An Insider’s Guide To Skiing & Riding Baldy Like a Local
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SUN VALLEY THE CRADELE OF SKIVILIZATOIN
Ketchum, Hailey, and Bellevue have all been around since the late 1800s. However, it’s safe to say that the opening of the SUN VALLEY RESORT is what truly started the fascination winter adventurers have had with the Wood River Valley. Sun Valley opened to skiers in December of 1936, with the introduction of the world’s first chairlift going up Proctor Mountain, near the Sun Valley Lodge. The Ruud Mountain lift is still standing, though not operating. Baldy opened to skiers in the winter of 1939-40. For more Sun Valley and Baldy history, click here.
What follows is a completely subjective take on how to make the most of skiing and snowboarding on Baldy, assuming that the mountain is completely open and that the skiers/riders are of intermediate or above abilities. This guide will attempt to introduce the mountain to people who haven’t been on our slopes before. It is not an exhaustive guide, but rather a “here are some of our favorite runs!” As people have been doing since 1936, enjoy Sun Valley’s mountains!
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BALDY
Bald Mountain has slopes that face South, East, and North, and it’s helpful to keep this in mind on sunny days. The South-facing slopes will get softer much earlier in the day, and the East- and North-facing slopes will usually stay cold all day. Our rating system is a little more aggressive than most mountains; first-timers often say our Greens are Blues, and so on. So be ready to ski/ride!
The easiest part of the mountain is Seattle Ridge. To get there, take the Gondola from River Run Base, and then ski the Guntower Lane cattrack to the Seattle Ridge chair. To get out of Seattle Ridge, either ski down to the Sunrise Lift (formerly Cold Springs) and then up to the Roundhouse, or ski to the Mayday Chair and take it to the very top of Baldy, and ski back to where the Lookout/ Christmas/Challenger lifts all converge.
For food and refreshments at or on the mountain, there are 4 Lodges (River Run and Warm Springs at the base areas, and Seattle Ridge and Lookout Lodge at the top). There is also the worldfamous Roundhouse, at the top of the gondola.
If you are an advanced/expert skier, there are dozens of in-bounds but unnamed runs. If you’re riding the chair with a local, don’t hesitate to ask for recommendations!
For 80 years the rich and famous have been coming to Sun Valley, and many call it home. The rule of thumb is that when you see Arnold, or Clint, or Jodie, or Tom, or Jamie or anyone else, that you don’t make a big deal about it. They’re all here for the same reasons you are and don’t need to be called out!
There is bus service that goes from the Warm Springs base to River Run base and to Dollar. Visit the Mountain Rides site to see the winter schedule.
KNOW THE CODE
BEFORE YOU SKI/RIDE,
KNOW THE RESPONSIBILITY
CODE:
1. Always stay in control, and be able to stop or avoid other people or objects.
2. People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.
3. You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above.
4. Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, look uphill and yield to others.
5. Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
6. Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.
7. Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely.
EDITOR’S NOTE
In no way is this a brochure to help you ski or snowboard better, nor does it imply that runs will be open or that they are free of hazards It should not be referred to for directions or as an authoritative description of routes or their difficulty.
RIVER RUN
The River Run Base is the ideal place to start your Baldy adventure. The Lodge, SnowSports School, rentals, lockers, and two lifts (and the Kindersplatz) all start here.
Sun Valley has gladed several treed areas in the last year, opening up some delightful pockets. Don’t forget the Frenchman’s area, which has its own chair and is protected from wind and crowds. Lower River Run, which brings you back to the base area, is often very crowded, so ski/ride this stretch with extreme caution.
River Run highlights include: River Run top-to-bottom Exhibition Holiday Christmas Ridge & Bowl Janss Pass
Most River Run runs start at the top of College, which offers beautiful valley and mountain views. It’s busy up here, so stay aware!
Some of the mountain’s best spots are between primary runs, like this glade between Canyon and Mid-River.
There are plenty of wide open runs on the River Run side of the mountain.
Frenchmans’s offers great glades and the short runs mean you can get in lots of laps!
When the snow comes, Holiday becomes a heaven of pillows.
Is there a better base area to have lunch or a drink at than River Run Base Area?
Terrain, sunshine and endless views. What else do you need?
WARM SPRINGS
The Challenger Lift is the only chair on Baldy that goes from top-to-bottom, and does so in a brisk 11 minutes, with a midway point for unloading if you so choose.
All of the runs on Warm Springs are Northfacing, so they stay out of the melting rays of the sun, meaning that you can almost always count on high-quality snow on the Warm Spring side, and it typically stays open a week or two longer than the River Run side of Baldy.
Almost all of the racing happens on the Warm Springs side, including the 2025 World Cup Alpine Finals (which are also tentatively scheduled to be here in 2027 and 2029 as well).
Warm Springs highlights include: Warm Springs top-to-bottom
Limelight
Picabo’s Street
Cozy
Keep your eyes open on the chairlift rides, and you’ll find spots like Brick’s Island that don’t see too much traffic.
Limelight is perfectly named on bluebird days like this one. One of the longest and steepest runs on the mountain, if you can ski it top-tobottom with no stops you’re doing pretty well!
Plaza, skier’s left of Picabo’s Street, has some of the mountain’s best tree skiing.
Off of International is “Steilhang” which is basically German for “very steep.” And usually deep!
Picabo’s Street is another long and varied run, with trees on both sides to play in if you so desire.
Because it is north-facing, the runs on the Warm Springs side offer lots of contrasts of sun and shade.
Flying Squirrel is almost always excellent (especially on the left and right sides), and offers great views to the northwest. It’s also the only run on Baldy that allows you to go to either Warm Springs or River Run.
THE BOWLS
Bowl highlights include:
All the runs! A good day is skiing/ riding all the bowls, from Northeast to Southwest consecutively:
Christmas, Easter, Lookout, Mayday, Lefty’s, Kaitlyn’s, and Sigi’s. Phew!
The entire South end of Baldy is a series of different bowls that all have their own flavor. The Bowls often open a bit later in the winter, and to much fanfare. When they are due to open, you better be ready to stand in line for a while and hope to claim some first tracks. If that’s not for you, don’t worry. Once they’re open you can usually find good snow in the Bowls (or on the ridges that separate them!).
Be prepared for mogul-laden run-outs at the bottom of the Bowls. Already gassed, and then moguls!
Thankfully, the Mayday Chair back to the top of the Bowls is a classic (slow) triple to let your legs and lungs recover.
Keep going south along Broadway and you’ll hit Katilyn’s and Sigi’s Bowls. Much shorter, and with some fun trees towards the bottom that keep the moguls at bay.
The ridges that separate the bowls offer fun skiing and riding. The south side of the ridge will get sticky in the afternoon due to the sunshine, so be wary!
Even if the bowls are tracked out, staying on the high side, like this skier on Mayday Bowl, often will still let you ski and ride excellent snow all day.
Crowds? We’ve heard of those.
SEATTLE RIDGE
Seattle Ridge highlights include:
Cruise Gretchen’s, Muffy’s, Christin’s and Broadway for hours of egoskiing and riding Fire Trail
Sunrise Bowl
Named to better attract visitors from the Pacific Northwest, Seattle Ridge offers varied terrain and endless views. To get to Seattle Ridge, take the Guntower Lane cattrack from the Roundhouse, and you can spend the rest of the day on this side of the mountain, riding the Sunrise, Seattle Ridge, and Mayday Lifts.
Loaded with Green (easiest) runs, the Seattle Ridge area is the perfect place to tune your turns. If you’re ready for more adventure, Fire Trail is one of the only Double Blacks on the mountain, and the access to Broadway area is from here.
The “29 Turns” area is wide open and deep for, well, about 29 turns. And then gladed tree skiing galore!
The corduroy-groomed slopes and mellow pitches make Seattle Ridge a paradise for carving!
Once you commit to Fire Trail (a Double Black), you’re in it for the long haul.
The perfectly-pitched slopes of Seattle Ridge will allow you to ski/ride like a pro!
BROADWAY
Thanks to the high-speed quad installed in 2020, the Broadway lift (formerly known as Cold Springs) opens up a huge amount of skiable acreage for those willing to explore a bit.
Whether you stay in the main bowl and tackle the Blacks and Double Blacks, or use the lift as a way to get back to River Run, there is a ton to do, as the song says, “On Broadway.”
Broadway highlights include: Three Bears
Sunrise Bowl
Numbers
The Cold Springs Chutes
Sunrise (Turkey) Bowl faces south, which makes it a little less reliable snow-wise. But if it’s open, it’s a view-laden blast!
in 2020 the Sunrise expansion opened up Sunrise Bowl. Some traversing is involved, but the experience is well worth it!
One of the steepest runs is Three Bears; if there is snow on skier’s left, make sure you hit that!
Dollar might be the best beginner’s hill in the country, and the SnowSports instructors are the best too!
Dollar Mountain in Elkhorn is a great place to start your Sun Valley ski adventure, no matter your skill level. It has great beginner’s terrain, some Black Diamond runs, and the area’s primary terrain park (meaning, the features are BIG!).
An added bonus is that the views of Ketchum, Sun Valley, Elkhorn, and Baldy from the summit of Dollar, which tops out at an elevation of 6638’, are awesome!
Dollar Mountain highlights include: Dragon’s Back Bitterroot Bowl Otto’s Run
Sun Valley’s primary terrain park is on Dollar, so it’s a great place to watch the adrenaline junkies.
There are Black Diamond runs on Dollar too, which offer backdrops of Baldy for added fun.
OFF-MOUNTAIN WINTER ACTIVITIES
Winter Fat-Tire Biking
Parasailing
Back-country Adventures
Winter Fly Fishing
Ice Skating/Hockey
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Snowmobiling
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Snowshoeing
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Sledding
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Shopping/Eating/Culture
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Nordic Skiing
