds inside the dining room in 1962, or Marylin Monroe sipping champagne in a floor length dress. There’s Ernest Hemingway palling around with Taylor Williams, and Clint Eastwood swinging a golf club. You feel a part of American history here, and the Holding family, who’s owned the Sun Valley Resort since 1977, are keen to keep that spirit alive at every turn.

Sun Valley’s historical connection feels particularly poignant now. American ski resorts have faced something of an identity crisis, as conglomerates like Vail Resorts, Inc. and Alterra Mountain Company have consolidated local ski mountains and homogenized the experience altogether, leaving independent, family-owned resorts like Sun Valley a rarity. Now Sun Valley must achieve a tough balancing act - innovate to meet skier demand but maintain the homegrown roots that has drawn loyalists to the mountain for nearly 100 years.

Sun Valley was founded by Union Pacific Railroad chairman, Averell Harriman in 1936. His vision was to create a premier destination for skiing in the United States that could cater to the Hollywood elite. In collaboration with Austrian ski instructor, Count Felix Schaffgotsch and Swiss ski racer and filmmaker, Hannes Schroll, Harriman sought to replicate the allure of