Sun Valley Magazine | Winter 2016

WINTER FISHING | BHUTAN | AVALANCHES | U.S. Nationals | HAILEY ICE | GARY KOMARIN Winter 2015/2016

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contents | features

94

When Mountains Come Down Coming to grips with avalanches BY adam tanous

104

Go Time

Sun Valley hosts the U.S. Alpine Championships BY bryant dunn

Sun Valley’s Ski Racing Roots

How a community of the world’s fastest skiers built a culture to last BY dick Dorworth

112

Profiles in Excellence

Terry O’Connor, Curtis Bacca and Ben Verge BY adam tanous, laurie sammis & kira tenney photography tal roberts

118

Land of the Thunder Dragon ‘The Power of the River: Expedition to the Heart of Water’ BY laurie sammis

on the cover:

Fresh snow highlights burned pines in the Trail Creek area north of Sun Valley.

Photo by ray J. Gadd

18 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

photo : ray j. gadd

108

2015 National Design Award Recipient

McLAUGHLIN &

A S S O C I A T E S

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contents | departments

86

72 Clockwise from above: Christina Arpp practices on the barre at Studio Move; the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Air Barn in Elkhorn; local Pat Lee handplants on Dollar Mountain’s quarterpipe; dog-sledder Julia Larsen with her lead dog.

52 46 Local Buzz The Long Path to Wilderness A decade-long quest

Terrain Mania

Haley Cutler races to the top

Her Sights Set on Speed

It’s All In the Altitude

Dog sledder Julia Larsen

Barre builds strength and flexibility

The art of Gary Komarin

Organically Speaking

The Power of Mindfulness

Botanicals backed by science The Flourish Foundation flourishes

The Other Side of Disaster A conversation with author Sheri Fink

57

Dollar Mountain goes big

126 In the Arts Unraveling the Signified from the Signifier

Tess Hollister bags the 12-ers

72 Body & Soul Belly Up to the Barre

From sand to snow, fat bikes take hold

Fools for Love

Company of Fools reflects on 20 years

144 Food & Drink Taming the Wild

Dining on the Valley’s best game

Also in This Issue 24 From the Publisher 26 Contributors 64 Holiday Gift Guide 90 Calendar of Events 136 Art Buzz 140 Gallery Showcase 1 48 Dining Guide

20 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

dev khalsa

Fat Bikes Shift into High Gear

|

courtesy sun valley

54 360 Kids Chill Factor

Winter fly fishing in Sun Valley

|

A proposal for big air training

tal roberts

Going for Gold

82 Get Out There The Quiet Season

/ matt leidecker |

Hailey’s rink is on ice

photos clockwise from top left: tessa sheehan

At Last!

ski education foundation

let’s get digital

Head to our website for online exclusives, resources and discoveries

online // sunvalleymag.com

BLOGS

Arts

Dining

Shopping

Play

Wellness

online exclusives The three subjects of our feature profiles—Terry O’Connor, Curtis Bacca and Ben Verge—have done remarkable things in remarkable places. To give readers a sense of their adventures, we’ve created an extensive photo gallery online at sunvalleymag.com.

terry o’connor has climbed Everest, skied in the Arctic Circle and

profile photos : tal roberts

has taught young doctors how to perform ultrasound exams in Borneo.

Check out some of his photos on our website.

curtis bacca has provided his wax expertise to the world’s most

elite athletes. See where Bacca has been, in action and on course, as well as shots of the winning medals and athletes.

#sunvalleymag Follow us, like us, hashtag us... you may end up in the next Sun Valley Magazine!

follow us here

facebook.com/sunvalleymag | pinterest.com/sunvalleymag

ben verge is a skier and snowboarder’s coach, one who loves—really loves—to ski. See a gallery of Verge at work and play.

<< On the Sun Valley Magazine homepage we have revamped our Local Buzz Blog to include fresh new content, including snippets on current events and happenings in the Valley. This month, check out Kelly Hennessy’s series, “An Idaho Bucket List,” in which she takes us on some of the must-do adventures nearby.

instagram.com/sunvalleymagazine | twitter.comsunvalleymag

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22 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

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fromthepublisher | insight

ometimes the inspiration for an issue comes from the act of writing itself. Slowly, a theme begins to emerge from the background that is even stronger than the original idea, evolving as a byproduct of great storytellers and exceptional designers.

Such is the case with this Winter 2015/2016 issue of Sun Valley Magazine. What started as an issue focused on ski racing and heritage—Bald Mountain will host the U.S. National Alpine Championships March 22-27, 2016 (“Go Time,” page 104)— morphed into another theme before the final page was designed and sent to press.

These types of shifts are, of course, in the end, not so accidental. Our team extends well beyond the walls of our publishing offices, encompassing the many writers, photographers and designers: explorers, adventurers and global citizens who live and breathe our distinct mountain lifestyle. Each carries a unique story, and each stands as an individual expression of the adventure of his or her soul.

Adventures are not measured by the distance you travel or how big you tell the story.

It is not posted to Facebook or uploaded to Instagram. Adventures are about following your dreams, exploring the unknown and risking the consequences. Adventures take guts, calculated by the courage required to begin the journey and the exhilaration experienced along the way. As George Eliot asserted, “Adventure is not outside man, it is within.”

For some it takes the form of raw courage and resolve. Witness the fearlessness of 18-year-old local Haley Cutler, who has her sights set on making the U.S. Ski Team and competing in the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea (page 54) or the determination of 16-year-old Tess Hollister whose “idea of bliss is the hard crunch of rock and scree” underfoot and who took that passion one step further when she tackled the summits of nine of Idaho’s class 3 and class 4 peaks in just six days (page 59).

For others, that call has pulled them into some of the world’s most remote and wild places in our backcountry (“When Mountains Come Down,” page 94). For local ski patrolman and hunting and fishing outfitter Bryant Dunn, it took the form of a river when he journeyed to the heart of Bhutan to tell the story of a wilderness, and a way of life, perhaps on the precipice of being lost (“Land of the Thunder Dragon,” page 118). Local Dick Dorworth’s quest pulled him to Sun Valley in 1953 at the age of 14 where he became immersed in the very foundation of ski racing culture in this country (“Sun Valley’s Ski Racing Roots,” page 108).

Or, in the case of our featured profiles—Terry O’Connor, Ben Verge and Curtis Bacca (“Profiles in Excellence,” page 112)—it means climbing Everest, launching high over the lip of a superpipe, or calculating and plotting the exact vector of pure speed while spinning through winter on a never-ending global road trip in search of World Cup or X-Game gold.

Celebrate that spirit on these pages. Recall the time when expeditions called and the answer was yes. Live the dream with the individuals on these pages. Maybe it will inspire you to explore a little further and declare a simple “yes” to your own adventure!

publisher

24 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Laurie Sammis / editor-in-chief

photo: FiveB studios

S

The brightest spot in Ketchum Celebrate Sun Valley by owning a piece of its future. A brand already known for quality, community and casual luxury, the new Limelight Hotel will be the perfect base for all of your adventures. Make sure to stop by the Limelight Residences showroom (opening mid-December) on 2nd Street, across from the Magic Lantern. email realestate@limelighthotel.com call Dick Fenton of McCann Daech Fenton Realtors at 208-720-0386 visit limelighthotel.com/limelight-residences The renderings shown in this ad are visualizations of preliminary design concepts and are subject to change without notice. Developer is under no obligation to construct or use any of the concepts, materials or design details shown. Please obtain the property report or its equivalent as required by federal or state law and carefully read it before signing anything. This is not an offer or solicitation in any state in which the legal requirements for such offering have not been met. Warning: the California Department of Real Estate has not inspected, examined or qualified this offering. Š 2015, Aspen Skiing Company and Limelight. Limelight name and marks are the trademarks of Aspen Skiing Company LLC. Designated copyrighted materials, trademarks, photos, artwork and logos are the property of the respective owners and used pursuant to express agreement.

featuredcontributors | writers & photographers

Julie Bramowitz

courtesy tessa sheehan

|

Tessa Sheehan

courtesy kira tenney

Tal Roberts

TAL ROBERTS got his start creating still images by hitting the pause button when the tricks looked just right on the classic skateboard videos of the mid-1990s. Though he didn’t use a real camera until years later, the desire to document his passions was still intact. Originally from Gig Harbor, Washington, Tal has lived in Ketchum, Idaho, since 2005 and continues to focus on making pictures of his friends having fun. (“Fat Bikes Shift into High Gear,” p.84; “Terrain Mania,” p.86; “Profiles in Excellence,” p.112).

julie bramowitz is the former arts editor of the Idaho Mountain Express. Before moving to Sun Valley, Julie was the research director and a features contributor at Vogue. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times and Interview, among other publications. She is at work on her first one-act play while awaiting ski season. (“Chill Factor,” p.54; “Fools for Love,” p.134).

TESSA SHEEHAN moved to the Wood River Valley at 5 years old and, after studying journalism and mass media at the University of Idaho, she circled back home.

Today, you can find her traveling the world, exploring the Valley’s mountain trails, volunteering at local events, at a local yoga studio or listening to live music. Through it all, she has a camera hanging on her hip, waiting to catch the next fleeting moment of life in Sun Valley. (“Belly Up to the Barre,” p.72).

KIRA TENNEY works as a freelance writer, whitewater kayak instructor and yoga instructor around the world. Hard to pin down in one place, she can be found anywhere from the Tibetan Plateau working on the development of river tourism for Last Descents, to Jinja, Uganda, teaching a community yoga class before kayaking the Nile.

Inevitably, you can always find her back in a place that she considers to be one of the best in the world, and that’s home sweet Sun Valley. (“Ben Verge,” p.116).

also in this issue... photographers

Wyatt Caldwell, Ed Cannady, Jen Dessinger, Bryant Dunn, FiveB Studios, Ray J. Gadd, Cody Haskell, Dev Khalsa, Eric Kiel, Matt Leidecker, Max Monahan, Amanda Nagy, Paulette Phlipot, Kirsten Shultz, Jamie Walter & Will Wissman 26 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

writers

Karen Bossick, Lisa Carton, Dick Dorworth, Bryant Dunn, Jon Duval, Danielle Flam, Matt Furber, Cheryl Haas, Kelly Hennessy, Patti Murphy, Laurie Sammis, Adam Tanous & Gwen Ashley Walters

photos clockwise from top left: courtesy tal roberts

|

courtesy julie bramowitz

|

Kira Tenney

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© 2015

TWO GREAT STORES, ONE OUTSTANDING CAUSE

w i n t e r

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managing editor Adam Tanous creative director Roberta Morcone production director Kate Elgee

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SUN VALLEY MAGAZINE AWARDS 2015 Maggie Awards

Finalist, Best Annuals & One-Time Custom Publication/Consumer Finalist, Best Cover/Consumer

2014 Maggie Awards

Finalist, Best Annuals & One-Time Custom Publication/Consumer

2013 Maggie Awards

Finalist, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer Finalist, Best Special Theme Issue/Consumer

2012 Maggie Awards

Winner, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer

2011 Maggie Awards

Finalist, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer Finalist, Best Special Theme Issue/Consumer

2010 Maggie Awards

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Ozzie Award Winner, Best Use of Photography Sun Valley Magazine® (ISSN 1076-8599) is published three times a year by Mandala Media LLC. Editorial, advertising and administrative offices are located at 313 N. Main St., Hailey, Idaho 83333. Telephone: 208.788.0770; Fax: 208.788.3881. Mailing address: 313 N. Main Street, Hailey, Idaho 83333. Copyright ©2015 by Mandala Media, LLC. Subscriptions: $22 per year, single copies $5.95.

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The opinions expressed by authors and contributors to Sun Valley Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher. Mandala Media LLC sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This issue was printed on recycled fibers containing 10% post consumer waste, with inks containing a blend of soy base. Our printer is a certified member of the Forestry Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and additionally meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards. When you are finished with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it.

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localbuzz | something

localbuzz

Sunrise on Castle Peak (left) and Merriam Peak (right) in the newly formed White Clouds Wilderness area.

46 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

The Long Path to Wilderness Congressman Simpson Triumphs in a Decade-Long Quest

BY Matt Furber / PHOTOGRAPHY Ed Cannady How Congressman Mike Simpson forged unanimous consent for House Bill 1138, to designate as wilderness 275,665 acres in that part of Idaho known as the Boulder-White Clouds, is the stuff of a compelling Netflix “House of Cards” episode. A Republican with plenty of anti-wilderness colleagues, Simpson’s achievement harkens to the 1960s, younger years he spent on horseback in the Sawtooth and Teton Mountains when wilderness policy was in its infancy.

Rick Johnson, executive director of the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) and a 30-year wilderness advocate, thinks that, despite Simpson’s decade of failed attempts to deliver an Idaho wilderness bill, his stature as a congressman has grown while serving on the House Appropriations Committee because people simply like him. It didn’t hurt that he and former House Speaker John Boehner are close, Johnson said. Johnson flew in to join Simpson, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and other wilderness supporters in the Oval Office when President Barack Obama signed the “Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act,” Friday, August 7, 2015, just as the last members of the fractious 114th Congress slipped away for summer recess.

The three new and adjacent wilderness areas in the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains are the 106-square-mile Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness, the 142-square-mile White Clouds Wilderness, both being managed as part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, and the 183-square-mile Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness, which covers 145 square miles of national forest land, and, on the east side of the

White Clouds, 37 square miles supervised by the Bureau of Land Management.

“What Congressman Simpson was able to do was get everybody to the table in a very collaborative fashion, to where he got the wilderness preservationists, the hikers, the backpackers, the horse people, the motorized users, including snowmobile, ATV, and motorcycle people, to all agree to a management plan for everything that is included in this bill,” Senator Jim Risch said on the Senate floor when the bill made it over its final hurdle August 4.

“Congressman Simpson was tenacious on this.

He gets the full credit for this. I think Idahoans will truly appreciate this for many years.”

“I believe that when God goes on vacation he goes to the BoulderWhite Clouds.”

–congressman mike simpson

A number of folks, especially many in the mountain biking community, believe the Boulder-White Clouds landscape—an area where the snowpack feeds the massive diversity of flora and fauna in the greater Columbia River Basin, its river corridors the lifeblood of the famous five species of anadromous Pacific salmon—could have been better managed as a national monument. Nonetheless, the wilderness designation is a hard-fought milestone in the state’s legacy as a wilderness state. Not since 1980 under the leadership of Senator Frank Church had an Idaho delegation successfully gotten a wilderness bill for national forest lands to a

president’s desk. President Obama specifically noted that Simpson had achieved passage of the bill without a single “no” vote, probably a first for a stand-alone wilderness bill in any Congress.

Many aspects of the Boulder-White Clouds story come down to the numbers, even boiled down to the number 42, the atomic number for molybdenum. The precious element exists in various mineral deposits found under Castle Peak in the White Cloud Mountains. A quest in the late 1960s by the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASRCO) to mine molybdenum from the picturesque mountain catalyzed former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus’ career. Andrus, together with Senator Church, was instrumental in stopping the mine by supporting the establishment in 1972 of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. In the western portion of the new recreation area, the Sawtooth Wilderness was added to the young wilderness preservation system; however, in the eastern portion of the SNRA, the BoulderWhite Clouds, mining interest could not be entirely quashed.

In the name of compromise, conservationists had to be content with a Wilderness Study Area designation for the Boulder-White Clouds, which, as an administrative grey area for public land agencies, gave rise to management that allowed increasing recreational use like motorcycling and mountain biking. Bicycle riders took to the solitude of the BoulderWhite Clouds, in particular the Castle Divide and Antz Basin areas. The new designation, however, has made the two areas off limits to bicycles and other mechanized transport.

Naturally, organizations like the International WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 47

localbuzz | wilderness WHITE CLOUDS WILDERNESS Stanley

JIM MCCLURE-JERRY PEAK WILDERNESS

HEMINGWAY-BOULDERS WILDERNESS

Ketchum

I D A H O Above: When President Obama signed the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act, three wilderness areas were added to Idaho, totaling nearly 276,000 acres. At right: Castle Peak stands tall in the White Clouds Range.

48 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

“Idaho, in particular, is one of the states rich in wilderness. Idaho has a special responsibility to the nation and all other species to protect it.”

–roderick nash, author of “wilderness and the american mind”

wilderness land in Idaho, his recent success may have had to do with the giant photograph of Castle Peak he took and that hangs in his Washington office. Just such an image taken

by Ernie Day during the early fight for the Boulder-White Clouds helped to galvanize people against mining.

“I believe that when God goes on vacation he goes to the Boulder-White Clouds.” By now, that’s a famous Simpson quote. Simpson also says that part of nailing down wilderness is the surety it gives to everyone with interests on the edge. “People know where they stand. With a national monument, everything is up in the air, and it can be overturned with the stroke of a pen by a future president.”

Roderick Nash, a one-time Elkhorn resident who maintains friendships in Idaho and wrote the seminal 1967 treatise,

“Wilderness and the American Mind,” said the new wilderness designations in Idaho are something to celebrate, despite controversy over various compromises.

“I want to applaud the leaders who made these wilderness additions possible. There is a tendency to erode the concept of wilderness— to chip away at the edges,” he said during a telephone conversation from his home in Santa Barbara. “Idaho, in particular, is one of the states rich in wilderness. Idaho has a special responsibility to the nation and all other species to protect it.”

Nash said, as a country and a people, we have come a long way from “the closing of the frontier” in 1890, the pivotal moment in history when wilderness began to be viewed as an asset rather than as an adversary. It is aesthetic muse, recreational outlet, even

map illustration : roberta morcone

Mountain Bicycling Association and the Wood River Bike Coalition supported the monument option that could have ensured bicycle access to the area.

“Getting wilderness passed has never been easy,” Simpson said from Washington, D.C., as he prepared to travel back to Idaho during fall recess to attend an ICL party, a celebration with a number of people who have lobbied for many years for more Idaho wilderness. In the end, it seems only mountain bikers felt left out in the cold.

Ed Cannady, who works for the SNRA and has logged as many miles as any human in the Boulder-White Clouds, says one of the greatest ecological benefits of the new law is that it set forth a path for ranchers to retire their grazing rights in and around the new wilderness areas.

The buyouts happen with private funds, and Simpson said some ranchers have already availed themselves of the opportunity to retire. This stipulation of the law, Simpson said, made the wilderness component more palatable to some.

More than anything else in Simpson’s decade-long campaign to secure more

religious inspiration, “a purer expression of God’s work,” Nash theorized. Wilderness preservation has become a part of the national identity. “You know, we don’t have the big cathedrals of Europe,” Nash said. “We do have wilderness, wild country.”

Simpson says he thinks of wilderness as a nonpartisan issue, and he cherishes Thoreau’s saying: “In Wilderness is the preservation of the World.”

“I really believe that,” he said.

At the signing of the bill in August, President Obama said, “I think everybody here knows that one of the prettiest states that we have with some of the greatest national treasures is the great state of Idaho.” The law brought the country’s tally of designated wilderness a pinch closer to 10 million acres in 759 parcels around the nation. They range in size from 6 acres at Pelican Island in Florida to more than 9 million acres at Wrangell-Saint Elias in Alaska.

“I am very proud to be able to sign this piece of legislation,” he added.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 49

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localbuzz | campion ice house

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Sarah Benson’s daughter and son weren’t even born when she began lobbying to build an indoor ice rink in Hailey. Now, 14-year-old Morgan and 11-year-old Zach are reaping the benefits of what Mom and others accomplished.

The 33,000-square-foot Hailey Campion Ice House, which cost approximately $6 million, opened in November with seating for 450 around a regulation-sized rink. It features an exercise area, four locker rooms with restrooms, a conference room, skate rental area and George’s Café, named for the late San Jose Sharks owner and champion of the Sun Valley Suns, George Gund III. The rink is expected to transform youngsters into Wayne Gretzky-wannabes and boost the economy of Main Street, Hailey.

“It’s quite simply a game changer for hockey in the Valley,” said Chris McAvoy.

“It’ll double the amount of ice time that my son Teagan and other players will get. And our kids will get to play more games at home against stiffer competition.”

The rink will also pack hockey players into area hotels in January and February, said high school hockey coach Pete Prekeges. “Imagine 300 people a weekend filling 150 rooms between Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley—the economic impact could be huge.”

50 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

While ice hockey is sometimes called “the fastest game on earth,” efforts to build the rink were 15 years in the making—ever since parents began hosing down ice in Roberta McKercher Park. Hailey dentist Ron Fairfax and attorney Jim Laski tried several locations on for size, including one in Lions Park and one near Albertsons, before they finally found, in 2010, a home on city property near the Hailey rodeo grounds. But the project stalled when a major donor withdrew his donation after the 2008 economic crisis.

After some time, the project began to inch forward again with donations from the Nancy Eccles and Homer M. Hayward Foundation, the Spencer F. and Cleone P. Eccles Family Foundation, and the Arthur E. Johnson and Helen K. Johnson Deer Creek Fund.

The game changer came when Deer Creek resident Lynn Campion Waddell provided an additional gift of $4 million from the fund that her grandparents—the Johnsons—created at their kitchen table in Colorado in 1948. With that, Hailey Ice broke ground in Spring 2014.

“I don’t even ice skate,” said Campion Waddell. “But I had been involved with the drug coalition and I knew that when kids get in trouble is usually right after school. I also knew that the primary facility catering

photo : cody haskell

BY Karen Bossick

to youth—the Wood River YMCA—was up north when most of the youth lived in Hailey and Bellevue. And I knew that parents were taking their kids to the ice rink in Sun Valley at 9 and 10 at night because that’s the only time they could get on the ice.

“I’m hoping this gives families something they can do together,” she added. “And in summer we can use it for things like weddings and concerts.”

A “Boots & Blades” party in September gave supporters a chance to buy $1,000 commemorative pucks, with the profits adding finishing touches in the form of hockey boards, rubber matting, benches and scoreboards.

“This came about with a lot of community support,” said Benson, the director of the nonprofit organization. “We got donations from $5 and up—all of them counted, and all of them gave our supporters ownership in the rink.”

Hailey Ice volunteers predict the rink will attract 25,000 skaters a year. They are committed to providing free ice time—a big deal considering ice time can cost up to $300 an hour. They will offer Learn to Skate programs, hockey leagues, curling tournaments, figure skating classes for youth and adults, and hockey sleds for veterans through Higher Ground.

Volunteers also plan to flood the rodeo grounds for an outside rink as weather permits.

“I’m super excited about the rink,” said Ike Buxton, a high school student who helped develop the rink’s dry land training facility.

“This has been a long time coming.”

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come one, come all The Hailey Campion Ice House welcomes all levels and encourages both public skates and private events—think birthday parties and special events! Here is a sampling of what is currently scheduled: Stick and Puck — Mon-Fri, 10:00-11:30 am Noon Hockey —Mon-Fri, 12:00-1:30 pm Open Hockey — Wed, 6:30-8:00 pm B League Hockey — Sun, 4:15 pm Public Skate — Mon-Fri, starting at 2:00 pm, plus Friday nights and weekends when available New to skating, don’t miss the “Learn to Skate” series, or “Cheap Skate” times on Wednesdays (2:00-3:45 pm) when all ice admission is only $3. *Times are subject to change, based on special events and tournaments.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 51

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localbuzz | olympic training

The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Sun Valley Economic Development hope to replace the current air barn in Elkhorn with a new 25,000-square-foot facility in Ketchum.

going for gold A Proposal to Take Valley Athletes to the Next Level

52 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

sends a clear message to the ski and snowboard world that this is the place to be if you have elite snowboarding or Nordic, alpine or freestyle skiing aspirations. Not content to stop there, these nonprofit organizations are hoping to set a new standard for training with a proposed facility to help athletes get vertical, upside down and onto the ground in a safe and fun environment.

The proposal is to build a new “air barn” in the parking lot adjacent to the north side of the Wood River YMCA—a piece of property owned by the city of Ketchum—to house ramps, foam pits and features that would be of great value to skiers, snowboarders, BMX riders, skateboarders and anyone else looking for a way to train with coaches on how to flip, spin and soar in their chosen disciplines.

The SVSEF currently operates an air barn in Elkhorn at Sagewillow, but after a number of upgrades to keep up with the development of young athletes, the

organization is eyeing a project of a larger scale that would not only benefit their members, but the entire community as well.

Growing from the current 10,000-squarefoot space to the proposed 25,000 square feet could also see the incorporation of a human performance laboratory to bring a sophisticated level of sports science to the SVSEF program and athletes throughout the entire Wood River Valley.

“The air barn has had overwhelming response, but we need room to grow and improve because we are limited by space,” said Zach Crist, director of development for SVSEF. “We need to think where we’ll be in five years. I think we should create something that will become a landmark in the competing resort communities.”

To do this, SVSEF and SVED have begun talks with Woodward, a company that operates four locations throughout the country and one in Beijing, and specializes in running facilities and camps that train and

photo : courtesy sun valley ski education foundation

The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) and Sun Valley Economic Development (SVED) are working hand-inhand to bring forward a project that would launch the young, and the braver old, into the air and, potentially, onto professional careers.

After receiving the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Site designation for snowsports in 2010, SVSEF has officially put itself on the map as a breeding ground for future world medalists by being one of 14 such sites in the country. Of course, a lack of this status hasn’t kept the progeny and residents of the Wood River Valley from mounting the podium adorned with the iconic rings. From Kaitlyn Farrington’s Olympic Gold in 2014 and reaching back to Dick Durrance’s Olympic trips in 1936 and 1940, local snow stars have been bringing fame, and hardware, back home for more than half a century.

However, there’s no question that having the stamp from the U.S. Olympic Committee

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teach the skills needed for “inverted” sports, such as doing a backflip out of a halfpipe.

“Why not take it as far as we can, target that elite athlete, and make it unlike anything else out there?” Crist said. “We have history that every resort wishes they had and can become a breeding ground of champions once again. This will help us stand out among other resorts where it’s becoming more and more competitive.”After multiple meetings with Woodward, Crist, along with SVED Executive Director Harry Griffith, are excited about the opportunities it could create for the community. In addition to improving the abilities of local athletes, a facility like this would provide camps for visiting families, potentially increasing year-round tourism.

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“The air barn has had overwhelming response, but we need room to grow and improve because we are limited by space.”

–zach crist, svsef director of development Beyond the actual participants, this project could also bring a significant economic impact, according to Griffith. “This is massive in terms of an infusion of new bodies and, ultimately, new residents,” Griffith said. “We anticipate this would create 25 to 30 jobs, both direct and indirect, along with an economic impact of $40 million over 10 years, with revenues exceeding $1 million after the first year.”

Crist and Griffith are quick to emphasize that this project will take investment from the community. But instead of taking what might be considered a more traditional donation approach, these groups are looking at a local investment model where the community can come together, participate in financing the project and benefit in the upside, both from an overall economic impact standpoint and a financial return on the success.

“If this becomes a reality, we can begin to import instead of export athletic talent,” said Crist, noting that athletes like gold medalist snowboarder Farrington had to move out of town to have access to the necessary facilities.

“We will no longer be sending our stars to sports academies elsewhere; they will be coming here instead.” for more articles on local happenings, visit

sunvalleymag.com/localbuzz/

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 53

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360°kids

Chill Factor Hailey ski phenom Haley Cutler keeps her cool as she races to the top

BY Julie Bramowitz Haley Cutler was 18 months old when her parents brought her to Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain, where she flew down the bunny hill with a fearlessness that presaged her young but promising career as one of the fastest skiers in the country.

From that first day, recalled Cutler’s mother, Chelsea, it was clear that her daughter was born to race. Soon, the Hailey native won her inaugural Kindercup Race on Dollar Mountain, and at age 8, she joined the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), an incubator for champions. As a youngster, 54 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Cutler was so speedy that she earned the nickname “Picabo” from her peers. Unfamiliar with the Wood River Valley-bred Olympian Picabo Street, Cutler misunderstood her moniker as a putdown and came home crying.

A pep talk from Chelsea, who works three jobs to cover Cutler’s considerable costs as a competitive skier, opened Haley’s eyes to her namesake—and the possibility that she could one day match Street’s success.

Now, the easygoing 18-year-old has her sights set on making the elite U.S. Ski Team, embarking on a rigorous six-month quest that

involves twice-daily workouts, fundraising and a series of races whose victors are determined by fractions of a second. Since her early teens, Cutler has competed across North America, but it was back on Baldy this April where she accomplished her greatest coup to date: winning the super giant slalom, or super-G, event at the Western Region Spring Series.

“When I was at the starting gate, I felt confident because I knew where to go,” Cutler said a few days after returning from a training camp in Chile. “It’s a race that I’ve been looking back on a lot because the U.S. Nationals are in Sun Valley this year on that same hill, Warm Springs, and I’m preparing to win there again.”

Her SVSEF coach, Scott McGrew, who has been working with Cutler since she was 14, has seen hundreds of skiers pass through his program, but calls Haley’s raw talent remarkable. Whether she’s playing

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360°kids | haley cutler

At the 2015 Western Region FIS Elite Spring Series, Cutler won the ladies’ super-G.

volleyball or tennis—the Wood River graduate led both of the school’s teams to state championships—“everything Haley touches turns to gold,” he said. “She’s a phenomenal athlete.” What further distinguishes Cutler is “her competitive mind,” McGrew emphasized.

Plenty of jocks possess the physical chops; Cutler, however, is “very calm and keeps everything in perspective,” he said. “Come race day, she doesn’t deviate from that path.”

“As far as Haley’s skiing skills go,” offered McGrew’s SVSEF coaching colleague, Nate Schwing, “she flows down the hill like water.

She might not look as dynamic as the other racers, but her feel on the skis make her deceptively fast. She’s smooth, she’s balanced, she doesn’t look out of control—but she’s carrying a lot of speed.”

Judging by the U.S. Ski Team’s past criteria, Cutler must prevail in two or more events within her age group, as well as establish a top-10 world ranking across all four alpine events, to be added to the roster.

Among female skiers born in 1997, Cutler was ranked 16th in the world in super-G and 27th in downhill in mid-October, and in the top five in the U.S. for both speed events, which “puts her solidly in the pipeline” for the national team, said McGrew. Her coaches are focused on improving her tech events, slalom and giant slalom, in which Cutler has not broken into the world’s top 100. While 208.721.1641 • kristin@cheatwoodphoto.com

56 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

not impossible, making a huge leap in tech is Cutler’s greatest challenge this season.

That makes the stakes at Cutler’s next races, including a critical date in December at Lake Louise in Canada, that much higher.

By May, Cutler will know whether she’s made the U.S. squad. Once on the team, her next goal is to score a Nor-Am title, which would grant her a World Cup spot. From there, Cutler could be vying for the ultimate prize: an Olympic medal at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.

Despite her outward cool, Cutler admits that like anyone else out on the hill, she feels stress. She credits her mother’s advice for staying positive after a disappointing performance and points to breathing exercises and yoga for both better flexibility—essential for those low tucks and tight turns—and not crumbling under pressure. A steady stream of Netflix while on the road—Cutler’s currently hooked on “Grey’s Anatomy”—helps, too.

With her friends caught up in the freshmen whirlwind of frats and football, Cutler stays in touch through social media, but doesn’t second-guess her decision to postpone education as she pursues a lifelong dream. “When I see pictures of my friends in college, I’m happy for them, but I don’t regret not joining them,” she said with conviction.

“I like where I am right now. This is what I want to do. This is what I chose to do.”

Her Sights Set on Speed photo : dev khalsa

Dog-sledder Julia Larsen takes on the world’s best

BY Kelly Hennessy

While most kids were still mastering how to tie their shoes, Julia Larsen was strapped to skis, being pulled behind her Siberian husky.

It was love at first tow. Ten years later, 16-yearold Larsen is entering her eighth season of competitive dog sledding.

She started her career tucked in a sled alongside her younger brother, attached to her skijoring father. The family had one Siberian husky at the time, something Julia insisted on fixing once she had ventured onto the skis herself. “I tried it and fell in love with just being behind a dog,” she explained with a laugh, “So then I was like, ‘Dad, we need to get more dogs. I want my own.’” Her father took her down to Logan, Utah, to adopt her own; they returned home with three.

Soon the dogs were too energetic to stick to skijoring, so they bought a dog sled. Larsen entered her first race when she was 8 years old. She started competing as a pro at 13.

Competing in the adult class is a question of skill, not age, and she is often the youngest, going up against other mushers over 45 years her senior, both women and men. One of her biggest rivals is her own father, Troy Larsen, the owner of Five Degrees Sled Dog Kennels and Windy City Arts. In a race last year in Darby, Montana, both Troy and Julia competed. “He took first, and I took second,” Julia recalled. “I think we were a minute away from each other. So, he got me,” she added with a dose of regret, quickly adding, “It makes the competition fun, though.”

The Larsens compete in “sprint” races, which can range from as few as four miles to as many as 100. Mid-distance races are 100 to 300 miles, and long-distance races are anywhere from 300 to over 1,000 miles. Most sprint races are two-day events, with mushers running the same course both days. They are also categorized by number of dogs; the younger Larsen usually runs with six dogs in 15-mile sprints. She averages around 16 to 17 miles per hour, which is not much slower than the best.

“I actually raced the world champions two years ago, which was really fun. They’re averaging 19 miles per hour,” she exclaimed. “I mean, 20 miles per hour, a dog is going to hurt itself. I think I averaged 17. It was crazy.”

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 57

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This is a much faster pace than in longer races; in the most famous dog sledding race, the Iditarod, mushers average around 5 miles per hour. In seventh grade, Larsen had an opportunity to be a part of the “Last Great Race on Earth,” working as family friend and Wood River Valley local Trent Herbst’s sidekick and handler. Her class was studying the Iditarod that year. Larsen gave them a presentation on her firsthand experiences, and, for the past three years, has been going back to the seventh grade to teach them.

The Iditarod isn’t Larsen’s end game, however. Her sights are set on speed. She is going to stick to the sprints. “My goal for this year is to go a little faster,” she explained. “I’m racing puppies—they are two years old now, and they are at the point where we can start adding speed.”

Achieving this goal is practically a fulltime job for Larsen, who has to train both the dogs and herself. This starts in the summer, she explained, “I used to play basketball, and, with basketball, you don’t scrimmage until you’ve really conditioned hard.” For her dogs, conditioning consists of pulling a four-wheeler set in neutral. Sometimes, she added, “You

actually have to put the brake on, too, ’cause they are so strong.” Starting out, the dogs just go for three miles, slowly, about 12 miles per hour, to build their muscles. The speed picks up in November, and, as the snow falls, the dogs get on a sled, usually in December.

Larsen herself has an intense training regimen, as it is essential for her to stay strong.

“You can stand on the back of the sled,” she said, but, for good mushers, “it is a lot of getting off the sled and working, running up the hill, helping the dogs.” She laughed, “By the time I’m done with the race I’m pretty sweaty.” Both she and the dogs have to stay strong, Larsen said, because, “if you’re not strong and in shape, you can get hurt.”

For Larsen, all of this hard work is more than worth it in the end. The dogs helped her grow up, she said, and one of her favorite parts of dog sledding is “what the dogs teach you.

You have to feed them every day, run them, take care of them.” However, the best part of it all is “just being behind the sled.” For Larsen, what brings her back every day, year after year, to stand on her dog sled is the tranquility. “It’s quiet. It’s gliding on the snow. It’s peaceful. It’s my de-stressor from the world.”

Larsen and her team training near Baker Creek, Idaho.

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photo : courtesy troy d. larsen

360°kids | julia larsen

photo : dev khalsa

It’s All In the Altitude Teen Tess Hollister Tackles Idaho’s Tallest Peaks

BY Lisa Carton Sixteen-year-old Tess Hollister’s idea of bliss is the hard crunch of rock and scree under her well-worn hiking shoes, rays of sunlight on her face as she scrambles her way to the top of one of Idaho’s tallest peaks.

Each year a handful of hikers set their sights on completing what is known as the “12-er Challenge,” tackling the nine peaks in Idaho that stand above 12,000 feet. These span three mountain ranges in the central

part of the state, ranging from Mount Borah at 12,662 feet, to Hyndman Peak, with an elevation of 12,009 feet.

“My dad exposed me to adventure at an early age, and I love the feeling of being outdoors in nature and climbing. It grounds me,” said the Wood River High School sophomore. “Challenging myself is something that’s just kind of inside me.”

Summiting these nine peaks is a multi-year,

or, at the least, a seasonal endeavor for most.

Hollister completed the Idaho 12-er Challenge in six days, six hours and six minutes, the fastest and youngest female finisher to date.

What drives this 5-foot, 9-inch, athletic, fresh-faced beauty to forego a summer of hanging out with friends to undertake such a goal?

“To graduate from Wood River you have to complete a Personal Project, and I wanted to get it out of the way early because I’m taking a lot of AP classes my senior year and need to focus on college stuff,” said Hollister who holds a 4.0 grade point average, and is also a three-sport varsity athlete. “My dad and I are almost at our goal of summiting the tallest peaks in the lower 48, so I figured I could tackle the 12-er challenge, all of Idaho’s WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 59

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360°kids | tess hollister

tallest peaks, and make that my project.”

Mount Elbert in Colorado, Mount Rainier in Washington, Mount Whitney in California, Kings Peak in Utah, and Mauna Kea in Hawaii, are climbs already in the memory books for Hollister.

“There’s nothing that really stops Tess,” said father Steve Hollister, who accompanied his daughter on a few legs of the climbs. “She’s very tough and extremely disciplined. When she climbs, she’s focused, and she’s usually way out in front of me. I knew she had the fortitude to do it. It was a joy to watch her.”

Mom Leisa Hollister kept track of Tess’s journey solidly planted on terra firma, helping her daughter design and implement a solid nutrition plan. “Tess set a goal, and this accomplishment helps set a pattern for her life, that whatever she wants to do she can achieve.”

Hollister not only had an adult support team, but her peers, including her best friend, cheered her on. “She loves to climb, so I think it was cool that she incorporated that passion into her Personal Project for school,” said 16-year-old Blair Radford. “We were all inspired by it, and all I could say was, ‘Tess is at it again!’”

Seventeen-year-old Wood River High senior Jordan Bjorkman offered, “I don’t think I really got how hard it was until she was texting me along the way, telling me what she was going through. And, at that point, I realized she was accomplishing a huge goal. It was big. I kept telling her that she couldn’t think of results, just take it one step at a time.”

Hollister certainly had no easy hikes among these class 3 and 4 monster peaks. Idaho’s tallest are all off-trail, steep climbs, where the air is thin, and your companions are mountain lions and the elusive bighorn sheep.

The typical elevation gains are close to 5,000 feet—think climbing the height of the Empire State Building more than three times.

Tess scrambled up the peaks without ropes, on terrain with vertical cliff walls and sheer drops that would make most people squeamish.

“I suppose this whole thing looked better on paper. There were some points, especially on Mount Leatherman, where I wanted to stop, maybe quit, but my dad kept me going,” Hollister said. She enlisted and organized an expert team of fellow climbers to support her.

“Tess is such a super hiker and scrambler,” said Chris Cey, a strong advocate and great motivator for Hollister, who was also her school advisory teacher for her Personal 60 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Day 2, on Chicken Out Ridge just below the summit of Borah.

photos : courtesy tess hollister

Day 3, at the top of Mount Idaho, 12,065 feet.

Day 4, at the top of Leatherman Peak with dad, Steve Hollister.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 61

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360°kids | tess hollister

Hollister’s 6 Day Odyssey DAY 1: July 11 – Diamond Peak

Diamond Peak, Hollister’s first peak, is in the Lemhi Range of Butte County. Climbing the east ridge is the route, and it’s very steep. It’s a hard class 3. Round trip is five miles with an elevation gain of 4,200 feet.

DAY 5: July 16 – Four in One Day

Mount Church is the third highest peak in Idaho.

It is unofficially named after U.S. Senator Frank Church, who was very active in developing wilderness areas in Idaho in the 1970s. Round trip is nine miles with an elevation gain of 5,200 feet.

12,197 feet

– Cathie Caccia, Yoga Instructor

12,200 feet

Donaldson Peak is named after Supreme Court

DAY 2: July 12 – Borah Peak

Mount Borah is the highest peak in Idaho, named after the late Senator William Borah.

“Chicken-Out-Ridge” is the most difficult part with 2,000-foot drop-offs. Round trip is seven miles with an elevation gain of 5,500 feet.

Justice Charles Donaldson. The round trip is 5 miles with an elevation gain of 300 feet if climbed in conjunction with Mount Church.

12,023 feet

12,662 feet Mount Breitenbach is named after Jake Breitenbach, an Idahoan, who died on Mount Everest during a 1963 expedition. Climbers say that some views resemble the Himalaya. Round trip is seven miles with an elevation gain of 4,500 feet.

DAY 3: July 13 – Mount Idaho

The route to take is Elkhorn Creek to the summit, but there is no trail. Round trip is eight miles with an elevation gain of 5,000 feet.

12,140 feet

12,065 feet Lost River Mountain is the least known of the nine 12,000-footers, is located south of Mount Breitenbach. Round trip is six miles with an elevation gain of 4,400 feet.

12,078 feet

DAY 4: July 14 – Leatherman Peak

You can see this monstrous peak from the west from Highway 93. The peak is named after Henry Leatherman, who was a hunter, trapper, freight carrier and teamster in the Lost River Valley. Round trip is eight miles with an elevation gain of 4,100 feet.

12,228 feet

DAY 6: July 17 – Hyndman Peak

Hyndman is near the Sun Valley Resort and the easiest of the nine peaks. It is named after Major William Hyndman, a Civil War veteran and early mine operator. Round trip is twelve miles with an elevation gain of 5,009 feet.

12,009 feet

Rest Day: July 15

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Project and one of the participants in her climbs. “I suggested the 12-er Challenge to her as something she could do, but I never thought she would complete it in that timeline. Hiking with her showed me she’s quite the athlete and really capable of doing anything.”

Hollister’s team, besides school counselor Cey and father Steve, included Wood River High School teacher Alex LaChance and expert climbers Matt Barnes and Rob Landis.

Each climbed with Hollister on different days.

“I think what really struck me during that one-day, four-peak climb was just how much she really enjoyed the day, the mountains, the environment, despite the difficulty,” said Rob Landis. “She was just joyful.”

Hollister certainly took advantage of the advice, help and experience from Landis, who is the director of the Outdoor Program and the Outdoor Leadership Academy at Community School. The Hailey resident, along with climbing partner Dave Bingham, held the “Idaho 12-ers Challenge” record in 2005 at one day, 14 hours, 50 minutes.

“Day five climbing with Rob Landis was definitely the most difficult, and we started before sunrise,” said Hollister. “Those four peaks were the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. There’s a really tough traverse on Breitenbach, and that’s why I needed Rob to guide me. There are only 12 people that have ever done that scree traverse, and he’s one of them.”

That day comprised 14 miles and 8,700 vertical feet of climbing.

“Tess doesn’t ‘resent the mountain’ or think it’s a grind,” said team member Alex LaChance, who is a science and environmental studies teacher at Wood River High School. “A lot of people don’t like to hike with me because I’m known to push people really hard, but Tess is an extremely gifted athlete and impressive hiker. She was having a great time out there, and I had a hard time keeping up with her.”

With the Idaho 12-ers Challenge in Hollister’s rearview mirror, it’s time to conquer a different kind of summit: she’ll start her senior year next fall preparing to head off to college.

“I want to switch it up and go to school someplace by the water.” for more articles on kids and families visit 360sunvalley.com

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 63

500 N Main Street Ketchum ID 208 726 5282 silver-creek.com/hunting

@silvercreekoutfitters

Sun Valley Magazine’s

Glittering gold cashmere robe and slippers to match, a dream gift!

Madeline and Oliver 208. 726.7779

Just the Right Touch …

With the holiday season upon us, everyone could use some great gift ideas. In our gift guide section, we’ve collected some of our favorite local finds for the home, fashion, adventuring, and the little ones. Enjoy a little window-shopping from the comfort of your home!

Cutting-edge, Christian Dior sunglasses offer modern elegance and optimal protection.

Armstrong Root | 208.726.4250

Shuffle board at home!

Your guests will love this activity! A surprising gift for your home!

Picket Fence | 866.944.5511

This spot-on sign says it all, and it’s affordably priced.

Farmer’s Daughter 208.726.6433

Pour the perfect cup in holiday style!

Ketchum Kitchens 208.726.1989

One-of-a-kind driftwood sculptures will enhance any room in your home.

Red Door Design House 208.788.9075 Love at first sniff! Heavenly, quality products, pretty presents for everyone!

Silver Creek Outfitters | 208.726.5282

An essential accessory!

A silver tassel necklace is a must!

Kary Kjesbo 208.720.5957

Keep your beverages ice cool or hot with these attractive containers!

They’re Swell gifts!

Sway | 208.928.7884 64 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Serve up style with this Navajo-inspired tray and lazy Susan.

Silver Creek Outfitters | 208.726.5282

Flavored balsamic vinegars will temp the most discerning palettes.

Willow Papery | 208.726.0456

Burning for hours, these lavish candles provide splendid aroma in gorgeous glass vessels.

Webb Landscaping | 208.726.7213

No bones about it, this cashmere sweater and accessories are on the top of the wish list!

The Wildflower | 208.788.2425

Lube for the softest smelling skin!

The Wildflower | 208.788.2425

This buttery soft leather chair is simply divine!

Red Door Design House 208.788.9075

A collection of thoughtful gifts awaits the most discriminating shopper: canvas totes, woodsy trays and mugs, and plush pillows! Yummy!!

Sun Valley Garden Center | 208.788.3533

Snuggle up in this hoodie while keeping your ears warm with these fun beanies!

Farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daughter | 208.726.6433

Life-like Santas are waiting for a home! Bring these handmade Saint Nicks home for the holidays.

Picket Fence | 866.944.5511 WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 65

Sun Valley Magazine’s

‘All a Girl Really Wants …’

Well, there might be more than one thing. From all that shimmers to glorious textures, it’s tough to choose.

So, revel in the wealth of choices this holiday season.

Bundle up in style with fur adorned fashion!

Brass Ranch 208.622.2021 Designer brands available, ever so slightly used, at bargain prices!

Consign Design | 208.727.9466

Sumptuous separates and knock out nail color!

Sway | 208.928.7884

Sassy, sexy, and comfy!

Yes please!

Girl Friday 208.622.7364

Locally handmade totes and purses are the rave.

Dressy enough for evening and sporty enough for day!

SQN Sport 208.726.0499

This ridiculously soft backpack is paired with fresh suede kicks: accessories for the most luxurious taste!

Panache | 208.622.4228

Studded with silver sparkle this backpack is a holiday must-have! Convertible mittens pair well with both bags!

Brass Ranch | 208.622.2021

Wrap yourself in luxury with this eternity scarf!

SQN Sport | 208.726.0499 Gray suede boots for every occasion!

Weather approved treads!

Brass Ranch | 208.622.2021 66 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Metallic gold boots will turn heads!

Silver Creek Outfitters 208.726.5282

Modern designs with exquisite diamond touches! Only the best!

Barry Petersen Jewelers 208.726.5202

Gorgeous and unique bracelets are the perfect final touch for any ensemble!

Girl Friday | 208.622.7364

Pom-pom perfection in every color!

Brass Ranch | 208.622.2021

Sporty and sophisticated, these sharp shades will keep the UVs off your pretty peeps!

Image Eyes Optical | 208.726.8749 Camo and cuddle up for winter.

Zenergy | 208.725.0595

Sparkling diamonds combined with unique nature inspired designs, a breathtaking combination!

Towne and Parke Jewelry 208.622.3522

European whimsical flair, only the best winter separates!

Bavarian Soul | 208.928.6488

Rawhide pouches hold secret lotion and potion treasures!

Webb Landscaping 208.726.7213

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 67

Sun Valley Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

How did we get so much gear?

Store it on the rack!

Sturtos | 208.788.7847 A variety of beacons, a backcountry lifesaver!

Backwoods Mountain Sports 208.726.8826

Adventure Essentials The options for adventure here are almost unlimited. But a guy or gal has to have the right gear, whether winter fishing, skinning up Galena, carving Baldy, or just skipping town for a weekend. Check out our favorite finds for getting out there â&#x20AC;Ś

Rods, reels and everything to catch that whopper!

Silver Creek Outfitters 208.726.5282

Sleek and sporty: hold gear for your next adventure and more!

Lost River Outfitters 208.726.1706

Backcountry ski skins make it easy going up!

Backwoods Mountain Sports 208.726.8826 68 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Inflatable backpack, shovel and probes help ensure safety in backcountry outings.

Backwoods Mountain Sports 208.726.8826

The K2 Coomback is named for the late big mountain skier Doug Coombs.

With a 104 mm waist, the Coomback will ski like a dream in the powder. For backcountry trips, be sure to include the DeLormeinReach SE 2-Way Satellite Communicator.

Backwoods Mountain Sports 208.726.8826

Travis Rice has designed a line of snowboards with unique geometries and designs, including boards with a shortened midsection rocker and lengthened camber at tip and tail.

Board Bin | 208.726.1222

The new Elan Amphibio 84 XTI ski from Elan is designed for versatility, offering great performance on all kinds of snow.

Oakley High Definition Optics® (HDO®) lenses optimize safety and performance.

Formula Sports | 208.726.3194

Kastle’s latest edition of its all-mountain ski is the FX series.

With an ash and silver fir core, the ski is light and offers high performance in three widths: 84, 94, and 104 mm. Stay warm with Zanier Heated Ski Gloves.

Sturtevants | 208.726.4501

Dialing

Gear in the

For those gearing up for the Nordic season, be sure to check out the new skis from Fischer, the Speedmax Skate Plus, as well as the Redline from Madschus that features a carbon-construction technology.

The Elephant’s Perch 208.726.3497

The Testa ski from Zai offers timeless looks, a walnut surface and cedar core; the Spada is likely the only ski in the world with a granite core.

Brass Ranch | 208.622.2021

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 69

Sun Valley Magazine’s

Little Wonders There’s no better time than the holidays to spoil the youngest among us with all things cute and cuddly. After all, what little girl could resist a bunny with fuzzy, floppy ears?

What little boy wouldn’t love a grooming snowcat complete with winching cable?

There’s more, just explore …

Ready to hit the slopes in style!

Great outfits for the little shredders!

Sturtevants | 208.726.4501

Remote control snowcat, for the big kid in every little kid!

The Toy Store 208.726.5966

Squeezable bunnies with with red and white striped outfit to match!

Sun Valley Garden Center 208.788.3533

Storage perfect for kids on the go!

Adventure awaits!

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Every little girl’s dream doll!

The Toy Store | 208.726.5966

70 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Soft and snuggly!

Keep them warm with Patagonia!

The Elephant’s Perch 208. 726.3497

Quality hand sized shiny wooden cars! Zoom zoom!

Picket Fence | 866.944.5511

Whimsical critters looking for loving homes!

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Adorable sweet, soft booties for little toes!

Tator Tots. | 208.725-5437

The tooth fairy, a tradition full of memories for all! Leave tooth in crown and wait â&#x20AC;Ś Sun Valley Garden Center 208.788.3533

Fifi is the best poof for little people!

Picket Fence | 866.944.5511

Place bootie cuffs on top of boots and wait for smiles!

The Wildflower | 208.788.2425 WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 71

body&soul | something

body&soul

72 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Belly up to the Barre Barre Workouts Build Strength and Flexibility

BY Karen Bossick PHOTOGRAPHY Tessa Sheehan Jen Galpin, a barre instructor at Pure Body Pilates in Hailey, lightly laid her hand on the beam of a portable barre, using it for balance as she sank down, turned her knees out and rose up on her toes. A few seconds later, she straightened her legs and moved her feet together, turning them sideways, one in front of another. “Oooh. Feel the burn,” she said, as four women behind her followed suit.

Galpin and her classmates were not training for “The Nutcracker Suite.”

Instead, they were fusing ballet moves with movements from Pilates and yoga, toning and sculpting their bodies as music from ACDC set the beat.

“I’ve found it’s a real fun way to target smaller muscle groups, like the really deep rotator muscles in the back of the hip joint that you might not access with other forms of exercise,” said Alysha Oclassen, who owns Pure Body Pilates. “And it lengthens the muscles, whereas other forms of exercise usually contract and shorten muscles.”

Barre is a spinoff of a method introduced by German dancer Lotte Berk in the 1940s. Berk built upon the isometrics and muscle-building exercises her physical therapists used with her after she injured her back in a car accident.

She figured she could combine such small repetitive movements that would isolate and engage the muscles with barre warmWINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 73

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body&soul | something Barre instructor Christina Arpp (far left) teaches a class at Studio Move in Ketchum.

“I love that the body gets stronger and more flexible. And I love that I can focus on my body during barre in ways that I can’t always do when doing other types of exercise.”

ups to help dancers achieve sinewy physiques without risking injury from vigorous exercises involving running and jumping.

Celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Madonna and Kelly Ripa began bellying up to the barre several years ago. And today there is no shortage of barre classes in the Wood River Valley, with adherents performing at barres at the Wood River YMCA, Zenergy, Studio Move, Pure Body Pilates, Resilient Body Pilates and GATHER Yoga & Studio.

While graceful, barre is clearly challenging, even torturous, as adherents strengthen, then lengthen. Sweat beads formed on Victoria Yee’s forehead as Galpin led her through the workout. And everyone’s thighs began to quake.

“Everyone quivers. And it’s a wonderful feeling because you’re working your muscles 74 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

to exhaustion, stretching them out long,” said Studio Move owner Debra Drake, who often has her students stand on unstable bases, such as 2-inch-thick foam squares to engage the muscles even more. “And the fact that you can rev up your metabolism and get a good cardio workout while standing in place makes it good for older people and baby boomers who might have joint issues.”

Barre needs few props beyond the barre.

“Anyone can benefit from a ballet barre class, but it is not for the faint of heart—you will work hard!” said Hilarie Neely, director of Footlight Dance Centre.

Barre is good for those making the transition to skiing or mountain biking as it gets the legs “super strong,” added Galpin.

Dori Davenport likes how it lengthens her muscles and leads to a taller spine. And

–donna d’adamo, barre instructor Peggy Bates, a longtime dance instructor with LineDancZen, said it has improved her stamina for dancing. “I do it religiously— twice a week,” she said. “My body has changed. My balance has improved, and my endurance is better. I don’t feel the burn in my legs like I used to. And, while my posture has always been good, I’m putting my shoulders back even more now.”

Donna D’Adamo, who teaches barre at Resilient Body Pilates, has noticed similar results. “I love that the body gets stronger and more flexible. And I love that I can focus on my body during barre in ways that I can’t always do when doing other types of exercise,” she said. “I decided it’s something I can do until I’m 90, so it must be good for others, too.”

The Classic Outfitter for the Sun Valley Lifestyle.

winter barre classes Monday

9:00 am @ Resilient Body Pilates 12:00 pm @ GATHER Yoga & Studio 12:15 pm @ YMCA 12:30 pm @ Resilient Body Pilates

Tuesday

8:00 am @ Zenergy 9:00 am @ Studio Move 5:30 pm @ GATHER Yoga & Studio 6:00 pm @ Resilient Body Pilates

Wednesday

9:30 am @ Pure Body Pilates

thursday

12:00 pm @ GATHER Yoga & Studio 6:00 pm @ Resilient Body Pilates

Friday

8:00 am @ Zenergy 9:00 am @ Resilient Body Pilates 9:00 am @ Studio Move 9:30 am @ Pure Body Pilates 11:00 am @ YMCA 12:00 pm @ GATHER Yoga & Studio

Sunday

10:00 am @ Zenergy *Times subject to change足; check websites for details.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 75

500 N Main Street Ketchum ID 208 726 5282 silver-creek.com/womens

@silvercreekoutfitters

body&soul | organic beauty

EvErything for abovE & Below the SheetS

Organically Speaking Botanicals Backed by Science

ER

MA

INE+OL L E I

V

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BY Cheryl Haas

ab

s ov everything for eet e & h below the s

460 Sun Valley Road, Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 726-7779

www.madelineandoliver.com formerly Ketchum Bed & Bath

When it comes to looking great, we’re often willing to put up with, well, more than we should. Think skiing without a hat so as not to mess up our hair, or slathering our bodies with baby oil to get a great tan.

Thank goodness we’re smarter than that now!

Consumers are now savvy enough to know they don’t want to sacrifice their health for the sake of beauty.

Until about 10 years ago, consumers had to choose between “medical-grade” skin products, which produced results but were loaded with carcinogens and preservatives, or products that were deemed “natural” but yielded no tangible improvements. Now, science and technology are able to integrate the best of both.

“Definitely the trend is toward organic,” said Mollie Holt, spa director at Zenergy.

“People are aware that what you put on your skin goes directly into your bloodstream—so if you’re eating organic and putting Cheetos on your skin...”

Holt said that the spa’s best-selling product 76 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

by far is Eminence, a certified organic botanical skincare line from Hungary for which ingredients are cultivated and harvested “bio-dynamically.” Production is powered by solar, wind and geothermal energy, and the product is handmade and handpacked.

Anette Farnham, owner of Vertu, a hair salon in Ketchum, began using organic products 10 years ago because of her allergic reaction to traditional products. “I switched to Philip Martin’s hair color line, which also covers grey hair very well. Ammonias and parabens are the major culprits in skin irritations and allergies. I can tell if a client has previously had a Brazilian blowout because I can still smell and taste the formaldehyde!”

Pure, a Ketchum spa owned by Teresa Hiramatsu, carries Indie Lee, an “eco chic” product line launched in 2010 by a woman who battled brain cancer she believed was caused by environmental toxins. “What we put on our body is absorbed by our body,” said Callie Jones, a Pure esthetician.

SPECIAL promotion

Jones says the chief concern among tourists and residents alike is anti-aging and how to keep their skin hydrated in our dry climate.

Free radicals, generated by ultraviolet rays, smoking and pollutants, attack our cells and hasten the aging process, causing wrinkles and dryness. Products from Caudalie, one of Pure’s most popular lines, use grape seed polyphenols, an antioxidant that preserves hyaluronic acid, a plumping agent that keeps skin looking youthful.

“The focus is on making the skin look good and keeping it healthy.”

–dr. christine brozowski, dermatologist Dr. Christine Brozowski is a cosmetic dermatologist with a practice in Ketchum and Berkeley, Calif. “It’s a relatively new field that addresses the prevention of aging in the skin,” she said. “The focus is on making the skin look good and keeping it healthy.” Brozowski recommends an antioxidant for daily skincare.

“A good vitamin C serum also contains vitamin E, and ferulic acid and phloretin, which are extracted from fruit,” she said.

“These ingredients are unstable and to remain effective must be stabilized in a serum, not a lotion. They are sensitive to light, so must be packaged in dark-tinted glass and kept in a drawer, not on your bathroom counter.” She manufactures her own product line, keeping the price point at under $100.

Brozowski says anyone who lives at altitude should apply a vitamin B5 gel, which helps seal in moisture. (Mindy Pereria of Skinsations carries the gel.) Next, apply a moisturizer that doesn’t contain parabens.

Finally, apply a sunscreen with zinc and titanium oxide. “Physical blockers don’t react to the skin and work for hours,” Brozowski said. “The problem with most sunscreens is that they’re made with chemical blockers that react to the skin and quit being effective after an hour. You’re on the mountain thinking you’re OK when really you’re getting a ton of UV damage.”

Geneal Thompson, owner of About Face skin care studio in Ketchum, uses an organic line called Good Medicine from Green Valley Spa. Her own skin is a testament to the efficacy of her products, but she posits that no matter what the product, if we believe it will work, it will. “If we love it, it will love us,” she said.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 77

The Gift of Health

This holiday season why not partake in the gift of health and the best news is this advice won’t cost you anything. Did you know that the risk of heart attack is significantly higher during the holiday season but 5 healthy lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of heart attack by 85%? No medicine can do that!

A recent epidemiologic European study demonstrated this result but unfortunately only 8% of the population studied actually did these 5 things:

. Eat a Mediterranean diet, one that is plant based and high in fruits, 1 vegetables, beans, nuts, olive oil, and fish complimented by other lean meats.

Stay away from processed foods including sodas. Avoid added carbohydrates with the exception of whole grains.

2. Don’t smoke anything. Smoke will oxidize bad cholesterol and potentiate its ability to damage your arteries and cause heart attacks and the chemicals cause cancer.

3. Lose weight. Obesity is an inflammatory state that leads to heart attacks as well as malignancies. Any inflammation in one part of your body is transmitted to other areas including the arteries of your heart.

4. Be active! Regular activity is more important than intermittent more vigorous exercise. Stay off the couch.

5. Drink red wine judiciously. If drinking a glass of red wine at dinner doesn’t offend your sensibilities, doing so can reduce your risk of heart attack by about 30%. It will unfortunately also increase your risk of malignancy by the same amount so know your personal risk based on your family history.

I wish you good health this holiday season.

-Joseph Rosenblum D.O. FACC FACP, St. Luke’s Clinic - Cardiology

St. Luke’s Wood River is pleased to welcome Joseph Rosenblum, D.O. in partnership with St. Luke’s Magic Valley Cardiology Clinic. Dr. Rosenblum will be seeing patients in Ketchum at 191 5th Street West in Ketchum every Monday & Tuesday. To schedule an appointment, call (208) 814-8200.

Take Care Forward.

Skin Care

Sun Valley Magazine’s Guide

Natural Beauty

Trilipiderm®

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Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum

Beyond helping skin look better, the new generation of beauty products promotes the very health of our skin. Some of our favorite finds—all natural and organic—are collected here.

PHYTOMER® HYDRACONTINUE 12h Moisturizing Flash Gel

Clarisonic® Smart Profile

The ultimate head to toe customizable, four-speed cleansing device. Gentle on the skin while lifting toxins away.

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An infusion of 22 of the world’s most active organic botanicals helps with skin firming, skin elasticity, prevention of wrinkles, and protection against free-radical damages.

Pure 208.727.9080

This refreshing gel infuses skin with moisturizing agents from morning until night with an “antithirst” cosmetic formula.

The Spa at Sun Valley 208.622.2160

Obagi

The entire Obagi line is designed to help minimize the appearance of premature skin aging, skin damage, hyperpigmentation, acne, and sun damage.

Simply Skin 208.725.0150

Kérastase CHRONOLOGISTE

Abbyssine, a key ingredient in Chronologiste, is a precious and powerful scalp-regenerating molecule that boosts hair fiber.

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Naturopathica

Rooted in the belief of healing through plantbased remedies and holistic health treatments, Naturopathica has its products certified by Ecocert, the world’s largest organic cosmetic certification body.

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78 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Éminence Organic Skin Care

Éminence uses the finest natural, organic and biodynamic ingredients to provide the best organic skin care products in the market today.

Zenergy | 208.725.0595

Hailey Elementary fifth-grade students take a break from classes to do a mindful awareness exercise.

the Power of Mindfulness Flourish Foundation Promotes Compassion and Self-Reflection

photo : courtesy flourish foundation

/ dev khalsa

BY Patti Murphy What if we could transform our world by changing the way we think and react to certain situations? What if, by choosing to be more introspective, we were able to bring forth different outcomes for others and ourselves?

This philosophy is at the heart of the Flourish Foundation, whose work focuses on contemplative-based practices that promote compassion, attentiveness, self-reflection and resiliency. Executive Director Ryan Redman calls it “transforming the world from the inside out.”

“Our mental life so strongly influences the way we are in the world,” said Redman, who founded the organization in 2010. “Our hope is that people will gain confidence that the world is not simply happening to them, but that they are co-creating their experience and they can determine how they show up by being aware of what they bring into every situation.”

Redman and his team lead programs for

school children and teens, parents, teachers, and other professionals. Through reading books, regular meeting discussions, meditation, volunteerism and other exercises, participants learn to respond to daily challenges through introspection and mindfulness.

“This is an empowerment that we as a Western culture have not been too familiar with,” Redman said. “We’ve always relied on the doctors and the experts to tell us what to do. Very rarely have we been taught introspective skills to refine our understanding of who we are and what we can bring into the world. It’s about understanding our potential, and how the mind influences us, either constructively or destructively.”

Relax, Focus, Respond Even young children can benefit from mindfulness exercises. The foundation’s schoolbased Mindful Awareness program promotes

life skills that focus on developing and strengthening attention, emotional regulation, and compassion in elementary age kids. “We play a lot of games and introduce the concepts in an experiential way,” said Redman. These include meditation, discussion, breathing exercises and more. Young students have selfreported that they use mindfulness practices to calm down, relax before and during a test, when they are angry or sad, to help them pay attention and focus more, and in their communication with others.

Compassionate Leadership, Service to Others High school teenagers in the Compassionate Leaders Program not only learn more about themselves but also about service to others. Over the past two years, 24 teens in the program have volunteered more than 2,760 hours at 18 Wood River Valley nonprofits and, WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 79

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in the last four years, 39 Leaders have done volunteer work in the Philippines, Mexico, India and Jonestown, Mississippi.

Wood River High School senior Molly Elgee was one of 10 students and three chaperones who spent nearly a month in India this past June and July where they volunteered in the school, dug irrigation trenches and painted buildings.

“Going to India gives you such a new perspective,” she said. “You see how a whole other portion of the world lives and realize, wow, I’m so lucky to have what I have, and I should use my resources and privilege to help other people.”

Elgee talks passionately about the community service she does in the Wood River Valley as part of the program and said she is always excited to go to the weekly meetings. “I can’t think of one kid my age who wouldn’t thrive in this program,” she said. “It feels like it’s a program built for people who want to build a better world or make themselves a better person.”

Mindfulness for Families

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The Flourish Foundation also offers programs focusing on childbirth and parenting mindfulness. Redman said that in the case of a pregnant mom, mindfulness training provides strategies to experience the changes and challenges that come with pregnancy.

“There are so many changes that are going on physiologically and psychologically with the anticipation of becoming a new parent,” Redman said. “We provide strategies to not only be with those changes in a more 80 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

/ emilie dupont crist

Soundwave is the premier custom installer and electronics retailer in the Wood River Valley.

photos : courtesy flourish foundation

Automation & Control > Intelligent Lighting Home Theater > Whole House Audio > Climate Control

Above: a group of Compassionate Leaders in Rishikesh, India, on break from their Uttarakhand flood relief efforts in July 2013. At right: Compassionate Leader Bryce Gillespie thatching a roof for a multipurpose room built at the ABS-CBN eco village in Iba, Philipines, in June 2015.

nonreactive way, but to ride the ebb and flow of the birthing experience in terms of pain or other things that give discomfort and cause them to feel overwhelmed.

“A lot of these skills translate into working with their spouse, and having more patience, more kindness, empathy, and compassion for themselves as well.”

photos : courtesy flourish foundation

/ maritt wolfrom

A Lasting Impression Redman has many stories of contemplative practices positively impacting people, but he singled out his memory of a 12-year-old boy. “I was working with the sixth-grade class who had been through the mindful awareness curriculum the previous year. I asked ‘What does mindful awareness mean to you?’

The first student who raised his hand said, ‘Mindfulness to me is something that has allowed me to accept that my mom was just thrown in jail, and when I feel lots of anger and other emotions, I’m able to find peace inside of myself.’

Redman continued, “I was thinking how many different routes this 12-year-old could have gone, but instead he had a way of going inside and being in touch with some of the difficult emotions he was experiencing and knew how to work with those constructively.

It was very humbling to me.

“When I see these kids catch fire with this, it restores my sense of hope,” he said.

There are kids in this next generation who really do care to make a difference, and they are showing up already at such a young age. I think this really bodes well for the future.” for more articles on health and wellness, visit sunvalleymag.com/wellness/

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 81

beauty, glamour, mother, daughter, sisters, children, headshots h ill a ry@ h ill a rymayb e ry. c om 208-726-6487 • sun valley, idaho

getoutthere | something

photo : ray j. gadd

etoutthere

82 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

the quiet season Winter Fly Fishing in Sun Valley

BY Bryant Dunn The mid-winter storm had blown in viciously from the south and deposited nearly a foot of snow on Bald Mountain’s ski runs.

Locals and visitors alike spent an unforgettable morning arcing turns through the soft January fluff, and the vibe on the world-class ski mountain was electric.

Exhausted, many skiers and riders were making the mid-morning return trip across the River Run bridge back to their vehicles. Terms like “epic,” “unforgettable” and “awesome” were being thrown around with a passion that even non-skiers could appreciate.

Matt Curci, veteran Sun Valley ski patrolman and former ski racer, had the day off. After carving several hundred beautifully shaped non-work-related turns, Curci decided to pack it in. A short walk to his black Toyota 4Runner and he was ready to embrace the remainder of a well-deserved break from work.

Placing his skis in the trunk, he glanced around quickly. Noting that no one was present in his corner of the parking lot, Curci dropped his ski pants to the snowy ground, and, in the same motion, pulled on his GoreTex fishing waders. He slipped into his feltsoled wading boots and was soon on his way back toward the ski hill or, more exactly, to the river that meandered along its base. The morning of spectacular skiing was over, but the afternoon of fly fishing on the Big Wood River was about to begin.

Soon after, Curci’s brightly colored fly line was sailing through the air in a tight loop with a small imitation fly tied to the end of its translucent leader. As rainbow trout sipped insects off the surface of the recirculating backeddies, Curci waited for his black and white midge to be targeted. A few casts later, his fly suddenly disappeared in a swirl. Lifting his rod tip delicately upward toward the downward spiraling snowflakes, Curci felt the tension.

“Fish on,” Curci muttered to himself.

Winter recreationists in the Wood River

Valley are blessed to have an assortment of pursuits to choose from when considering what to do with a day off from work or while on vacation. Skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, paragliding and now fat tire snow biking are some of those options. And another, winter fly fishing, is an activity that has a strong following in the Wood River Valley.

“I love fly fishing in the winter,” offered George Rizzo, longtime local fishing guide and owner of Starbucks in Ketchum. When pressed to explain why, a thoughtful smile appeared on his face. “What I appreciate about winter fly fishing is the solitude. It’s almost like a painting. With a little mist in the air and the white snow-light reflecting off the water and the leafless trees … it’s peaceful, it’s solitude, it’s serenity.”

Winter fly fishing equipment varies little from its summertime counterparts, though the addition of fingerless gloves, multiple insulating layers, fleece pants and a warm hat certainly doesn’t hurt. A few old-school anglers don neoprene waders during the coldest winter stretches. This is a good idea if you plan to be on the water more than a couple of hours.

“The main difference in the wintertime is that I’m generally throwing smaller flies than in the summer. Other than that, and a total lack of crowds, it’s very similar,” said Rizzo. Asked what he considers to be ideal winter fishing conditions, Rizzo added, “I prefer cloudy skies, a little humidity in the air and temps in the 36 to 40 degree range, with no wind. In fact, I’ve had some of my best days fishing midges on the Big Wood during snowstorms.”

Scott Snebly, owner of Lost River Outfitters, leads groups of fly fishermen in pursuit of steelhead during the late winter months and has been introducing fly fishermen to winter “steelie” fishing for over 40 years. The anadromous fish he pursues begin their life cycle in the headwaters of the Salmon River,

an hour north of Sun Valley. Descending 7,000 vertical feet and over 900 river miles through eight massive dams to the Pacific Ocean, these fish generally spend one to three years in saltwater—some travelling as far as the coastal waters of Japan—before returning to their home waters to spawn and initiate the cycle again. Theirs is the longest sea-running journey of any fish in North America.

“What I appreciate about winter fly fishing is the solitude. It’s almost like a painting … it’s peaceful, it’s solitude, it’s serenity.”

–fishing guide george rizzo

“I like the challenge of fishing in the winter,” the mustachioed outfitter said with a stoic but heartfelt sentiment. “I like the challenge of the inclement weather. I enjoy sharing the challenge of overcoming whatever impediment is thrown at you. I like the challenge of fishing when the odds are not in your favor. You can fish places in the summer that are crowded but are empty in the winter.

There’s a unique beauty to it ... the ice, the icicles, the boulders covered in snow with fish hiding nearby. You have to believe in it. You have to believe in yourself.”

After a two-hour session that included multiple fish landed and a few lost, Curci reeled in his line with numb fingertips. As silently as he entered the clear, cold water of the Big Wood River, he exited it. After jumping into his frigid truck, cranking the heat and turning on the radio, Curci heard the local DJ announce that another storm was expected to hit the Valley with warm temps and significant snowfall, abating by noon the following day.

“Perfect fishing weather,” he thought to himself as he headed for home. “Maybe I can fit in a little skiing, too.”

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 83

getoutthere | something

Fat Bikes Shift into High Gear From Sand to Snow, Fat Bikes take Hold

Ketchum firefighter Tory Canfield had to chuckle when she stepped off the plane at Logan International Airport in Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta this fall. The first billboard she saw showed people fat biking on a beach in New England.

“It’s not just a winter sport,” said Canfield, who was headed to join her crew to compete in the Women’s Alumni Eights. Canfield is the founder of the Fat Bike Advocacy Group (FBAG), which has a large local presence. The group’s clunky, amusing acronym somehow suits the sport it promotes. “It’s amazing how much this sport has grown in just a few years.

It’s everywhere. It’s exciting.”

As for many mountain-town Idahoans, Canfield’s introduction to fat biking began on snow, yet the sport that employs wide fork frames and fat-as-can-be, low-pressure tires also has roots in the sand. A week before Canfield arrived in Boston, one of the early fat bike promoters and manufacturers, Mark Gronewald, of Palmer, Alaska, was ushered into the newly established Alaska Innovators Hall of Fame. He shared the stage with Dr. Alex 84 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Hall, recognized as a co-creator in the 1990s of Wi-Fi. Gronewald is celebrated for his fat bike innovations that have led to remarkable victories in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, among many other events worldwide. As the machines evolve, they are also aiding the popularity of bike-packing—long distance, self-supported backcountry riding.

The ability of fat bikes to “float” over the loose surfaces of snow or sand and their comfort are prime factors in their explosion in popularity.

–tory canfield, local fat biker

Gronewald started experimenting with and producing snow bikes at a time in the 1990s when winter clothing was also getting lighter, cozier and sportier. He credits Texan Ray “El Remolino” Molino with the earliest modifications in the 1980s to forks and frames so he could guide riders in the dunes of the Southwest and Mexico. Molino’s bikes could

accept extra-wide rims he developed for the mammoth tires that are so recognizable today.

The ability of fat bikes to “float” over the loose surfaces of snow or sand and their comfort are prime factors in their explosion in popularity. Manufacturers across the country have evolved frame design from the cobbledtogether machines of the ’80s and ’90s to today’s streamlined versions that are giving more traditional full-suspension bikes a run for their money, even on the competition podium.

Also to note, a set of his and her inexpensive fat bikes can be purchased for the price of some high-end mountain bike components (a Lauf leaf-spring front suspension, for one).

A number of athletes credit winter fat bike riding for their summer racing success, said JP LaMere, owner of LaMere Cycles in Minneapolis, who trades in the seemingly oxymoronic niche of “affordable custom bicycles.” Jeff Hall won the Chequamegon (She-wa-me-gon) 40 on a rigid fat bike in September. The race in northwestern Wisconsin, one of the premier fat tire events that has been around since 1983, draws

photo : tal roberts

BY Matt Furber

photo : courtesy fat bike advocacy group

thousands of riders each September. “Jeff raced fat bikes for us all last winter, and I think that helped him, too,” LaMere said. “The bottom line is, pushing the bigger tires just builds a ton of strength.”

Designed to work with the messy facets of variable snow, fat bikes—unlike Nordic skis—require no attention to wax and make winter training a breeze right out of the garage.

Then there’s the influence of changing weather patterns that are making snow less predictable.

In Blaine County a snow line has appeared in recent years at about 6,000 feet above sea level.

In the middle of winter people are skiing at Galena (7,200 feet) in the morning and hiking Carbonate Mountain in Hailey (5,300 feet) in the afternoon. Fat bikes fill a niche where winter is marginal or at least not productive for more snow-dependent winter sports. Pioneers, like the single-track trail groomers at Grand Targhee Resort, are replicating the summer single-track experience by sculpting the snow with customized grooming equipment and custom berms, for instance. The folks at Harriman State Park, in Island Park, the first state park to customize trails for winter fat bike riding, say the extent of grooming there also depends on what winter has to offer. “We encourage people to ride our trails year-round,” said Kyle Babbitt. “When there is three to five feet of snow on the ground, the trails look a lot different in the winter—the trees get shorter.”

Beginner to intermediate riders are getting an introduction in the Sun Valley area on highvisibility, wide groomed trails like the popular Durrance Loop in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. BCRD Executive Director Jim Keating is hoping that the temporary permit to groom the popular seven-kilometer Durrance Loop will soon get a more permanent designation. The demonstration course is popular with new riders because it’s sunny and open, without blind intersection points where divergent users can surprise one another. It’s considered a great place to build skills before riders head out to the sections of the BCRD trail system where fat biking is supported. Of course, the Blaine County Recreation District also hosts fat bike riding on the old railroad grade to Ketchum.

Currently, however, most local grooming amounts to groups of riders packing out their own trails on public land, like in Adams Gulch.

Efforts to groom single-track with some form of machinery on public land would trigger a permitting process.

With the growing popularity of the sport comes a wealth of fat bike events taking hold locally and regionally. Sun Valley Company helped to host FBAG’s Snowball Special last winter under the umbrella of Rebecca Rusch Productions and plans to do so again this year in conjunction with Nordic Town USA activities starting the last weekend in January. Sun Valley Resort, long a crucible of novel winter recreation, loaned fat bike riders the name of the famous train that brought dignitaries and stars to the resort in its heyday.

In addition, there are plans for the Town Sprints in Ketchum the Thursday before the annual Boulder Mountain Tour, the capstone for the Nordic festival, to again include fat bike laps. Also, the Stanley Winterfest, the third weekend in February, will be a fat bike event venue this winter.

Regionally, there is a fresh round of events for fat biking this winter, as the Fat Bike Nationals return to Ogden, Utah, and the Global Fat Bike Summit looks like it will return to Jackson Hole. Finally, for the truly hearty, there’s always riding in the last frontier at the Fat Bike Expo in Anchorage, Alaska, in the dead of winter.

snowball special fat bike race Rusch Relations, the Fat Bike Advocacy Group, and the Wood River Bike Coalition are putting on the second annual Snowball Special Fat Bike Race. The race—named for the train complete with two dining cars and a dance floor that used to bring skiers to the Sun Valley area from Los Angeles— kicks off the annual Sun Valley Nordic Festival on January 30, 2016. The action will take place on the trails of the Sun Valley Nordic Center. Participants can race in the 20-kilometer, 40-kilometer, and 40-kilometer relay events. Last year, over 60 riders joined the racing; expect more this year.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 85

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getoutthere | something

terrain mania Dollar Mountain Goes Big

BY Karen Bossick / PHOTOGRAPHY Tal Roberts For years, Dollar Mountain was eclipsed

by Bald Mountain with its long ski runs.

But it has become a destination ski resort in and of itself since Sun Valley began creating a playground of about 60 fun boxes, rails, tabletops, jumps, and jibs.

“It’s really brought life to Dollar—a lot more energy, a lot more buzz,” said Dollar Mountain Manager, John Matteson. “There are always pockets of people in the park, even if it’s not a busy day. We see more and more families using it. And we will see more camps and events, now that it has been declared an Olympic training site.”

According to Matteson, the terrain park makes up a quarter of Dollar Mountain’s 100 acres. The 22-foot superpipe, built to Olympic specifications, dominates the said landscape. But there’s an entry place for everyone—right down to beginners.

86 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

It all starts in the one-acre Prospector Park, which boasts gentle rollers and a three-foot half pipe. “We use the terrain there to teach skills. Kids, for instance, learn to match their skis on the side hills of the pipe,” said Sun Valley’s Snow Sports Director Tony Parkhill.

“It provides a significant edge in that it accelerates learning.”

A family-cross course on skier’s left of the superpipe has proven a huge hit, as well. “We never see it without families in it—fathers and sons, mothers and daughters,” said Matteson.

The superpipe, which pipe builder Kaleb Arndt builds to Olympic specifications, attracts the high-flying Tai Barrymore. Local Olympian Kaitlyn Farrington rode it for the first time after her gold medal win at Sochi.

But it also attracts those who just want to try it out for size, making tiny two-foot turns on its walls.

Jeremy Black launches off an urban rail at Dollar Mountain’s Terrain Park.

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getoutthere | going big Chase Josey takes flight in the 22-foot superpipe.

IL L

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The superpipe leads into some of the more challenging terrain park features, including skate rails that curve up on entry and down upon exit, roller coaster rails, curvy rail boxes, and the quad wall—a four-sided pyramid made of steel and plastic.

The easier terrain features, including flat rails that users simply skim across, their boards parallel to the snow, are below the superpipe on skier’s right. Everyone has to go through a gate to get to terrain park features.

Signs mark the degree of difficulty.

Sun Valley employs 10 staff—three snowcat drivers and seven shovel gurus—to polish up the superpipe, fix rough spots on the jumps and make sure jump pitches and landing zones are safe.

They change things up about four times a year, said Mike Gerstner, who gets his inspiration for new features from skateboard videos. The kids like it to be changed often, said Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation coach Andy Ware: “They like new challenges—the bigger the better.”

88 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

One thing Sun Valley won’t build for safety reasons is gap jumps, where skiers and boarders have to clear a space or hit a wall, said Matteson. You won’t find any snowcats sitting on the hill for skiers to jump over, either.

The jumps are the most popular among both competitors and recreational athletes, such as 15-year-old Wood River High School student Abbie Heaphy. “I’ve skied the terrain park every weekend since they built it,” she said. “It’s brought a new aspect to the mountain, bringing in more younger people.

And I especially like the medium-sized jumps.”

In the few years the terrain park has been up and running, it’s caught the eye of two dozen national magazines and hosted 11 major photo shoots, some of them finding their way into adrenaline-injected ski films.

This year’s events will include a Big Air Exhibition teeing off two 50- to 60-foot jumps leading into the 2016 U.S. Alpine Championships on Bald Mountain.

Also new this year is the GoPro Park.

GoPro delivered shipping containers of

SKI EQUIPMENT • APPAREL • DEMOS RENTALS • REPAIR • SKATE SHARPENING

Above: Banks Gilberti slides across a battleship box.

hardware to four resorts, including Sun Valley and Northstar-at-Tahoe, with instructions that the resorts were not to open them before Dec. 1. Terrain park builders then went to work, hoping their park would be judged the best. Kids can win a ski pass if they produce the best video focusing on that park.

“One of the unusual things about our park is that all of it is spectator friendly,” Matteson said. “Other places, the terrain park may be a mile from the base area—some even place half their park on one side of the mountain and the other, elsewhere. Here, spectators can easily sit on the patio with a cup of coffee and watch everything that’s going on.”

don’t-miss on dollar USSA Freeskiing Spectacular January 30 - 31, 2016 Dollar Mountain’s world-class competition venue hosts its first of three major events for the season. This regional event highlights up to 120 athletes competing each day, with halfpipe and slopestyle competitions on back-to-back days.

USASA Big Mountain Series February 4 - 7, 2016 Four days of events on Dollar Mountain!

This regional snowboard competition includes two days of boardercross on Thursday and Friday, followed by halfpipe and slopestyle competitions on Saturday and Sunday.

USSA Junior Freestyle National Championships March 10 - 13, 2016 For the first time, Sun Valley will host the Junior National Championships for moguls, halfpipe, and slopestyle skiing.

The mogul competition will be hosted on the bumps course on Bald Mountain’s Roundhouse slope, with halfpipe and slopestyle events being held at the Dollar Mountain competition venue.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 89

Fourth and Leadville • Ketchum, ID 83340 208.726.7474 • www.pkski.com • info@pkski.com VOTED #1 SKI SHOP IN THE VALLEY

Check out

getoutthere | calendar of events

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90 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Christmas Eve Celebration

The Sun Valley Suns always provide fast action and a competitive evening of ice hockey. The Suns go up against teams from Park City, Jackson, Missoula, Bozeman, and Vail with home games scheduled in both Sun Valley and Hailey. sunvalleysunshockey.com

The traditional Holiday Ice Show will be followed by the Dollar Mountain Torchlight Parade.

Enjoy free hot cocoa and cookies, as well as performances by the Sun Valley Carolers and the Nutcracker on Ice. Torchlight parade begins at 6:15 pm. sunvalley.com

December 2015 – March 2016

‘A Year with Frog and Toad’

December 16, 2015 – January 3, 2016 As part of its 20th Season, Company of Fools brings back for the holidays the Valley’s two favorite amphibians. The play follows two great friends—the cheerful and popular Frog and the rather naive Toad—through four, funfilled seasons. sunvalleycenter.org

December 24, 2015

Gallery Walks

December 29, 2015; February 12 and March 11, 2016 Stroll through town enjoying world-class art and discussions with artists during the Sun Valley Gallery Association’s Gallery Walks. Ketchum galleries host these evenings with wine, friendly conversation and their latest installations. svgalleries.org

Sun Valley Tree Lighting

Bubbly Bash

The Sun Valley Village is a special place, particularly during the holidays. Come out and see Santa, the Sun Valley Carolers, ice carving demonstrations, free cookies and hot cocoa, and free “wrap-n-run” gift wrapping at Signatures (2–8 pm). sunvalley.com

The Sun Valley Center for the Arts ushers in the New Year with its fifth annual celebration at River Run Lodge. Revelers at River Run will enjoy a midnight toast and free champagne from 9 to 10 pm and the tunes of DJ Shark. sunvalleycenter.org

December 19, 2015

Sun Valley Carolers December 19 - 29, 2015

The Sun Valley Carolers will perform throughout the Sun Valley Village and in various restaurants. sunvalley.com

December 31, 2015

Vocal Point in Concert January 16, 2016

Vocal Point, a nine-man a capella ensemble from Brigham Young University, performs at the Church of the Big Wood. The concert kicks off Sun Valley Opera’s Winter Festival and 15th Anniversary. Tickets are available by calling (208) 726.0991.

courtesy dent conference

Ostensibly, this is a ski town, but judging by the diversity and wealth of events happening all winter long, one would never know it. There are worldclass art gatherings, theater events, film festivals, national ski races, bruising hockey rivalries, festivals and fundraisers. Here’s a snapshot of what’s in store for us this winter.

Suns Hockey Games

|

WINTER 2015/2016

Dent Conference

photos left to right: tal roberts

Dollar Dayz Pond Skim

for up-to-date calendar and events coverage

we grow

‘Casa Valentina’ January 16, 2016

Company of Fools will present a play reading of Harvey Fierstein’s “Casa Valentina,” a Broadway comedy nominated for a 2014 Tony Award. Denise Simone directs. sunvalleycenter.org

CHAMPIONS

‘La Traviata’ January 23, 2016

Sun Valley Opera, in association with Opera Idaho, presents Verdi’s “La Traviata” at the Church of the Big Wood (semi-staged production). “La Traviata” is one of the most performed operas of all time. sunvalleyopera.com

Sun Valley Nordic Festival

January 29 – February 7, 2016

Snowball Special fat bike race January 30, 2016

A fat tire bike race on snow with 20k, 40k and 40k relay distances combined with a race expo and bike demos. snowballfatbike.com

Boulder Mountain Tour February 6, 2016

Due to the weather-related cancelling of last year’s race, the 2016 Boulder Mountain Tour promises to be bigger and better than ever. The full Boulder race is 34 kilometers and draws elite skiers; the half-Boulder is a more relaxed event and clocks in at 15 kilometers. bouldermountaintour.com

Family of Woman Film Festival February 22 – 28, 2016

The Family of Woman Film Festival brings films from around the world that highlight issues faced by women and girls. Five highly regarded films will be screened: “India’s Daughter,” “Speed Sisters,” “The Hunting Ground,” “The Sound of Torture,” and “Dreamcatcher.” Christy Turlington-Burns will give the Bonni Curran Memorial Lecture. familyofwomanfilmfestival.org

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 91

Olympic Gold Medalist & Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation athlete, Kaitlyn Farrington

The Nordic Festival draws elite and amateur skiers from all over the country to celebrate cross-country skiing. The festival features races, clinics and other fun events. The week ends with the running of the world famous Boulder Mountain Tour. nordictownusa.com

ALPINE • CROSS COUNTRY • SNOWBOARD FREESTYLE/FREESKIING • BIG MOUNTAIN

SVSEF.ORG • 208.726.4129

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getoutthere | calendar of events Snowball Special Fat Bike Race

LIVE MUSIC ALL WINTER LONG! -

DEC 27

FOX STREET ALL-STARS -

DEC 29

The Kindercup

U.S. Nationals

The Papoose Club’s Annual Kindercup on Dollar Mountain features fun races for skiers age 3 to 13. The free event—started in 1957—is a spring tradition for future Olympians. papooseclub.org

Sun Valley Resort will host the four-event— slalom, giant slalom, super-G and combined— national championships featuring some of the nation’s best skiers. Expected to compete are Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Julia Mancuso, Andrew Weibrecht and Steven Nyman. ussamasters.org

March 2016 (date to be determined)

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DEC 30

MICKY AND THE MOTORCARS -

DEC 31 - NYE COLD HARD CASH MARMALADE HILL DJN8

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dollar dayz pond skim

March 2016 (date to be determined) Typically held toward the end of March, Dollar Dayz celebrates the end of the season on Dollar with costumes and the world-famous pond-skim event. sunvalley.com

Sun Valley Film Festival March 2 - 6, 2016

JAN 22

ROB GARZA OF THIEVERY CORPORATION -

FEB 13

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The Sun Valley Film Festival returns for its fifth year with a lineup of 60 films and TV premieres.

In addition to hosting cutting-edge films, the festival features a screenwriters’ lab, a future filmmakers forum, coffee talks with industry luminaries, parties and awards. sunvalleyfilmfestival.org

Dent Conference March 20 - 23, 2016

The Dent Conference brings together executive directors, CEOs, entrepreneurs, scientists and politicians for presentations and discussions on how to “put a dent” in the future. dentthefuture.com

March 22 - 27, 2016

Janss Cup Pro-Am Classic March 31 – April 2, 2016

The annual fundraiser for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation brings together amateur and pro skiers for a fun-filled race series on the Warm Springs side of Bald Mountain. Costumes and fast skiing reign. svsef.org

Sun Valley Wellness Festival May 26 - 30, 2016

The Sun Valley Wellness Festival is an annual gathering of the top speakers and practitioners of mind, body, spirit and environmental wellness. sunvalleywellness.org

Sawtooth Relay June 11, 2016

Relay teams of six begin the 62-mile race in Stanley, climb over Galena Summit and finish at Atkinson Park in Ketchum. sawtoothrelay.com for more articles on outdoor fun,

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Coming to Grips with Avalanches

BY Adam Tanous In early February of 1996, three days before he was killed in a massive avalanche near Paradise Peak west of Ketchum, Jim Otteson said to me, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re only ever as strong as our weakest link.â&#x20AC;? Otto, as he was known, was sizing up the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. But it also seemed, in his unassuming way, he was speaking to the broader responsibility he felt to look after those less able than he, which was just about everyone.

They were words to live by. As it happened in

the context of the avalanche that killed him, they were also sadly prophetic.

Coming to an understanding of avalanches is a process of accretion; no one perspective is sufficient. For instance, one might appreciate the abstract beauty of an entire slope of snow breaking free of a mountain. To witness an avalanche is to glimpse forces at work beyond what most imaginations can conjure. It is undeniably thrilling, but it is not the full picture.

Then, one might come to know avalanches through the prism of quantitative science, a different kind of beauty. After all, it is the

physics of thermodynamics, weather and gravity that define the phenomenon. Parsing all of that can consume a lifetime. And still, the best avalanche forecasters in the world learn to live with a maddening number of unknowns.

Perhaps the most difficult piece of the puzzle to assimilate is what avalanches engender in us: an amalgamation of fear, loss and vulnerability.

Live in the mountains long enough and avalanches become personal on some level, whether peripherally or in a devastating way. As hard as it is to accept, this is an ugly truth of avalanches that can and does keep people alive.

photo : will wissman

FIG.1

96 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Terrain Avalanche hazard begins with terrain, namely, its steepness.

The majority of human-caused avalanches occur on slopes between 33 degrees and 45 degrees. The shape of a slope will have an effect as wellâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;convex slopes tend to be more prone to human-caused avalanches than are concave slopes. Finally, densely packed trees and large boulders can sometimes reduce avalanche hazard by anchoring layers of snow that sit on weaker layers below.

FIG.2

Flank

Anatomy of a Hard Slab Avalanche

Weak layer with propagating fracture Avalanche track

Crown and starting zone

Deposition zone

Toe of the avalanche

Hard slab

photo : wyatt caldwell

most common angles for Human-Caused avalanches: 33° to 45°

Why Snow Slides The science of avalanches should be intuitively obvious to most; it’s really gravity turned on its side a bit. Think of high school physics and the “block of ice on an inclined plane” problem. Like everything else, snow on a slope is acted upon by gravity. Gravity is always pushing snow down the slope—how forcefully depends on just two things: the mass of that snow and the steepness of the slope. More mass—that is, a bigger load of snow, or wetter, heavier snow—increases the force, pushing the “block” of snow down the slope. Likewise, a steep slope creates a greater componet of force on that block of snow than does a gentler slope.

The only force holding the block of snow in place is friction between it and the mountain.

If the weight of the snow builds such that the force of gravity overcomes the resistance, or friction, holding it in place, the snow will slide.

The rub is that a snowpack is not a single block. It builds over time, comprising many layers, each a product of a snowstorm or a weather event of some sort. A midwinter snowpack might have seven or eight layers, each unique in character. Depending on the weather when they were formed, those layers may be strong or weak, and may or may not bond to each other.

Terrain, Weather, Snowpack Leaving aside for now the complication of human activity in the triggering of avalanches,

experts typically focus on three factors in trying to understand avalanches: terrain, weather and snowpack. Terrain is the simplest to assess since it is a constant. Again, the steeper the terrain, the greater is the force of gravity pushing snow down the slope. The large majority of humancaused avalanches occur on slopes between 33 and 45 degrees, with the most common slope angle being 38 degrees. (The top of Lookout Bowl on Bald Mountain is approximately 34 degrees.) Above 45 degrees, snow tends to avalanche naturally in small doses so the load doesn’t build up. Also, fewer people, in general, are on slopes that steep.

In addition to angle of incline, there are other characteristics of a slope, such as its shape and the presence or absence of anchors that play a role in whether snow slides or not.

All things being equal, snow on a concave slope—say Easter Bowl on Bald Mountain—is less likely to slide than is snow on a convex slope like Inhibition. Likewise, large trees, bushes and rocks can serve as anchors on a snow slope, inhibiting big slides.

Weather and the snowpack are a little tougher to sort out since they are both dynamic. Simon Trautman, an avalanche specialist at the National Avalanche Center, doesn’t see a big distinction between the two. “If you think about it, the avalanche phenomenon is really just an extension of the weather,” he explained. “The weather is the carpenter that creates the snowpack.”

a world of storms A snowpack is rarely a homogeneous mass; it builds in layers over time. As storms roll in over Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain, for instance, each has a unique character in terms of air temperature, associated winds, and water content of its precipitation. Because warm air holds more water than does cold air, warm storms drop snow that has relatively more water per volume (high density snow) and so add a lot of weight to the snowpack. However, wetter snow also tends to bond well to itself (good snowball material) and to the layer it lands on. Cold storms lay down light, fluffy snow that has less water per volume and so less weight, but that also doesn’t bond as well to the existing snowpack (generally). Try to make a snowball with dry, light snow and it simply falls through one’s hands. It’s why skiing fresh, dry snow is relatively easy and fun—the snow is essentially frictionless.

The Wild Card One wild card with storms and their effect on avalanche danger is wind because it can transport huge amounts of snow onto slopes.

The rate of loading caused by wind can be up to ten times that of the snowfall itself.

However, storms are spinning counterclockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere) as they advance, so the wind direction, along with where snow is transported, often changes during a storm.

Typical storms on Bald Mountain will come WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 97

FIG.3

Changing Snowpack When a snowpack is exposed to a temperature gradient across it— relatively warm temperatures at ground level and colder temperatures on the surface—heat flows to the surface, modifying snow crystal structure along the way and creating “faceted” crystals. These crystals tend to be weak and don’t bond well to other layers. Faceted crystals on the surface (above) are referred to as “surface hoar.”

in with winds from the south, then shift to the east or west, then leave with northern winds.

Avalanche forecasters and ski patrolmen go to great lengths to track strong winds because they not only move snow but also grind it up into tiny particles, ultimately enabling the particles to bond tightly together and form hard slabs of snow. The slabs themselves may be relatively strong and cohesive, but they can be deadly if they happen to lie on top of a less stable layer, or on one to which the slab doesn’t bond well.

To illustrate the complexity of predicting what weather ultimately does to the avalanche hazard, Trautman explained, “You might come to work in the morning when it has been blowing 50 [mph]. It’s not as easy as saying the hazard is high because it’s been blowing all night. There’s a fine line with wind speed between the perfect loading rate and that when slabs don’t form because the snow just blows up into the air [and eventually evaporates].”

The Only Constant Is Change To complicate matters more, the layers of a snowpack, once in place, are not static. They change in time, depending on the temperatures above and below them. A particularly vexing problem in the Continental climate of the Wood River Valley is the fact that snowstorms are often followed by clear, cold weather. In this situation, heat moves from higher temperatures at the bottom of the snowpack (the ground is generally at about 32 F in winter) to the much lower temperatures at the surface of 98 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

the snowpack and air above, which can be many degrees below freezing. This transfer of heat causes snow crystals in any given layer of snow to change: they elongate, become more angular and, importantly, less able to bond to each other or other layers. The technical term for these crystals is “faceted snow.”

‘Champagne Glasses’ When a layer of snow becomes faceted, it becomes more fragile. Bruce Tremper, in his book “Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain,” describes such snow as a layer of “champagne glasses” propping up stiffer and heavier layers above—visualize layers of plywood. Generally, this depth hoar, as it is known, becomes and remains a weak link buried under multiple layers. If it is shocked with a force—the load of new snowfall, the weight of a skier, or the shockwave of an explosive—it will fracture.

The champagne glasses break and the fracture can propagate along that layer in almost any direction at speeds averaging 260 feet per second. Once that happens, it’s as if layers of plywood are resting on a slope of crushed glass.

Gravity wins out, and the snow begins to slide.

Mitigating Risk Skooter Gardiner, director of snow safety for the Sun Valley Ski Patrol, starts his annual winter job long before he is officially on the payroll, tracking the first few snowfalls that stick to the ground, which can be in October.

“Oftentimes we get a weak layer early—old snow that sits, rots and dries out, then we’ll get fresh snow on top of it,” he said. “So,

once we get up there, it’s a matter of digging around in the snow, trying to identify where that weak layer or layers exist. And it changes around the mountain; there’s spatial variability on Baldy between the north-facing and southfacing slopes.”

When the area gets into a real storm cycle, Gardiner’s job tends to run around the clock.

He’ll be tracking the weather through the day and into the evening, particularly in light of the fact that grooming operators will be driving around at night and potentially at risk.

And with a mid-mountain restaurant serviced by a gondola open at night—wind is always on Gardiner’s mind. At least once during the day he’ll communicate with Scott Savage, director of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, to see what kind of snow stability he has been finding in areas nearby.

During big storms, Gardiner tends to “sleep with one eye open.” He will check remote web cams on Baldy to check snowfall amounts and gather wind readings a couple of times in the night. By 4:30 a.m., he’s on the phone with Ski Patrol Director Mike Lloyd to make the decision as to whether they’ll call an “early morning,” the express goal of which is to evaluate and, if possible, mitigate potential avalanche hazards.

“Early mornings” entail notifying the Forest Service, then calling in to work early a number of entities: the mountain manager, the lift department, and the entire ski patrol. Before lifts are running, the lead explosives patrolman drives a snowmobile to the top and begins preparing hand charges—2- and 4-pound explosives of pentolite, a mixture of PETN and TNT—while the rest of the patrol helps shovel out lifts needed to get to the top.

In the patrol’s morning meeting, Gardiner will summarize the weather overnight and brief patrolmen on areas—aspects and elevations of terrain—he thinks might be unstable. Teams of between two and six patrolmen gear up with shovels, probes, avalanche transceivers, explosives and fuse igniters, then fan out to a number of carefully choreographed routes in the Warm Springs and River Run drainages of the mountain. Each team will use a combination of explosives and ski cutting (patrolmen making quick, diagonal traverses) in likely trigger points or starting zones for a given route to test the snow’s stability. Once all of the teams have cleared their areas safely and have returned to the top, the entire patrol meets to discuss results and to decide whether

Avalanche forecasters and ski patrolmen use a number of field tests to evaluate the snowpack at different elevations and aspects. Ultimately, they are trying to identify weak layers, how easily they fail and whether a given failure propagates through the snowpack.

photo : ed cannady

FIG.4

Evaluating the Snowpack

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 99

One way to test the stability of a slope is to shock it with a concussive force. Ski patrolmen will deploy explosives, use ski-cutting techniques and sometimes break off large cornices to elicit a response from the snowpack. Some ski resorts, like Jackson Hole in Wyoming, have installed fixed Gazex systems that deliver an explosion of oxygen and propane to known avalanche starting zones.

photo : eric kiel

FIG.5

Testing Stability

100 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

photo : tal roberts

the terrain should be opened. Then they will head out to do routes in the upper and lower bowls and Seattle Ridge.

Like all snow safety experts and avalanche forecasters, Gardiner has learned to live with uncertainty. “We want to touch everything, make sure we’re not missing anything.

However, we’ll always go in with a hypothesis or a game plan. And when things aren’t happening according to the plan, then maybe it’s time to pull back, reevaluate and ask, ‘what did I miss?’” Rich Bingham, the former snow safety director at Sun Valley who is entering his 49th year on the Baldy patrol, put it this way, “The unexpected is the hardest thing we have to deal with. But you have to expect the unexpected.”

Gardiner is also a realist. “While we can throw a bomb without really putting our personnel at risk, it’s simply a test to see how the snowpack reacts to a concussional force,” he said. “We have to always remember that it’s a test, not a control measure.” In essence, it’s one data point among many on a very big and spatially diverse mountain. For this reason, Gardiner is above all else concerned about the safety of the patrol personnel because “they are putting themselves at risk first. And you never really know what you’re dealing with.”

According to Bingham, one decidedly lowtech but effective tool the patrol uses to reduce avalanche risk is skier compaction. “One of the reasons we have fewer problems on Baldy these days is that over the last dozen years or so, we’ve taken a really aggressive posture about opening things early, before they are actually

in prime condition—just to disrupt the weak layers before they get buried. It has made all the difference in the world,” he said.

The Human Factor Even with all of the variability of weather and the snowpack, the most unpredictable factor in the avalanche equation is human decision making. While good decisionmaking is certainly important within resort boundaries, it is even more crucial in backcountry skiing where there are no efforts to reduce avalanche hazard. Even on Baldy, there is a great deal of unpatrolled, out-ofbounds terrain accessible from the top of the mountain. This is not unique to Sun Valley— Jackson Hole has a similar situation— however, as Trautman pointed out, “You can duck a rope on Baldy … and it looks a lot like the ski area, but there’s some very dangerous avalanche terrain out there. To the layperson, it may not look dangerous … but it’s kind of upside-down. It gets steeper towards the bottom, which is weird, and it’s very tight with lodgepole pines. Tiny little avalanches can kill people back there.”

Savage and his team at the Sawtooth Avalanche Center prepare avalanche forecasts for over 4,600 square miles of terrain. Speaking to the Baldy “sidecountry” issue, in which resort skiers can so easily access the backcountry, Savage observed, “With equipment advances, people become expert skiers much more rapidly than they used to. But their avalanche and decision-making skills, or mountain experience, is not commensurate with their skiing ability.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 101

One of the objectives of avalanche mitigation efforts is to reduce the potential for big avalanches by creating smaller avalanches in a controlled setting. The efforts also serve to disrupt unstable layers buried in a snowpack.

You see people in much more serious terrain with, generally, a lower level of mountain and avalanche knowledge, compared to people in the past.” Savage also cited the effect of the GoPro camera in elevating risk exposure. He noted that people will take on much more risk than they otherwise would if they know they are being filmed.

Making Decisions Ian McCammon is a snow science expert and researcher who has studied decisionmaking in avalanche accidents. In his oftencited 2002 paper, “Evidence of Heuristic Traps in Recreational Avalanche Accidents,” McCammon explored how “heuristics,” or rules of thumb, influenced the decisions of avalanche victims. Rules of thumb are decisionmaking shortcuts that, as McCammon put it, “guide us through routine but complex tasks such as driving or shopping. Because we use them so often, [they] tend to operate at the threshold of consciousness.”

McCammon studied the “familiarity,” “social proof,” “commitment,” and “scarcity” heuristics. The familiarity heuristic is when one believes one’s actions are the right ones simply because he or she has done it before.

For example, who hasn’t heard someone say, “I’ve skied this slope before, it didn’t slide then, so it must be ok”? The social proof heuristic refers to our tendency to justify actions based on the fact that other people are doing it as well. The commitment “trap” is our inclination 102 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

to keep doing something simply because we had planned to do it. Finally, the scarcity heuristic has to do with our tendency to pursue something because a resource, such as powder snow, is in short supply.

Studying over 598 avalanche accidents, McCammon found that when any of these factors were present, people exposed themselves to much higher risk than they did when they weren’t present. He also concluded that, in these situations, even victims with avalanche training ignored obvious clues to potential avalanche danger, which, as he wrote, is a classic characteristic of “heuristic, single-pieceof-evidence-type decision making.” Finally, he determined that it was likely that these decision-making traps actually contributed to causing avalanche accidents.

Guys like Trautman and Savage spend a great deal of time and effort trying to evaluate big swaths of terrain with good but limited data. Their goal in producing avalanche advisories is to reach a diverse group of users.

These, Savage pointed out, might include a 13-year-old skiing Baldy, a 75-year-old snowmobiler in the Fairfield area, or an experienced skier touring near Galena Summit.

Each season Savage receives over 300 field observations from local ski professionals. He uses remote weather station data and daily excursions into the backcountry to evaluate the snowpack. Still, Trautman noted, “An advisory is not really data. It is an idea, a forecaster’s picture of what’s happening on a given day.

February 10, 1996 The day Jim Otteson was killed was an otherwise spectacular day in the Smoky Mountains. Otteson was guiding skiers during a day of helicopter skiing. He was the first of his group to leave the safety of the ridge and ski down a line that had been previously skied several times that day. The avalanche broke above him and carried him down 1800 vertical feet. Two fellow guides found and uncovered Otteson within 15 minutes, which was remarkably fast given the conditions. Barring trauma, the probability of surviving a full snow burial has been documented to be greater than 90 percent for the first 18 minutes. However, several people—guides, ambulance personnel, myself and eventually the staff in the hospital emergency room—tried to revive him for over 40 minutes. We couldn’t bring him back.

The helicopter pilot for the skier group, who was parked at the base of three similar drainages, later reported seeing avalanche debris first exiting the second drainage over from Otteson’s. Then he witnessed avalanche debris exiting the drainage next to Otteson’s, and finally the one Otteson was in. Given this series of events, the scenario many came to subscribe to was that a natural event two drainages over from Otteson caused a weak layer to fail (the champagne glasses broke), and the failure propagated over the ridges to Otteson’s slope. It was a case of the snowpack only being as strong as the weakest link.

Any sort of scrape with an avalanche will spook a person, most likely forever. As uncomfortable as that can be, in the end, it might be a good thing. No doubt there’s a tremendous amount of technical knowledge a person can acquire about snow science.

But sometimes it’s not enough. Sometimes that vestige of fear and humility, unease in a person’s eyes, may be the one piece of critical data that’s missing.

This much is certain: when the strongest of the strong, the most competent and capable are taken, as Jim Otteson was, it gives one pause.

Living with and among avalanches, it seems, demands a certain reverence and attention.

As Flannery O’Connor, who knew something about reverence, once wrote: “The life you save may be your own.”

photo : skooter gardiner

FIG.6

Controlled Avalanches

We believe that the best way to increase backcountry safety is to give people the best possible information that allows them to make decisions that work for them.”

photo : tal roberts

FIG.7

Decision Making In studying avalanche accidents, researcher Ian McCammon found that when people fell into “heuristic” traps—decision-making shortcuts—they exposed themselves to much greater avalanche risk than they otherwise would have.

Wiley Maple U.S. Ski Team 2015 U.S. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS Mens Downhill Winner USA – ME – SUGARLOAF, 3/17/2015, 1:30 PM Rank Class Result 1 SR 1:16.90

Team Member: 6 Years Hometown: Aspen, CO Birth date: 05/25/1990 Height: 6’2” Weight: 215

The young ski racer slammed her skis against the hard-packed snow of the start gate and focused on the vibrating resonance of P-Tex against snowpack. The sound brought her full attention to the importance of the moment. The chaos of the start tent was a familiar backdrop as she prepared herself to hurtle down several thousand vertical feet of rock-hard, water-infused racecourse. When the starter began his countdown, the hubbub of racers, coaches, officials and onlookers was nearly overwhelming. But once out of the gate 104 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

with a mighty push, the junior skier burst into a realm of near-silence that only a competitive downhiller would understand.

One of many young ski racers giving her all that day at the 1987 U.S. Alpine Championships in Crested Butte, Colorado, the little-known competitor was going for broke. After all, she had nothing to lose in her pursuit of the glory that would accompany a trip to the podium. In fact, she had a world of fame to gain. When all was said and done, this no-name athlete from a small Idaho mining town posted the fastest time for a junior athlete in the USSA-sanctioned event.

It was a sign of things to come. The racer’s name was Picabo Street.

“The anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks when I got on the chair and flew over the course for the first time. I was so nervous that I wanted to jump off the chairlift,” the eventual Olympic and World Cup champion recounted from her Park City home. “I wanted to ski my heart out and attack the course and eat it up, not let it eat me up. I remember Doug Lewis and Billy Johnson attacking the course and wanting to approach it like they did… attack, attack, attack,” Street said, reminiscing.

photo : jamie walter

BY Bryant Dunn

/ sugarloaf

Sun Valley Hosts the U.S. Alpine Championships

Go Time Such was the mindset of the highly competitive, massively talented Street. “After all, it was the U.S. Championships. It was the highest profile race of my life up until that time,” Street said.

This spring, March 22 - 27, racers from all over the country will have the opportunity to experience a similar adrenaline rush on the Warm Springs side of Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain at the 2016 U.S. Alpine Championships. The competition includes slalom, giant slalom, super-giant slalom and combined men’s and women’s events that will lead to national champions being named and

careers being made. This is the first time since 1951 that the championships will have been held in Sun Valley. They are scheduled to return in 2018.

“Our race heritage is an important part of who we are,” said Sun Valley Mountain Manager Peter Stearns. “We’ve had longstanding support of the racing community here in Sun Valley.”

Stearns, the multi-talented overseer of America’s iconic Bald Mountain, speaks from experience. He has seen the better part of four decades of skiing and racing on Baldy.

“This event has the potential to bring the

entire community together to showcase our amazing valley,” Stearns added as he looked out his office window at the base of the River Run gondola. “It’s going to take the effort of everybody in the community to make the event a success.”

The need for the Wood River Valley community to join together in support of the event is a sentiment shared by Street. “The whole community will have to work together toward the common goal of putting on the best event possible. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Everybody should embrace the event and be behind it completely,” WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 105

Julia Ford U.S. Ski Team 2015 U.S. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS Ladies Downhill Winner USA – ME – SUGARLOAF, 3/17/2015, 12:30 PM Rank Class Result 1 SR 1:19.55

photo : jamie walter

/ sugarloaf

Team Member: 8 Years Hometown: Holderness, NH Birth date: 03/30/1990 Height: 5’9” Weight: 165

106 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

photos top to bottom : b. stefanov

| b. stefanov |

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daniel huerlimann-beelde

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Likely Competitors at the 2016 U.S. Alpine Championships Street offered. “The message to visitors should be, ‘We want you to come visit and stay as long as you want’. The mentality should be that you never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Rob Clayton, executive director of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), agrees. “The opportunity to rub shoulders with the best in the world is invaluable for our kids,” Clayton said from his office at the SVSEF Warm Springs training center.

“For our top guns, it’s further motivation and inspiration to be able to compete in this event. The U.S. Championships should boost motivation individually and inspire the program. This is the big time,” Clayton said.

The event will be viewed by an estimated 576,000 households across the country, as NBC Sports television will air a one-hour coverage of the races. The championships will be accompanied by a variety of VIP parties, a parade and several in-town soirées complete with live music in outdoor venues. There will even be an associated nighttime big air event featured under the lights on Dollar Mountain.

Racers such as Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Julia Mancuso, Andrew Weibrecht and Steven Nyman are expected to compete, in addition to a host of other prequalified racers who will take their shot at the U.S. titles. In short, onlookers will get the chance to view the best the United States has to offer.

“The most joyous sensation I have is how the young racers will benefit and grow as a result of their exposure to the event,” Street said. “Children are 25 to 35 percent of our population but 100 percent of our future,” she continued. “The community has an opportunity right now to join hands for the sake of the children, not just local kids but all the kids in the industry. It’s not just about winning, it’s about cultivating and perpetuating a culture and mindset for the next generation.”

“We’re really excited. I think it’s going to be huge for the area,” Stearns commented.

“It’s incredibly exciting for this town. We are dedicated to doing this and doing it right. Together this community can do incredible things.”

When asked if she will be in attendance to view the events in her hometown, the former U.S. champion Street responded enthusiastically, “Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Julia Mancuso U.S. Ski Team Team Member: 16 Years Hometown: Squaw Valley, CA Birth date: 03/09/1984 Height: 5’6” Weight: 140 Olympics 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 Worlds 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015

Lindsey Vonn U.S. Ski Team Team Member: 15 Years Hometown: Vail, CO Birth date: 10/18/1984 Height: 5’10” Weight: 160 Olympics 2002, 2006, 2010 Worlds 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015

Steven Nyman U.S. Ski Team Team Member: 14 Years Hometown: Sundance, UT Birth date: 02/12/1982 Height: 6’4” Weight: 215 Olympics 2006, 2010, 2014 Worlds 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015

Ted Ligety U.S. Ski Team Team Member: 12 Years Hometown: Park City, UT Birth date: 08/31/1984 Height: 5’11” Weight: 190 Olympics 2006, 2010, 2014 Worlds 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015

Andrew Weibrecht U.S. Ski Team Team Member: 12 Years Hometown: Lake Placid, NY Birth date: 02/10/1986 Height: 5’7” Weight: 190 Olympics 2010, 2014 Worlds 2009, 2013, 2015

Mikaela Shiffrin U.S. Ski Team Team Member: 5 Years Hometown: Eagle–Vail, CO Birth date: 03/13/1995 Height: 5’7” Weight: 145 Olympics 2014 Worlds 2013, 2015 WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 107

Sun Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ski Racing Roots

BY Dick Dorworth

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photo : jamie walter

skiers built a culture to last

/ sugarloaf

How a community of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest

Jack “Red Dog” Reddish 1953

Spectators set up on Lower College for a view across the way of Harriman Cup Downhill racers skiing down Rock Garden and Exhibition.

One of the true cultural and historical gems of the Sun Valley area has for years lined the hallways of the Sun Valley Lodge: an extensive collection of black and white photographs depicting movie stars, politicians, musicians, Hemingway (of course), and, significantly, ski racing stars.

With the recent remodeling of the Lodge, many of the racers—with the exception of Gretchen Fraser and Picabo Street— have been moved to the upper floors.

Nonetheless, the classic images acknowledge and honor the ski racing roots of the area, as well as the great ski racers who contributed far more to the organic culture and history of Sun Valley than, say, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable or the Shah of Iran.

Peppered throughout the Lodge are photos of Dick Durrance, Stein Eriksen, Jack “Red Dog” Reddish, Christian Pravda, Dick “Mad Dog” Buek, Jannette Burr Johnson, Jimmy Griffith, Pete and Susie Patterson and Christin Cooper, all icons of ski racing and the history of Sun Valley.

For me, personally, ski racing and Sun Valley skiing and, thereby, Sun Valley itself are synonymous. To think of Sun Valley without the influence of Dick Durrance is inconceivable. Durrance as a ski racer WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 109

Gretchen Fraser 1953

Dick â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mad Dogâ&#x20AC;? Buek 1951

Christian Pravda 1953

Dick Haskell, Walt Hofstetter and (unknown) carry gates on Dollar, post race, 1962.

Jimmy Griffith 1950s

Dick Durrance 1940

Jannette Johnson 1959

Bobbie Burns 1964

Friedl Pfeifer, Christian Pravda, Penny Pitou, 1962 pro race.

Pepe Gromshammer, Andre Molterer, Friedl Pfeifer, Stein Eriksen 1962.

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Christin Cooper 1970s

photos : courtesy sun valley company

won 17 National Championships and three Harriman Cups, including the first. He envisioned and helped cut the first ski runs on Baldy, has a mountain north of town named for him and was Sun Valley’s first photographer and consultant. He personifies Sun Valley’s history.

The significance of ski racing history to the present culture of the larger community has changed, but for me they are inextricably entwined. I first arrived in Sun Valley in 1953 at the age of 14 after an all night drive from Reno, Nevada, with two friends. We came for the American Legion Western States Championships, a combined slalom, downhill and jumping competition (on the old Ruud Mountain jump, still visible next to the chairlift; the outrun, however, is now covered by a Fairway Road home), a big event in junior skiing at the time. The competition was wonderful (among the competitors was Marvin Melville, a Utah Olympian well known to Sun Valley skiers and my Nevada teammate Lynn Johnson who has lived in Warm Springs for more than 20 years), but it was the skiing and ski racing culture found only in Sun Valley that made the deepest impression.

Baldy was the finest ski mountain I’d ever seen and immediately became (and remains) my favorite place to ride lifts up and ski back down. But, for a 14-year-old boy whose passion was skiing, there was nothing—nothing—to match the sight of Stein Eriksen skiing a run called Canyon. In 1953, few people could beat him in slalom or giant slalom, and only then on some days.

But no one has ever skied quite like Stein. It was magic to a young skier’s eyes, magic born of and developed through ski racing. Some of the other skiers we studied, emulated, idolized and made friends with included Christian Pravda, Jack Reddish and Dick Buek, all of them working as instructors or patrolmen for Sun Valley in 1953. Can anyone today even imagine Lindsey Vonn, Ted Ligety, Bode Miller, Mikaela Shiffrin or Marcel Hirscher working for Sun Valley, living in the dorms, eating in the employee cafeteria, training and racing on the side and being a normal part of the working culture of Sun Valley?

Through the 50s and early 60s, I visited Sun Valley for a few days or a week more than once every season, for ski races—Harriman Cup, Western States, the Sun Valley Open— and to train or just enjoy the skiing. There were always a few of the best ski racers living,

Pictured here are parts of the official 1959 course plans approved by engineer James A. Patterson for the Harriman Cup Downhill on Bald Mountain. The men’s race began at the top of Ridge, ran down Rock Garden, across to Roundhouse Slope, then down Exhibition to Lower River Run where Olympic comes in. working, training and racing out of Sun Valley, including Hall of Fame skier Janette Burr Johnson, who incidentally was Lucille Ball’s double in the film “Lucy Goes to Sun Valley.” Unbelievably, Johnson was relegated to teaching beginners on Dollar Mountain.

Most of the racers then were on their own, unsupported by the structure and nutritious system of team, coach, regimen and group dynamics in both good and bad times. We were, for better or worse, solo acts in terms of economics, training, guidance and perspective.

However, sometimes-disparate racers would band together to train, set courses, critique and encourage each other and enjoy the camaraderie of kindred spirits.

In 1956, a group of us were practicing slalom on Round House Slope in preparation for the Harriman Cup when Jack Reddish,

one of America’s greatest ski racers, skied up and asked if he could train with us. Though he had retired, Jack wanted to try one more Harriman and earn a diamond Harriman pin for placing in the first three in five different Harriman Cups. We could barely contain our pleasure and excitement to ski with a legend, and he ran gates and offered advice to each of us. And he won his diamond pin, not to mention my gratitude for his care.

Two years later in Portillo, Chile, Stein Eriksen dropped in on a different group of us training slalom with the same request, but Stein just wanted a break from running Portillo’s ski school to spend time with younger, kindred spirits. He advised and inspired us, earning our unending gratitude.

After college, I spent the winters of 19621963 and 1963-1964 in Sun Valley. The wonderful Ned Bell (his wife, Betty Weir Bell, was a member of the 1952 Olympic Ski Team) managed the Challenger Inn and arranged jobs for me that included room and board, some spending money and enough time off to train and go to races. My good friends Ron Funk, Jim Gaddis and Tammy Dix were consistent training and racing companions. I lived in the employee dorms— one year the irrepressible freestyle pioneer Bobbie Burns was my roommate—dined in the employee cafeteria and, like many ski racers before then, was a small part of the culture and social fabric of Sun Valley life.

The ski racer relationship with the community changed as ski racing became more organized, disciplined (regimented even), team centered and scheduled. And expensive. Every ski area, including Sun Valley, has many more racers of all ages and levels than in the solo days of the 40s, 50s and 60s. The standard of racing skills has risen considerably, and very few if any modern racers are not associated with teams.

In Sun Valley, that change is embodied in the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, Sun Valley Ski Academy at Community School and the Sun Valley Ski Club Masters. These are wonderful organizations that continue to help young (and not so young) people in love with skiing become better ski racers and members of the Sun Valley community and the larger cultures of the world.

That is, whether it is acknowledged or not, ski racing continues to be integral to the community, evolution, traditions and history of Sun Valley, thank Ullr! (old Norse god considered the patron saint of skiers).

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Pushing Limits E.R. Physician Terry O'Connor Pursues his Passion for Mountains and Medicine

BY Adam Tanous / Photography Tal Roberts When St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center E.R. physician Terry O’Connor tells you that he likes to “dabble in things,” as he told me this fall, keep in mind his definition of dabble might differ a little from yours.

I came to find out that for his 40th birthday this past summer his present to himself was an entry in the Leadville Silver Rush competition—a 50-mile run followed by a 50-mile mountain bike race.

Then there was the Standhope 60-kilometer running race through the Pioneer Mountains with over 11,000 feet of vertical climb. Finally, the IMTUF100 competition took O’Connor over 100 miles through the Salmon River Mountains near McCall. Somehow amidst all these endurance events and working full time in the E.R., he also managed this year to climb the Grand Teton, twice.

To most, this may sound like the summer of pain. But for O’Connor, these types of challenges motivate him. He likened his experiences in ultra-running to the culture that surrounded him in his medical training—at the University of California San Francisco Medical School and then Oregon Health Sciences University for his residency—during which he routinely worked 80 to 90 hour weeks. “You get used to continually having to perform in the most adverse of conditions, and you take pride in that,” O’Connor said. “It’s the same philosophy of why you want to do an ultra-endurance race. You do it to push yourself to a limit, to maximize what you’re capable of doing.”

If there is a guiding principle as to the way O’Connor’s life has unfurled, it is that he has continually followed his passions— one passion has led to another. Growing up in Berkeley, Calif., O’Connor pursued life in the outdoors, climbing in Yosemite—he has summited El Capitan a number of times—and ski patrolling in Tahoe. While patrolling, O’Connor was recruited to become a climbing ranger on Mount Rainier in Washington, a job he loved because it combined his climbing experience with professional rescue work and his passion for helping people in trouble.

Then in 1999, O’Connor was invited by climbing friends from college to join a National Geographic expedition to study the growth rate of the Himalayan Mountains. He was basically a base camp manager, helping organize and move equipment up Mount Everest.

Though he wasn’t on the summit permit, he did climb some of the upper routes, including the Khumbu Ice Fall. He also spent time with and was inspired by physicians volunteering in Nepalese clinics. It was a springboard of sorts into another passion: medicine.

After finishing medical school in 2004, one of O’Connor’s best friends introduced him to Russell Brice, founder of Himalayan Experience, a climbing and guiding service operating out of Nepal. As a post-medical school project, O’Connor wanted to look into starting a health clinic on the Tibetan side of Everest. He noted that while there were some health care resources on the Nepalese side, “In my conversations with people in Tibet, Red Cross workers and others, it [was clear] that there was pretty abysmal access to health care there.”

Brice, who O’Connor said became a close friend, “almost like a second father figure,” encouraged him to undertake the clinic project. In addition, Brice asked him to be the team doctor for an expedition and got him on the permit to climb up to 24,000 feet on the Tibet side of Everest.

The following year, 2006, O’Connor got a phone call from Brice inviting him to not only be the doctor on another Everest expedition, but to attempt to summit. The Discovery Channel wanted to film one of Brice’s expeditions for a reality TV series, so O’Connor’s way was fully paid. Remarkably, he got permission to take a break from his medical residency to pursue a summit bid.

While there was plenty of drama on the Discovery series, O’Connor’s trip to the top—he summited May 14, 2006—was relatively smooth. He did not get altitude sickness. As he told me, he was eating “oysters and chili at 26,000 feet.” He added, though, “Some of that is good genes, some of it is luck. It’s not like I’m immune. I’ve had altitude illness trying to push too fast at lower altitudes. It’s just that I acclimatized well on that particular trip.”

Other people don’t do so well. O’Connor said that there is a cumulative process that takes place in serial fashion beginning with hypoxia (oxygen deficiency in the tissues). “Once that happens, then your appetite gets off, then you’re nauseated, so you don’t eat well, don’t drink well, then you become dehydrated and malnourished, then you ... continued on page 124 WINTER 2015 - 2016 | sunvalleymag.com 113

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Atmosphere and Temperature Curtis Bacca Prepares the World's Elite for Competitive Gold

BY Laurie Sammis / Photography Tal Roberts

Curtis Bacca, the soft-spoken and ball-cap-adorned owner of The Waxroom in Ketchum, may work behind the scenes at his shop when he is in town, but this Ketchum local has a few surprises for those who think they know him well. First off: he’s a native Idahoan, born just down the road in Idaho Falls. Somewhat surprisingly, given his current vocation as professional wax technician for snowboarders Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis, Bacca played football in college. And prior to becoming entrenched in the ski industry, he was a beach bum, living in San Diego, surfing and considering pursuit of an MBA. He’s also extremely competitive.

“I want to win as badly as my athletes do,” said Bacca. “It’s so fun being out there competing. It’s like going into battle!”

Bacca, whose competitive drive may have earned him more podium medals than any other wax technician of his age in the world, knows what it takes to prepare for race day. He’s a fivetime Olympic wax technician. This includes serving as the 2010 Vancouver and 2006 Torino Olympic gold medal wax technician for Seth Wescott, as well as 16-time X-Games gold medal wax technician for Lindsey Jacobellis, Daron Rahlves, Reggie and Zach Crist, Nate Holland and Peter Lind. That’s 18 gold medals!

Bacca also helped elite athletes such as Kyle Rasmussen, Tommy Moe, Tomas Kraus and Shaun Palmer clinch their World Cup victories. This is not to mention 10 years spent as wax tech for the U.S. Ski Team (Men’s Downhill/Super-G) before moving on to the realm of snowboarding. His current role as wax technician for world champions Seth Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. Snowboarding Team was at the special request of both athletes. Rumor has it they threatened to form their own team if they didn’t get Bacca—he’s that good.

“It’s like the pit crew in NASCAR,” Wescott said. “He is that critical. It’s not that you couldn’t have the physical skill to go out and win an event, but if your boards are not properly cared for all the way through, you’re not giving yourself a chance. “ Wescott asserts that Bacca is the best in his field, which is quite an endorsement coming from a two-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time World Champion and four-time Winter X-Games medalist.

Bacca got into the business after moving to Sun Valley to ski and work nearly 30 years ago. He was working for HEAD Skis when he was assigned to the U.S. Alpine Ski Team in 1990 because he had what he calls a “basic” tuning background. His first real race was a top-15 finish in Val-d’Isère, France, that same year, which

was a pretty big result at the time for the U.S. Ski Team in Europe.

“Maybe I got a little bit lucky with the wax or whatever,” Bacca said, “but my finish in that race opened the eyes of a lot of people in the industry, especially the Austrians.” Bacca added that the Austrians, in particular Heinz Haemmerle (who is currently Lindsey Vonn’s ski technician), took him under their wing and taught him what they knew. “They trusted me,” Bacca added, “which was very rare for an American.”

So Bacca learned. He took notes. He soaked up every detail. “I was a huge note taker and stat guy,” laughed Bacca, calling himself a stat geek. “I’m way into stats. I find it fascinating, and I took the most extensive stats and data of anybody on World Cup.” The habit resulted in his filling massive five-inch binders with pages and pages of notes, as well as on-hill field notes, handwritten every day by Bacca. He was meticulous in his tests—testing equipment, testing wax, comparing training run times, anything he could record.

This included stats about atmospheric temperature, snow conditions, crystal structure, wind speed, air temperature, sun angle, precise snow temperature at different locations, course conditions, humidity, static electricity and a myriad of other factors too detailed to list.

“I’m aware of everything out there,” Bacca said, adding that, “when you’re in your element and you’re really doing it right, you start gathering other senses.”

The binders produced results, and, within a few years, Bacca clinched one of the biggest wins for the Americans in Europe.

In January 1995, Kyle Rasmussen pulled bib #1 at the famous Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, Switzerland, which stands as the longest and most grueling World Cup downhill course in the world (2.78 miles). With Bacca as his ski tech, Rasmussen became the second American to have ever won a World Cup downhill there. Bacca’s career was cemented, and he became recognized as one of the top wax technicians in the world.

“If you are the top five in the world in any other profession, like an attorney or hedge fund owner,” joked Bacca, “you’d be a millionaire.”

He’s not. But that’s just fine with him. His job has taken him to Austria, Switzerland, Argentina, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Russia and Korea, but always back home to his family in the Wood River Valley. He cherishes the relationships he has built with the athletes and coaches he has worked with over the years.

If you’re lucky, he just might be the tech working on your boards at The Waxroom next time you drop them off for a tune.

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The Freedom and Soul of Skiing Ben Verge Finds his Calling as a U.S. Freeskiing Coach

BY Kira Tenney / Photography Tal Roberts “Yeah, let’s talk about me,” Ben Verge laughed, his smile wide and his body vibrating with self-effacing mirth. Then, suddenly, he lurched forward and gestured as if to stick his finger down his throat to vomit.

Verge doesn’t like talking about himself. If we’re being honest, he’d much rather be skiing. It doesn’t matter that the hills are brown and gold with October leaves, he’s perfectly capable of finding a way to get on skis in any condition (snow, ice or dirt) and somehow slide or huck off of random bumps, rails or trees. The world is his playground, always has been, and perhaps that’s why he has come to hold a prestigious coaching position on the U.S. Freeskiing Team.

Verge was shredding Bald Mountain in his parents’ backpacks before he could walk; as soon as he could stand, he was flying down Dollar Mountain on his own two skis. “We had both our kids skiing at one and a half because that’s just what we did. They grew up in an atmosphere where we skied ... it was kind of like eating,” said Judi Verge, Ben’s mom.

As soon as he could, Verge joined the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) alpine team and raced through high school and then some. He tried college, didn’t like it and returned to Ketchum to coach for the alpine team on which he learned to race.

After two years, Verge opted to leave coaching for a construction job and as much free skiing as possible. He was always flipping, twisting and turning off of anything. Verge’s skiing presence was noticed—not because he talked about it, but because one couldn’t ignore the sheer talent, technique, soul, fun and creativity that is so coolly wrapped up in his every carved turn and flight of fancy.

Skiing is “… my favorite thing in the world,” Verge beamed. “You can go fast, you can go slow. You’re outside, and that simply opens opportunities … I love everything about it; I love being freezing cold, I love skiing powder and skiing in the spring. The best is skiing with my friends in Sun Valley.”

Year after year, Andy Ware, program director of SVSEF Freestyle Skiing, repeatedly asked Verge if he would coach, and he repeatedly said no. It wasn’t until construction slowed and Verge got laid off in 2007 that he decided to work with Ware and start a freeskiing team.

At the time, Sun Valley Resort was, at least, a couple of years behind in its freeskiing facilities. While Dollar Mountain currently boasts a 22-foot superpipe, a family-cross course, and other features, at the birth of the freeski team, there was only a small halfpipe on Bald Mountain and a couple of rails.

“For training?” Verge said, “We didn’t do any tramps [trampolines] or water ramps in the beginning. We just went skiing a ton.” Verge was coaching a handful of go-getters with a wide range of abilities that had no interest in bumping moguls or hitting gates. They were all on the same page; they just wanted to go skiing.

Sun Valley local and U.S. Olympic team freeskier Wing Tai

Barrymore was one of Verge’s original crew. The two still work together today as athlete and coach. “Ben is very professional and down to business when it’s coaching time, and we’re at events,” Barrymore said. “It’s a job, but at the same time, he’s one of my best friends. He has a unique way of being able to combine a professional level and a friendship with every athlete. At this level of skiing, it’s really important to have someone you can trust because you’re risking yourself.”

Verge’s career as a coach snowballed, and soon he was being asked to privately coach many of the nation’s stand-out freeskiing athletes, such as Maddie Bowman, who would later win the 2014 Olympic gold medal in women’s halfpipe. Verge claimed he “got lucky with a lot of good talent” in 2011 when the Olympic Committee approved freeskiing for the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Fortuitously, he had been privately coaching six of the 12 athletes invited to join the new U.S. team. So, it made sense that he be one of their coaches. However, word on the slopes was that many of the athletes demanded Verge be the U.S. coach.

The U.S. Freeskiing Team took Sochi by storm, with the U.S. Men sweeping the podium in slopestyle and taking a gold in halfpipe.

The U.S. Women claimed a silver medal in slopestyle and a gold in halfpipe. “To be around people that motivated and that talented and to see them progress, do what they set out to do and achieve their goals—especially when they’re that big of goals—and to be a part of it all, I feel fortunate to do it,” Verge said.

During non-Olympic years, the freeskiing team athletes compete on a circuit that includes the X-Games, the Dew Tour, the Euro X-Games and the World Cup. For the past three years, U.S. Women have won the freeskiing events of the X-Games; the U.S. Men have done so for the past four.

On top of developing athletes’ trust and being able to convey the technical subtleties of the trade, there are, of course, challenges with training skiers to perform at this level. “Injury and fear are the biggest roadblocks,” Verge offered. “Freeskiers … have one of the highest injury rates of all the disciplines ... The consequences are really high, and that might not enter the mind initially, but getting them back when they do get hurt, and motivated and happy to do it again, is a huge part of it.

Every one of them has been put out for a year more than once.”

Verge has been put out, too, more times than he can count.

He’s not a “stand-on-the-hill coach.” He’s a fellow ripper, an aerial and speed technician, someone who can’t wait to jump in an icerimmed lake to go waterskiing. He is someone who can, as Judi Verge said, “look at someone that doesn’t believe in themselves and make that person believe in themselves.”

But, at the heart of the matter, Verge is a skier. And now that he’s done talking about himself, it’s time for him to pack up to go skiing.

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Land of the Thunder Dragon ’The Power of the River: Expedition to the Heart of Water’

BY Laurie Sammis

The kingdom of Bhutan floats like a small, perfectly formed altocumulus cloud above the tiger’s tooth of India as it slices its way into the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Shrouded in mystery for years, Bhutan remained isolated from the rest of the world until the 1960s, standing as a tiny landlocked nation, tumbling south along the eastern edge of the mighty Himalaya, the tallest mountain range in the world, and extending only about 189 miles from west to east and 90 miles from north to south.

Taktsang Lhakhang (“The Tiger’s Nest” Temple) is perched 10,236 feet above sea level in western Bhutan and is only accessible by footpath.

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/ shutterstock.com

Prayer wheels and religious ceremonies such as Tshechu, featuring costumed dancers and held annually to celebrate the birthday of Guru Rimpoche (below), are as much a part of daily life as the rivers and mists that descend from the Himalayas. The Paro Valley (far right) is the widest valley in the kingdom. Extending from the confluence of the Paro Chhu and Wang Chhu up to the Tibetan border.

photo : theskaman306

Snow blankets much of the country for half the year, drifting past ancient monasteries, towering peaks too sacred to climb, fluttering prayer flags and riverside temples that almost sing of the sacred river Alph, and caverns measureless to man popularized by Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan.” Centuries of isolationism and topographical extremes have kept this ancient sovereign kingdom unknown to the rest of the world for most of the last century. Bhutan had no diplomatic relations with any other country until 1961, the first paved road was built in 1962, and TV was only legalized in 1999 (making it the last country on the planet to do so).

Originally founded as a Buddhist sanctuary in the 8th century by Guru Rinpoche, who is said to have flown over the Himalaya on the back of a flying tigress, Bhutan, known locally as “Druk-yul,” the Land of the Thunder Dragon, is dominated by high mountain peaks, creating a natural border with China in the north. Deep river valleys cut from north to south, draining the glacier snowmelt and monsoon rains before tumbling through valleys of spectacular cypress, pine and subtropical and tropical rain forests toward the foothills in the south.

The drop in elevation is spectacular. In less than 90 miles from north to south, Bhutan contains 11 different vegetation zones and features over 70 endangered and threatened species, including the mythical snow leopard, mighty tiger and hundreds of bird and plant species, all of which offer a biodiversity rich enough to be considered one of only 10 global environmental “hotspots” on the planet. About 72.5 percent of the area is under forest cover, and the law requires the country to maintain 60 percent forest cover in perpetuity—a concept related to the policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) introduced by the fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in 1972.

Bhutan’s tallest peak, Gangkhar Puensum, at 24,840 feet, stands as the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. The lowest point is marked in the valley of the Drangme Chhu, one of Bhutan’s largest river systems, which has its headwaters high in the Himalayan glaciers beyond the most remote, eastern part of the country, and drops to around 322 feet as it crosses the border into India.

It is here, along the banks of the mighty Drangme Chhu (“Chhu” means river in Dzongkha, the language of Bhutan) that Bhutan’s story begins to intertwine with the Wood River Valley.

It wasn’t the first place that drew Hailey local, Sun Valley Ski Patrol supervisor and global outfitter and guide, Bryant Dunn, to Bhutan.

But it has, to date, been the most powerful.

“Bhutan is 12 time zones away,” said Dunn, who first traveled there in 2007 via special invitation from the royal family to assess the fishabilty of the kingdom. “It is literally right between your feet. I tell my kids when I’m gone, just look down and that is where I am.”

That first trip was in collaboration with another Wood River Valley local, Gerry Moffat, who currently serves as the whitewater consultant to the Kingdom of Bhutan. Dunn was hooked. Himalayan Flyfishing Adventures was founded as a way to share his amazing experience, and Dunn spent the next five years planning ways to get back.

“The film started with this idea of: let’s show this beautiful place,” added Dunn. “Now it may be: let’s show this beautiful place that is about to be erased from the planet."

In global terms, the Land of the Thunder Dragon has been slow to open its doors to international travelers, welcoming 5,599 tourists in 2002 and expanding those numbers to just fewer than 44,600 tourists in 2012.

By contrast, Maryland, the closest U.S. state in size to Bhutan, hosted 35.4 million visitors in 2012, generating revenue of over $14.9 billion.

“Bhutan is the most beautiful place in the world, with the most amicable and loving people that I have ever met,” recalled Dunn, who has traveled to more than 50 countries on six continents. “It is very special, and I thought it would be a wonderful thing to show the world this spectacular place … and to do so through the eyes of a fly-fishing conservationist.”

That thought became a vision. The vision became an obsession.

And then, in April of 2015, with the help of Dunn’s Bhutanese

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business partner, Ugyen Dorji, the dream became a reality in the form of a documentary film project.

After years of hard work behind the scenes, Dunn departed on a month-long cinematic expedition to the farthest reaches of Bhutan as part of a five-person team of elite anglers from North America, Europe and India, and a six-person film crew, with a supporting Bhutanese cast and crew. He was the expedition leader. The goal: to be the first anglers ever to fish the Drangme Chhu. “Power of the River: Expedition to the Heart of Water,” a cinemagraphic and ethnographic project filmed in the United States, Bhutan and India was born. But what happened next was like a river running its course.

Dunn said the visuals were easy. “You’ve got fish. You’ve got an endless number of rivers in a country at the base of the highest mountains in the world that are full of fish, that are never fished,” he paused, adding that the fly-fishing film genre has grown tremendously in the last five to 10 years and is really a conservation movement more than anything else. He was also quick to point out that the film was never intended to be “fish porn” (a few guys go somewhere exotic, catch a bunch of big fish, sit around the campfire, fade to black).

“Bhutan is a unique place,” Dunn said. “I wanted to show it through the eyes of a fisherman, using the fly-fishing expedition as a vehicle to move the story through the region: west to east across the kingdom for three weeks and then 10 days north to south down the Drangme Chhu.”

The team was formidable: Karma Tshering, Bhutanese guide and wilderness expert; Dave McCoy, featured angler and Patagonia brand ambassador; Misty Dhillon, featured angler and Mahseer species expert; Jean-Andre Corpuz, globetrotting adventurer and featured angler; and finally, Dunn himself as expedition leader and international adventure outfitter. Writer, director and producer Greg Hamilton handpicked the film crew, which included Matthew Whalen, Andy Danylchuk, Jocelyne Chaput, Stefan Smulovitz and Tshering “Paco” Penjore, along with an entire Bhutanese team on the ground.

“The film’s mission has always been to show a higher value of rivers,” said Hamilton. This was not going to be fish porn. Almost 122 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

from the outset, the project became something dramatically different for all participants. Hamilton is a cultural anthropologist by training and had 20 years' experience working with Warren Miller Films before moving into the documentary genre and winning national awards for his directorial debut, “The Movement.”

“Bhutan is a unique place,” Dunn said. “I wanted to show it through the eyes of a fisherman, using the fly-fishing expedition as a vehicle to move the story through the region: west to east across the kingdom for three weeks and then 10 days north to south down the Drangme Chhu.”

photos : courtesy bryant dunn

The Power of the River Expedition traveled from western Bhutan, site of the famous Punakha Dzongkhag (top right), to the village of Khenkhar in eastern Bhutan, where a 4,000-foot descent took them to the Drangme Chhu for a nineday float trip. Misty Dhillon (bottom left), expert on the elusive golden Mahseer, was part of an international team hailing from Bhutan, India, North America and Europe that was hand-selected by expedition leader Bryant Dunn.

“They were not talking about damming the river when we first started the expedition,” said Dunn. “Now they are doing measurements and building roads to a potential dam site.”

Suddenly, the urgency behind the project exploded.

Hamilton added that most people don’t even know there is a Buddhist kingdom named Bhutan or where it is, let alone the issues it faces as a country. “Bhutan’s claim as ‘the happiest place on earth’ from the tourism slogans gives it a misnomer,” reflected Hamilton when speaking from the post-production studio this past fall. “People think it’s just a Shangri-la and they tend to dismiss the problems that the people of Bhutan face.”

“What interested me about the project was not the fishing, but the people and the place, “ said Hamilton. “For me, the story was about ‘why should the world care about this: the idea of happiness over place … They never make the statement that they are a happier country than other countries, but have said simply that what makes them different is their commitment to placing that as a goal. The commitment is ambitious, and it’s in danger.”

Featured angler Misty Dhillon, who was born in a small Himalayan town in northern India and has spent his life studying the golden mahseer, a hard-fighting migratory freshwater fish species found in the Drangme, reflected on the incredible depth and simple happiness, the very real humanity, of the people. “It is the land that has accepted them and sustains them,” said Dhillon. “They are connected with it because it is a part of their ancient culture.”

“Bhutan is at a crossroads,” agreed Dunn, who cited Bhutan’s geographical location as a resource-rich country sandwiched directly between India and China as being not exactly an enviable position.

“They value environmental resources, but they have to take care of themselves, and how do they do it? Hydroelectric is one way.”

India needs the power. And they will pay for it—both the building of the dams and the energy they produce. Hydroelectric power in Bhutan is big business, with nearly 75 percent of it being exported for sale outside of the country, generating in 2012 energy sales of 3.7 billion Bhutanese Ngultrum (approximately $68.8 million). That is a tremendous sum for a country still in the process of building infrastructure—hospitals, roads, schools—and increasing its standard of living. And Bhutan’s needs are growing. Total population is currently around 767,000, a figure that rose 32 percent from 1995 to 2015 WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 123

124 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

The documentary, “Power of the River: Expedition to the Heart of Water” was in editing at the time of publication. It is scheduled for release in March 2016. Visit www.sunvalleymag.com to read more or for a schedule of film screenings and showings.

continued from page 113

don’t sleep well and get sleep deprived and you start having lapses of concentration because of your lack of sleep, plus your brain is starved for oxygen.”

The physical challenges notwithstanding, O’Connor said that the “human factor is probably 50 percent of the risk on that mountain.” He explained this is due partly to the sheer numbers of people up there, but also to bad decisions. “Bad decisions based on ego, bad decisions because of their incapacity to make decisions at altitude. Then you have constricted routes and high-risk terrain where a simple fall is potentially lethal and has huge impacts on everybody else up there. So, selfishness up there really has repercussions well beyond you.”

O’Connor came to St. Luke’s hospital over three years ago from Providence Portland Medical Center in Oregon. He always thought he would end up in a mountain town like Ketchum, just not this early in his career. But he couldn’t be happier. He said since moving here, he’s been so much more motivated at work, inspired to improve emergency medical services (O’Connor is the medical director for all EMS in Camas, Blaine and Custer counties), and to get back to doing more international aid work, as well as some personal projects, like working with the Sawtooth Avalanche Center.

“It just demonstrates to me,” he said, “that when you truly follow your passions, it’s such a healthy environment to jump off and do other things.”

/ shutterstock.com | photo ( right) : tal roberts

that is about to be erased from the planet.”

Dunn points, with hope, to the fact that both the Queen Mother and the King of Bhutan have stated that the Drangme Chhu is the most beautiful place in the world. Dunn, Hamilton, and the many others involved in the “Power of the River” filming expedition, believe the film can help open eyes about the complex challenges facing Bhutan: the power of water, geopolitical relationships, human consumption, conservation and the issues of maintaining a unique culture in the face of change. “It is about the lives of people just like you and me,” Dunn said.

Is Bhutan the Shangri-la it is rumored to be? Can a policy of Gross National Happiness co-exist in a country moving toward modernization?

Only time will tell. But perhaps, as photography critic and Ansel Adams collaborator Nancy Newhall asserted, “The wilderness holds answers to questions man has not learned how to ask.”

And as Greg Hamilton concludes in his final cuts, “Bhutan will either be an example, or a cautionary tale 10 years from now.”

photo ( left ) : theskaman306

(coupled with an increase in life expectancy, from 47 years to more than 66 years, in the same period). Progress and modernization needs to be supported, and Bhutan doesn’t want to rely on foreign aid.

Bhutan’s “Tenth Five Year Plan” clearly outlines the government’s view: “Economically, the vision pictures that hydropower-led development and growth will have helped the country achieve a high degree of self-reliance, with much of the responsibility for financing of development in its own hands.”

Additionally, the Bhutanese view hydroelectric power as clean energy, especially in the face of traditional woodfueled energy sources that impact forests.

An official Power Sector of Bhutan report estimates total hydropower potential at 30,000 megawatts (MW) with more than 71 large sites having been identified and 11 potential large scale power plants already in the pipeline (as of 2008)—including two on the Drangme Chhu, one of which could be a massive project with an installed capacity of 1,800 MW. “This is about so much more than rivers,” Dunn asserted. “It is about the resources and the people. And how much the resources mean to them and what they intend to do with them, or to them, or not do to them.

“The film started with this idea of: let’s show this beautiful place,” added Dunn.

“Now it may be: let’s show this beautiful place

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The Valley’s premier dining & menu guide Pick up a copy on stands throughout the Wood River Valley, or read the digital edition at sunvalleymag.com/dining.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 125

inthearts | something

inthearts

“Between Blue and You and Then Some” Mixed media on canvas 72” x 60” (unframed) Gail Severn Gallery

126 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Unraveling the Signified from the signifier The Art of Gary Komarin

BY Danielle Flam Painting, for Gary Komarin, is like playing a jazz riff or swinging a tennis racquet; it’s about being in a “relaxed state of attention.”

He begins all his canvases on the floor of his studio in Roxbury, Connecticut, moving around them as Jackson Pollock did back in the early 1950s; a process that allows Komarin to “get lost in the painting, to lose sight of up and down, east and west, north and south.” This, he says, is a good thing; “too much intention can ruin a painting.”

The improvisation and intuitive choice at the root of Komarin’s process explains the large colorful expanses, swaths of color and intrusions of shapes, at once strange and familiar, that fill his canvases. He works with buckets of creamy paint that he says is the consistency of “melted ice cream,” and paints with long-handled brushes that encourage a certain amount of freedom. The brush, he says, is “allowed to ‘play’ and create unexpected results on the canvas.”

Komarin grew up in New York City in the early 1950s, where he was exposed to art at a young age via frequent trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He had the good fortune of growing up knowing he wanted to be an artist and has pursued it all his life. After studying at Albany State University, he went on to get a Master of Fine Arts degree at Boston University where he studied with Philip Guston, the Abstract

Expressionist painter. Guston famously once said, “The trouble with recognizable art is that it excludes too much.” Guston was an important influence on Komarin. To this day he is still inspired by Guston’s directive to “paint what you don’t know, rather than what you do know.”

While Komarin was clearly influenced

by Abstract Expressionists like Guston, his work is formally considered “post-painterly abstraction,” a term coined by art critic Clement Greenberg in 1964, referring generally to painters who reacted to Abstract Expressionists by creating open compositions of washes and poured areas of color. Komarin is interesting in that where the Abstract Expressionists were really trying to reduce painting down to its essential elements—paint on canvas, without reference to the outside world—Komarin is letting references to the outside world come back into his work.

It is unclear, however, whether these references to the outside world come from the intention of the artist or from the viewer’s own unconscious, personal experiences, and even culture, and enable the viewer to pull meaning out of form. The small objects that fill the colorful expanse of Komarin’s canvases are simultaneously legible and not. It’s almost as if the artist seeks to blur the connection between form and concept and, as a result, the only way to extract meaning is through

the active process of interpretation.

Komarin’s mastery is revealed in this ability to unravel the signified from the signifier and push the burden of meaning making onto the viewer. This is precisely what is so appealing about a Komarin painting—we are given the freedom to invest these forms with our own meaning.

While Komarin was clearly influenced by Abstract Expressionists like Guston, his work is formally considered “post-painterly abstraction.”

In his series of paintings of cake, for example, we see large images of what appear to be a cake crudely outlined on paper or canvas or paper bags joined from the back.

The colors of the cakes vary, as do the exact shapes. Komarin has said elsewhere that he “doesn’t know as each cake painting is begun exactly how it will land.” And yet upon viewing the series, not only is it hard to see anything other than a cake, but the images conjure all the things a cake might represent: ceremony, happiness, celebration, taste, smell, domesticity, childhood, and perhaps more.

We inevitably relate these forms to familiar systems of convention, imbuing these abstract WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 127

inthearts | something

“Dirty White, Orvieto” Oil and mixed media on canvas 60” x 84” (unframed) Gail Severn Gallery

forms with cultural and social meaning.

Similarly, with his “A Suite of Blue Sea” series, the large blue swath of color (or purple, depending on the painting) juxtaposed against a band of orange or tan, feel like water lapping against a shoreline, with shapes that may or may not be sailboats, figures (or are they lounge chairs?) that dot the sand. But on second glance, maybe this isn’t an ocean at all.

When viewing Komarin’s paintings, the mind makes associative links between the forms, allowing scenes and stories to emerge that feel specific to our own life experience.

Even the artist himself is not immune.

Komarin’s father was an architect and his mother a writer from Vienna. When speaking of his “Cake” paintings he explained, perhaps facetiously, that they are “a marriage of sorts between the domestic and the architectural.

My mother was from Vienna and, while she wrote in her spare time, she also baked a lot of cakes.” Komarin says his influences function more on the unconscious than the 128 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

conscious level, and they “can come from everywhere, they can come from nowhere.”

This appears to be true for the viewer of a Komarin painting as well.

It’s no surprise that Komarin’s work has received much acclaim. His simple yet beautiful paintings are relatable to people of all ages and places. His work has been exhibited throughout the Unites States, Europe and Asia. In 1996, Komarin had the honor of showing his work with the paintings of his mentor Philip Guston, as well as with the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Bill Traylor. And his work continues to be shown extensively today, including in the Wood River Valley at the Gail Severn Gallery. If you have the opportunity to check out his painting, keep in mind that what you are seeing may be influenced by where you grew up, what you ate for breakfast, the film you saw last night; or it may be influenced by nothing at all.

“Rue Madame in Red #40” Mixed media on canvas 73.5” x 61.25” (framed) Gail Severn Gallery

photo : courtesy sheri fink

/ jen dessinger

inthearts | sheri fink

The Other Side of Disaster A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Sheri Fink

BY Adam Tanous Disasters, both natural and man-made, have a tendency to become crucibles of humanity. In an instant, ordinary and extraordinary people alike are thrust into situations in which vital resources—things as basic as oxygen, water, food and shelter—fall precipitously short of need. Lives fall into jeopardy, all the while time advances, forcing decisions and action.

How exactly do we respond?

It is in our response—the other side of disaster—that the panoply of human values, systems, competency, wit, selflessness and 130 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

bravery are tested.

Author and reporter Sheri Fink knows a lot about disasters and how people respond to them. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author—she has two to her name—and correspondent for The New York Times, earned M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. She has been on the ground and has reported in the aftermath of some of the more wrenching human disasters of our time: the genocide at Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina (about which she wrote the book “War Hospital”), Hurricane Katrina (documented in “Five Days

at Memorial”) and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa (reported in a seven-part series called “The Ebola Ward” in the The New York Times.)

All three bodies of work explore the dilemmas faced by healthcare workers when needs far outstrip resources. In her most recent book, “Five Days at Memorial,” which she discussed at the 2015 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, Fink reports on how that quandary reached its ultimate endpoint during Hurricane Katrina on the floors of the Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans. It was alleged by healthcare workers there that

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in a hospital without power or running water, in temperatures exceeding 100 F., and isolated by floodwaters with an, at least, perceived inability to evacuate a number of extremely ill patients, one doctor and two nurses euthanized several patients with high doses of morphine and Versed, a sedative.

“Disasters help us see these larger issues that are with us all of the time … of how resources in the healthcare field get distributed.”

–sheri fink, author of “five days at memorial” How people and events even got to such a point, as well as the legal accounting that took place in their aftermath, comprise the narrative arc of “Five Days at Memorial.” The intensity, chaos and direness of the situation are palpable in the retelling, as is the weight of the decisions people faced each day of five harrowing days.

The task of reconstructing events that transpire in the chaos of a natural disaster requires preternatural skill and doggedness.

Fink’s experience as a scientist and doctor clearly informs her work as a journalist. As she told me during a long conversation at the 2015 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, “Science is very much like journalism in that it is a search for truth. If you do it well, you are challenging your theories, rather than trying to prove them. It is about listening and paying attention to evidence, triangulating and replicating.”

At the center of Fink’s book is the concept 132 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

of triage. Triage in medicine is a system for prioritizing patients when the number of patients exceeds the available resources to treat them. Though there are sundry protocols nationwide, they typically call for the sickest patients to be treated first. However, as Fink explained, “There is this concept in medicine that if you reach a certain level of disaster … would there be some point at which the normal standards of medicine do not apply?

There are some people who agree with this.

There are other voices out there that say it is very dangerous to go down that route.”

Some doctors and nurses at Memorial did just this; they categorized the healthiest patients as “ones,” those who needed more care were “twos,” and those who were very ill or who had “do not resuscitate” (DNR) orders were categorized as “threes.” In addition, these numbers represented the order in which patients would be evacuated. The category three patients included nine patients who some on the staff felt were too sick or heavy to be carried down five flights of stairs, through a narrow passageway into a garage structure, then up fire escape stairs to an outof-service heli-pad for helicopter evacuation.

The implication was clear: some patients would be left behind.

This so-called “reverse triage,” while utilitarian—some argue it saves the most people over time—is predicated on assumptions about future events and outcomes. As Fink points out in her book, “Predicting how a patient will fare is inexact and subject to biases.”

There are still other, more complex protocols for distributing healthcare resources, such as those for organ donation. But, Fink

sun valley writers’ conference Each year, an eclectic collection of literary luminaries descends on Sun Valley for the annual Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.

Since 1995, poets, essayists, novelists, historians and memoirists from all over the world have come here to share ideas, new books, and their good humor. The conference includes keynote presentations in the Sun Valley Pavilion, as well as more intimate “breakout sessions” in which participants and audience members engage in spirited discussions on topical issues.

While the 2016 participants are yet to be announced, expect to see the finest writers from both the nonfiction and fiction worlds. The 2015 conference was sold out (as it is every year) and included appearances by Henry Paulson, Anthony Doerr, Lawrence Wright, Sheri Fink, Robert Gates, Mark Salzman, Strobe Talbott and James McBride, among others. The 2016 conference is slotted for July 12-15.

/ nils ribi

Above: Author Sheri Fink leads a discussion about the events recounted in her book, “Five Days at Memorial,” during the 2015 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.

explained, “For me, … coming out of this book, my conclusion is that there is not one right way to distribute these things. But we can have the process of deciding how it’s done be open, transparent and inclusive, so, at least, we can justify what is being done. And then, try to increase the supply because then we don’t have to make these choices.”

A similar mismatch between supply and demand plays out on the macro level of healthcare every day, only on a slower time scale. As Fink noted, “Disasters help us see these larger issues that are with us all of the time … of how resources in the healthcare field get distributed.”

The events reported in “Five Days at Memorial” also underline the ongoing tension society tolerates between preparedness and triage. Regarding the latter, Fink said, “A point that has been driven home to me with every disaster I’ve studied is the real importance of flexibility in implementing solutions and to be constantly reassessing.

Triage is all about reassessment.”

The fact remains, however, that preparedness, as complicated and expensive as it can be, goes a long way in obviating the need for triage when disaster does strike. “We need to think as a society … how much do we want to invest in preparing for these rare but foreseeable and potentially catastrophic events,” she added. “And as a species, I think, we are not wired to do that.”

photo : courtesy sun valley writers’ conference

inthearts | something

Christopher Blossom “Approaching San Francisco”

James Morgan “A Winter’s Evening”

G. Russell Case “”Ranch At Thunder Mesa”

Daniel Pinkham “Patience”

John Moyers “Dust In The Distance”

Matt Smith “Mill Creek Freeze”

Ralph Oberg “The Hunger Games”

360 East Avenue | In The Courtyard | Ketchum (208) 928-7728 | www.woodriverfinearts.com

inthearts | something

“Das Barbecü” (2012)

Fools for Love The Valley’s Preeminent Performing Arts Company Reflects on 20 Years in Hailey

134 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

“Danny,” he says, addressing Fools artist Danielle Kennedy, who portrays testy Oklahoma matriarch Violet Weston. Smallboned, raspy-voiced, with sun-crisped skin, Kennedy is the physical opposite of Meryl Streep, who brought larger-than-life Violet to the big screen in 2013. Yet Kennedy, who first joined Fools in a 1997 production of Lee Blessing’s “Eleemosynary,” easily convinces as the chain-smoking, cancer-stricken Violet; the character’s incessant cussing and insults— mostly targeted at her three adult daughters— pack even more punch coming from someone of Ms. Kennedy’s diminutive size.

“Look at her boobs!” suggests Moon, recalibrating Kennedy’s line when greeting her newly developed granddaughter, Jean. The actress scribbles a reminder on her script. One by one, Moon addresses the performers, finetuning verbal tics or reblocking a scene to keep the play’s frenzied comedy light on its feet.

By Wednesday, the cast of “August: Osage County” has fully transformed into the hard-drinking, secret-keeping Westons, and Company of Fools has pulled off another

smash a few months shy of its 20th anniversary in the Wood River Valley—a milestone that will be commemorated with a three-night retrospective and gala this January.

Today, Company of Fools is one of the Wood River Valley’s most beloved and entrenched institutions—in addition to live performance, the company offers theater education—so it’s hard to believe core artist Denise Simone when she said, a week after opening night, that she was “kicking and screaming” on the drive across the country with her then-husband and Fools founder, Rusty Wilson, in the fall of 1996. It was through an old college friend of Denise’s, however—Bruce Willis, owner of the Liberty with Demi Moore—that the Fools found a permanent home.

To John Glenn, another founding member who leads the company with Simone, the prospect of moving to Idaho was just as unthinkable. But thanks to Wilson’s vision and some behind-the-scenes plotting by Glenn’s now-husband and fellow Fool R. L. Rowsey (“Rusty called me and said, ‘Hey, I got R.L.’s

photos : courtesy company of fools

It’s past 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night in late September, and the cast of Company of Fools’ fall production, “August: Osage County”— an engrossing and exhaustive family drama that earned playwright Tracy Letts a Pulitzer Prize in 2008—has just wrapped an airtight rehearsal of the nearly three-hour performance.

The 13 actors—spanning four decades in age, from a Boise State drama major to salt-andpepper-haired stage veterans—look drained.

Wearily, they gather around a sherbet-colored sleeper-sofa that serves as ground zero for the Weston clan’s plangent dysfunction.

“I’ve got about an hour of notes,” says director John Moon. “August” marks Moon’s Liberty Theatre debut—he was tapped from Richmond, Va., where Company of Fools was formed in 1992, to resurrect in Hailey one of Broadway’s biggest hits—but he speaks in the shorthand shared by his players, many of whom have acted with Fools since its infancy.

Despite their fatigue, everyone gamely takes feedback—a testament to this amateur theater group’s professionalism—as Moon leafs through his legal pad.

/ kirsten shultz

BY Julie Bramowitz

“Peter and the Starcatcher” (2014)

“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (2015)

“The Philadelphia Story” (2000)

letter, and we agree that it’s time.’ I said, ‘What letter?’” Glenn recalls with a laugh), he and Simone have endowed this community with a cultural tradition that will continue to entertain long after its founders have moved on.

“Why is 20 years a big deal?” Glenn asks rhetorically. “If we’re lucky, we get four of those—four chunks of 20—in our life. We’ve spent a quarter of our lives on this project.”

While the Fools’ repertoire has evolved in ambition and scope—Simone hopes to next stage Ayad Akhtar’s Tony-nominated rumination on Islam phobia, “Disgraced”— the tenets that have guided them since the beginning have never wavered.

“We’re still asking ourselves the same questions,” Simone says. “How do you hold onto joy? How do you serve joy to others?”

Glenn nods, adding: “We continue to search. We’re not happy being stagnant.” for more articles on artists and galleries, visit sunvalleymag.com/arts/

cof winter events ‘A Year with Frog and Toad’

December 16, 2015 – January 3, 2016 This play by Robert and Willie Reale (directed by John Glenn) will be showing at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

NEW

play reading series

LOCATION!

20th Season 2015 – 2016 This winter-long event provides another opportunity to engage with COF community and craft.

20th anniversary celebration January 22 – 24, 2016

A three-day benefit and celebration of 20 years in the business!

‘Almost, maine’

February 17 – March 5, 2016 This play by John Cairani (directed by Denise Simone) will be playing at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 135

190 First Avenue North Ketchum, Idaho PO Box 2683 208-928-7620 phone

inthearts | art buzz

art buzz holiday openings The holiday season in the Sun Valley area is replete with fun and festivities. Not to be missed is an evening or two at the extraordinary art galleries Ketchum has to offer. Whether your tastes veer toward modern abstracts, Native American art, plein air, contemporary, or the European Masters, you will not be disappointed by the array of fine art in the offering. Here’s a sampling of new work on exhibit for the upcoming holiday shows.

1.

1. “The Heart of Winter” Russell Chatham oil on canvas 30” x 36”

Broschofsky Galleries

2. “Thrill Seeker”

2.

Kenneth Peloke mixed media 72” x 72”

Broschofsky Galleries

3. “James. Wirral Club, 2013” Jona Frank archival pigment print 20” x 16”

3.

S un Valley Center for the Arts

4. “Ifantos” Barbara Vaughn photograph 28” x 28”

Friesen Gallery

5. Aver 2 Nicole Chesney oil on acid-etched and mirrored glass 60” x 60” x 2”

4.

5.

6.

Friesen Gallery

6. “That’s Just Peachy” Jennifer Bellinger oil on canvas 30” x 30”

7.

7. “Anumara”

136 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

Jennifer Bellinger Studio

Yurpiya Lionel from Ernabella Arts acrylic on linen 35” x 59”

Harvey Art Projects

LINDA ST. CLAIR

“Way Out West”, oil on canvas, 24” x 48”

K N E E L A N D

G A L L E R Y

271 First Avenue N, Ketchum, ID 83340 ∙ www.kneelandgallery.com ∙ art@kneelandgallery.com ∙ 208.726.5512

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An Exhibition and Sale to Beneet the C.M. Russell Museum

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WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 137

inthearts | art buzz

8.

9.

8. Untitled Zio Ziegler mixed media on canvas 8’ x 6’

Ochi Gallery

9. “Les Deux Magots” Sue Dumke print on ultra gloss white aluminum 18” x 18”

Silvercreek Art

10. “Round ‘em Up” Stephanie Perenchio

archival gelatin silver print 24” x 36”

10.

SFP Studio

11. “High Desert Wind” James Morgan oil on canvas 40” x 30”

Wood River Fine Arts

12. “Untitled” 11.

12.

13.

Monique Van Genderen gouache, resist-wax and tempura on stonehenge paper 44” x 30”

Aurobora

13. “Kachinas” Andy Warhol screenprint 36” x 36”

Broschofsky Galleries

14. “The Trees of the Field” 14.

15.

Robert Moore oil on canvas 40” x 60”

Kneeland Gallery

15. “Reed on Skis” Rodney Smith archival pigment print (sizes vary)

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Gilman Contemporary

Rugs Made for the American West 131 First Avenue N. Ketchum, Idaho (West of the Magic Lantern) 208.726.3453 â&#x20AC;˘ www.daviesreid.com

inthearts | something

”Samburu Nditai #2” by Stephanie Freid-Perenchio at SFP Studio

At the galleries

“Regal Lion” by Stephanie Freid-Perenchio at SFP Studio

winter exhibits showcase new work The quantity and quality of the art available in the Wood River Valley is sometimes astonishing. However one wants to cut it—by medium, period, or movement—the Sun Valley art scene is an art lover’s dream. It’s all accessible and available in nearly 20 galleries throughout the area.

Below you’ll find brief descriptions of some of the galleries, as well as mention of the artists represented. We’ve also provided a gallery map to help you get around on the always-popular Gallery Walk evenings, held this season on Dec. 29, 2015; Feb. 12 and March 11, 2016. frederic boloix fine arts Galleria Building 351 Leadville Avenue Ketchum, ID 208.726.8810 www.boloix.com

friesen gallery Sun Valley Road at First Avenue Ketchum, ID 208.726.4174 www.friesengallery.com

GAIL SEVERN GALLERY 400 First Avenue North Ketchum, ID 208.726.5079 www.gailseverngallery.com

Theodore Waddell, Gretel, Tucker, Lilly, oil and encaustic on canvas, 49” x 55” framed Christopher Brown, HINDU egg tempera, gouache, casein on paper; framed, 27” x 35”

Julian Voss-Andreae, Slender Woman, Bronze Sculpture, 71” x 14” x 12”

Established in 1994, Frederic Boloix Fine Arts specializes in 20th Century Masters and Contemporary Art. Over the past 20 years we have shown and represented works by masters Picasso, Matisse, Miró, Chagall, Francis Bacon, Françoise Gilot and by contemporary artists Gustavo Acosta, Salustiano, Rainer Gross, Julian Voss-Andreae, Martin Herbst and Julio Larraz. We also offer consulting services and expertise in building art collections.

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Friesen Gallery exhibits contemporary paintings, glass and sculpture by widely recognized and acclaimed artists: Adela Akers, Christopher Brown, Mia Brownell, Rachel Brumer, Nicole Chesney, Ford Crull, Dennis Evans, Lawrence Fodor, Jeff Fontaine, Gregory Grenon, Isabella Huffington, Steve Jensen, Richard Jolley, Mary Josephson, Tom Lieber, Holly Lyman, Dara Mark, Nancy Mee, William Morris, Trinh Nguyen, Piper O’Neill, Lisa Occhipinti, Phranc, Chris Richter, Ginny Ruffner, Lino Tagliapietra and Barbara Vaughn, among others.

Celebrating 40 years featuring contemporary painting, sculpture and photography: Jenny Abell, Victoria Adams, Nicolas Africano, Squeak Carnwath, Linda Christensen, James Cook, Kris Cox, David deVillier, Raphaëlle Goethals, Morris Graves, Michael Gregory, Rod Kagan, Jun Kaneko, Margaret Keelan, Lisa Kokin, Gary Komarin, Hung Liu, Robert McCauley, Laura McPhee, Cole Morgan, Gwynn Murrill, Ed Musante, Marcia Myers, Luis González Palma, Robert Polidori, Joseph Raffael, Christopher Reilly, Jane Rosen, Brad Rude, David Secrest, Anne Siems, Mary Snowden, Julie Speidel, Mark Stasz, Allison Stewart, Inez Storer, Boaz Vaadia, and Theodore Waddell. Visit Severn Art Services for all your custom picture framing, art installation needs, art packing and shipping. Follow us on Twitter Gail_Severn.

gilman contemporary 661 Sun Valley Road • Ketchum, ID 208.726.7585 www.gilmancontemporary.com

Tour of Galleries 1. Aurobora 415.546.7880

Rodney Smith, Reed on Skis, archival pigment ink print

At Gilman Contemporary we believe art should be thought-provoking, inspirational and resonate in a deeply personal place for our clients. Collectors appreciate the diversity of our artists and have come to find the gallery a place of conversation and discovery. Our artists range from the whimsical black and white photographs of Rodney Smith, to the neo-Pop mixed media works of Greg Miller. Visit our website and discover Gilman Contemporary.

2. B oulder Mountain Clay and Art Gallery 208.726.0773 3. B roschofsky Galleries 208.726.4950 4. Davies-Reid 208.726.3453 5. F rederic Boloix Fine Art 208.726.8810 6. F riesen Gallery 208.726.4174

7. G ail Severn Gallery 208.726.5079

8. G ilman Contemporary 208.726.7585 9. H arvey Art Projects USA 208.309.8676 10. K neeland Gallery 208.726.5512 11. J ennifer Bellinger Gallery 208.720.8851 12. L ipton Fine Arts LLC 208.720.6331

13. O CHI Gallery 208.726.8746 14. S ilvercreek Art 208.720.4093 15. S un Valley Center for the Arts 208.726.9491 16. Wood River Fine Arts 208.928.7728

13 2

HARVEY ART PROJECTS USA

Contemporary Indigenous Art from Australia

391 First Avenue North • Ketchum, ID 208.309.8676 • www.harveyartprojects.com

1

12 Bugai Whyoulter, Untitled, acrylic on canvas, 36” x 36”

Aboriginal art is Australia’s leading contemporary art movement yet its origins are derived from the oldest continuous artistic tradition known to man. Today, aboriginal art provides indigenous Australians significant economic and cultural stability through ongoing connection to family, country and Tjukurpa (Dreamtime). Harvey Art Projects USA is a unique presence in the USA. Founded

by Australian indigenous curator Julie Harvey, the organization is dedicated to developing greater cultural awareness, understanding and appreciation of aboriginal art in America.

The Ketchum-based gallery represents many of Australia’s leading desert artists and their communities, including the renowned Papunya Tula Artists, through regular exhibitions and satellite events in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

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Severn Art ServiceS since 1974

Master Framing & Installation

Kneeland Gallery 271 First Avenue North • Ketchum, ID 208.726.5512 • fax: 208.726.3490 art@kneelandgallery.com www.kneelandgallery.com

Andrzej Skorut, Icy Blue, oil on canvas, 14” x 14”

Severn Art Services has been the principal framer to collectors and galleries for over 39 years.

Specialized in quality custom and archival framing, featuring exquisite copies of vintage and contemporary frames for fine art, mirrors, and three-dimensional objects of all sizes. We provide experienced installation and curatorial services for homes, offices, collectors, and corporations. We also provide cost effective framing and care for prints, posters, personal mementos, and family photos.

Severn Art Services offers professional conservation and restoration services.

When your needs include rearranging or hanging new acquisitions we can provide cost effective professional services for both indoor and outdoor installations.

Please visit us in our showroom, next to Gail Severn Gallery in the Severn Building at 400 First Avenue North, Ketchum, ID.

Art Hanging & Installation Hardwood • Leather • Speciality Mats • Plexiboxes Gold Leaf • Custom Metals • Period Frames Conservation & Restoration

Exhibiting paintings & sculpture by nationally recognized as well as emerging artists living and working in the West. Featured artists include Steven Lee Adams, Carol Alleman, Joe Anna Arnett, Virginie Baude, Ovanes Berberian, William Berra, John Horejs, Shanna Kunz, Jennifer Lowe, Robert Moore, Jean Richardson, Thom Ross, Carl Rowe, Linda St. Clair, Sherry Salari Sander, Linda Tippetts, Bart Walker, Andrzej Skorut & Pete Zaluzec. Additional artists can be viewed on our website. wood river fine artS 360 East Avenue • Ketchum, ID (In The Courtyard) 208.928.7728 www.woodriverfinearts.com

Severn Art ServiceS 400 First Avenue North • PO Box 1679 • Ketchum, ID 83340 208.726.5088 • artservices@gailseverngallery.com

FOR PASSES AND INFORMATION Artwork ©Sophie Twigg-Smith Teururai

808-854-6095 | waimeaoceanfilm.org ©Sophie Twigg-Smith Teururai

Daniel Pinkham, Patience oil on linen, 18” x 36”

Wood River Fine Arts features traditional and contemporary works by artists who capture the natural grandeur and unique peoples of the American West. The award-winning paintings and sculpture of these contemporary masters have received national and international acclaim and appear in private, corporate and museum collections throughout North America. In addition to CAA gold medalists Grant Redden and R.S. Riddick, and Prix de West Purchase Award winners Christopher Blossom, Terri Kelly Moyers and Andrew Peters, the gallery proudly represents Kenneth Bunn, G. Russell Case, Walt Gonske, Logan Maxwell Hagege, Quang Ho, Richard Loffler, Dave McGary (1958 - 2013), Jim Morgan, John Moyers, Ralph Oberg, Daniel Pinkham, Mary Roberson, Amy Sidrane, Matt Smith and Kathryn Stats.

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Kary Kjesbo Designs JEWELRY WITH THE UNEXPECTED EDGE

PANACHE Sun Valley, ID • PANACHE Park City, U T • MARIO’S Portland, OR • MARIO’S Tigard, OR MARIO’S Seattle, WA • ALYS GRACE Menlo Park, CA • ALYS GRACE Los Altos, CA DAVIES REID Ketchum, ID • DAVIES REID Jackson Hole, WY

karykjesbodesigns.com  karykjesbodesigns @ gmail.com  208.720.5957 Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram

food&drink | something

food&drink

Duck confit with Chianti-braised Borlotti beans, prepared by Doug Jensen at the Cornerstone Bar & Grill.

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Taming the Wild Dining on the Valley’s Best Game

BY Gwen Ashley Walters / PHOTOGRAPHY Paulette Phlipot Idaho has more than 500 wildlife species, but don’t count on any of them landing on local restaurant tables. In an ironic twist of definitions, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) doesn’t consider “wild game” to be meat or poultry. The USDA oversees all commercial food inspection to ensure public safety, but under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Product Inspection Act, wild game is not “amenable to mandatory Food Safety and Food Service Inspection.” Without government inspection, wild game is essentially banned from commercial sale.

So where does the elk and duck and rabbit on local restaurant menus come from? When diners order “wild game,” they’re getting farmraised, USDA-inspected game. It may not be wild, but it is game; that is, meat and fowl outside of domesticated cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys. And some game farms do their best to emulate conditions in the wild for their animals, from what they graze on to how they’re harvested.

Demand from an increasingly game-hungry public has risen in the past decade for various reasons—an upswing in availability of farmraised game, more adventurous eaters willing to step out of their beef and chicken comfort zone—but the most compelling one may be simple math. According to game cookbook author Rebecca Gray, beef contains roughly 214 calories and almost 10 grams of fat while venison contains only 159 calories and 3 grams of fat, based on a 4-ounce serving size. All other things being equal, it is healthier to consume game than commercial feedlot beef and pork.

Food wholesalers are key to bringing quality

game to chefs and to markets. Mountain Pride is a Ketchum-based food distributor specializing in game and seafood. “This was strictly a meat and potatoes town back then, not like Aspen or Vail,” said Mountain Pride owner Stuart Siderman. Part of his impetus to set up shop 18 years ago was to bring a better quality and wider variety of game and seafood. “Now we sell to pretty much every restaurant in the Valley. We find the best quality for the price for our customers.”

“[Preparing] game can be tricky.

You have to pay attention when you’re cooking it.”

–kate metzger, chef at il naso

Kate Metzger, executive chef of il Naso, said cooking with game presents challenges, but for a chef, that’s the draw. She keeps an elk chop on the menu year-round and, come winter, “wild boar” lasagna returns along with a smattering of other game specials. Rabbit, in the hands of Metzger, takes a spin in the braising pan with prunes, olives and capers. “[Preparing] game can be tricky,” she said. “You have to pay attention when you’re cooking it,” because of the lack of marbling and surface fat compared to domestic counterparts. It’s easy to go from tender to tough. Take, for example, her elk chop with bitter cocoa sauce and poached quince. “The chop is done in a pan on the stove to sear, but the heat isn’t up as high as it would be for a pork chop or steak. It needs lower heat because it’s so lean; otherwise, the crust gets leathery and WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 145

food&drink | something

Elk loin with honey-glazed cranberries from the Ketchum Grill.

Braised rabbit prepared by Kate Metzger at il Naso.

shrinks. You need to be gentle with game.”

Doug Jensen, executive chef at Cornerstone Bar & Grill, has been cooking game for years, although he isn’t a hunter—unless you count wild mushrooms. He may not pull the trigger, but he knows his way around big game in the kitchen. His elk burger is a favorite of il Naso’s Metzger. “I might do an elk chili for winter instead of a burger,” he said; that is, if the natives don’t revolt. Duck confit will make an appearance, too, in the form of a French cassoulet, but with an Italian twist—a nod to his early culinary career at an award-winning Italian restaurant in Salt Lake City.

Scott Mason (Ketchum Grill, Enoteca and Town Square Tavern) has a truly unique 146 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

perspective on game among Valley chefs. More than 20 years ago, he would pick up extra work between seasons as a game cutter for a now defunct butcher shop in Bellevue. He butchered an interesting array of animals brought in by hunters, including, once, a bear. “No one else wanted to do it. It’s awful, stinky stuff,” he laughed. In addition to serving farm-raised game in the form of seared duck breast with huckleberry sauce, or some version of elk loin with honey-glazed cranberries, Ketchum Grill has cooked game that hunters have brought to the restaurant. Mason isn’t permitted to charge them for the dish, although he can tack on a fee for the service. “For us it’s a great thing, because it’s usually in slack season and the kitchen has

time to give effort to the game,” he said.

Ordering game at restaurants isn’t the only way to get a fix. Atkinsons’ Market carries a small selection of game for home cooks, mostly ground bison and steaks, and occasionally elk.

Bart Lee, seafood manager and an avid hunter himself (he plans his vacation around opening day of hunting season), said with a week or so notice, they’ll source specific cuts and a wider variety of game. A lifelong hunter, Lee has some insider tips on how to cook game at home. Hint? Think smoke. Ask him and he’ll be happy to share. He has years of experience cooking from his hunts.

Wild game is integral to mountain culture, but farm-raised game ensures everyone who wants to, can taste it. Order it in a restaurant, buy it at a grocery store to cook at home, or sidle up to your favorite hunter for some truly wild stuff—no matter which way you go, it’s game on. for more articles on food and drink, visit sunvalley.com/dining/

Rabbit fettucini with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes from Cornerstone Bar & Grill.

Serving irresistible homemade ice creams such as Sea Salt Caramel or Peanut Butter Cup. Milkshakes and Banana Splits are made exactly the way you like while you enjoy a sunny Sun Valley day!

grapes for game Craig Spiller of Sun Valley Wine Company looks to the origins of the dish as well as the accompanying ingredients when pairing wine with game. “I think these wines are perfect for these game dishes,” he said. “But you could change one out for another, depending upon your particular taste,” Spiller said.

OPEN DAILY!

11AM - 9PM

10PM ON WEEKENDS!

SUN VALLEY VILLAGE 208.622.2243

dish: Wild Boar Lasagna wine pairing: Barolo Il Naso’s wild boar lasagna, a hearty portion of noodles, boar sausage, Fontina béchamel and red sauce, begs for a bold Italian red like Barolo from Piedmont, made with the Nebbiolo grape.

www.sunvalley.com

DISH: Seared Elk Chop WINE PAIRING: Argentinian Malbec The cocoa powder and dark plum notes in a Malbec from Argentina coupled with the bitter and sweet flavors in the elk’s sauce perform the perfect Tango.

DISH: Braised Rabbit WINE PAIRING: Cru Beaujolais or Côte Rôtie Kate Metzger’s riff on Chicken Marbella from “The Silver Palate Cookbook” calls for a light, fruity red with funk—think Gamaysoaked Beaujolais, or a Syrah-heavy Côte Rôtie from the Northern Rhône.

DISH: Cassoulet WINE PAIRING: Côtes du Rhône Brimming with rich duck confit, sausage and beans, this classic French peasant dish pairs well with wines—both red and white—from the Southern Rhône region.

DISH: Smoked Venison Roast WINE PAIRING: California Cabernet Sauvignon, preferably 2012 vintage After two back-to-back disappointing harvests, California vintners caught a break in 2012, resulting in windfall of exceptional options. The tobacco, black pepper and dark cherry flavors of a Cabernet are tailor made for smoked game meat.

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Enjoy our hand-tossed pizzas, homemade pasta and salads while you dine in the heart of Sun Valley Village!

EY VALL SUN A HOUSE OPER

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n rso pe er p et tick

Get TWO FREE movie tickets to the Sun Valley Opera House when you dine with us!*

Sun Valley Village 208.622.2143 www.sunvalley.com

food&drink | something

like the Lodge burger or wild shrimp tacos and flatbread pizzas. Located in the Sun Valley Lodge. Sun Valley Lodge, 622.2833. rasberrys

Whether you are seeking a quiet getaway place for lunch or are wanting to host an elegant gathering for friends, Rasberrys will meet and exceed your desires. Callie and Maeme Rasberry believe all the senses must be involved in meal preparation; therefore, the menu is eclectic, just like the chefs, with dishes prepared with fresh local ingredients when available and their own take on comfort and ethnic food.

411 Building 5th St., Ketchum, 726.0606.

dining around town the best in local cuisine While the Wood River Valley is a recreationist’s wonderland, it also offers a cultural richness rarely seen in such small communities. Among the latter are the world-class art galleries, intellectual offerings, and, of course, fine dining. Valley restaurants offer a wide variety of foods from around the world; here we provide a sampling of what’s for dinner around town.

For a look at full menus and more in-depth coverage of the dining scene, check out Sun Valley Magazine’s dining and menu guide TASTE of Sun Valley on stands, in hotel rooms and online at sunvalleymag.com/dining.

BREAKFAST & CAFES bigwood bread

Visit us at one of our spectacular locations, both featuring beautiful outdoor views, fantastic food and outstanding service. Our bakery café offers the customer a chance to see our bakers in action at our new 12,000-squarefoot bakery. Our downtown location offers you the chance to be in the heart of the city’s bustle on the corner of East Street and Fourth Avenue. Fresh and homemade is how we do it!

Downtown Café - 380 N E. Ave, Ketchum 928.7868; Bakery Café - 271 Northwood Way, Ketchum 726.2035.

gretchen’s

Adjacent to the Lodge Lobby, Gretchen’s Restaurant welcomes you with a relaxing indoor/outdoor feel with easy access for Terrace dining all day long. Enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner and full bar service. Sun Valley’s own Gretchen Fraser is the restaurant’s namesake, the first American to win an alpine Olympic gold medal. Sun Valley Lodge, 622.2144. java coffee

& cafe

Truly a great coffeehouse! Baking from 148 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

scratch daily. Serving the finest Fair Trade and organic coffees. Sound like a local and order the “Dirty Hippie Burrito” and a “Bowl of Soul.” Wake up and live! 191 4th St. W., Ketchum 726.2882, 111 N. 1st Ave., Hailey, 788.2297.

konditorei

DELIS a la mode

Sun Valley Resort has a new sweet spot serving irresistible gourmet cocoas, sundaes, shakes and sodas. A la Mode is located in the village next door to the Short Line Deli. You’ll be tempted by 17 specialty cocoas such as the Raspberry Snowball, Sea Salt Caramel, or the Orange Dreamsicle. Sun Valley Resort, 622.2243. atkinsons’ markets

Atkinsons’ Markets serving you and your family at our three locations in the Wood River Valley. 451 E 4th St., Ketchum, 726.2681; 93 E. Croy St., Hailey, 788.2294; Main St., Bellevue, 788.0241.

jersey girl

Jersey Girl offers fast, fresh, quality food that’s handmade with love. Fresh daily soup and salad specials complement a full sandwich board of local favorites like the Bacado or Godfather. Each sandwich starts with a fresh La Brea baguette. We roast our own turkey and beef daily, all of our soups and salad dressings are made from scratch and our desserts are all fresh-baked just for us. Come on in … It’s all good downtown! 14 E Croy St., Hailey,

Lunch dishes range from pumpkin spaetzle with sausage and apples to roasted chicken crepes with spinach and spicy Liptauer cheese. To satisfy sweet tooth cravings or just to warm up on a chilly day, the café offers a full complement of artisanal coffee and hot chocolate drinks, plus house-baked European pastries. Sun Valley Resort, 622.2235.

788.8844

perry’s

short line deli

Voted “Best of the Valley” by Mountain Express readers numerous times for breakfast, lunch, and sandwiches, Perry’s Restaurant has been a Ketchum fixture for 26 years. 131 West 4th St., Ketchum, 726.7703.

poolside cafe

Enjoy summer fresh salads, sandwiches and flatbreads, as well as a full range of cocktails and beverages. Choose from light fare such as watermelon salad or spa Caesar to heartier fare

From the deli case to the sandwich board, over 15 sandwiches can be made to order, such as The Challenger, made with Italian ham, dry salami, Genoa salami, banana peppers, roasted red peppers and Provolone piled high on a baguette. Sun Valley Village, 622.2060. wrapcity

Wrapcity is fast, fresh, and fun food! Located next to the Kentwood Lodge on Main Street, Wrapcity serves up creative wraps and salads,

Wake up and Live

Best Apres Ski Spot in Town!

Try our Monkey Fries!

“Ketchum’s Killer Meal without the Killer Price A Great Kids' Menu Too!”

Grill Open

Home of the Bowl of Soul two convenient valley locations

JAVA HAILEY

JAVA ON FOURTH KETCHUM

111 1st ave. n.

208.788.2399

191 4th street west 208.726.2882

11:30am - 10:00pm Daily (Bar open late) Burgers, Salads, Wings, Hoagies, Fresh Cut Fries and More!

HD Satellite TV Sports “All the Games, All the Time”

For Takeout Call: 726.2744 231 6th Street, Ketchum at the corner of 6th & Washington

“Besł new Resłauranł in łhe Valley—So worłh łhe Drive! ” -mark kelly

V I TTL ES FINELY CRAFTED COMFORT FOOD

open nightly wednesday through saturday & sunday for brunch | 118 s. main st. bellevue, idaho | 208.928.7955 WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 149

food&drink | dining listings homemade soups, and unique quesadillas.

Wrapcity also serves breakfast wraps all day with special breakfast creations on Saturdays and Sundays. Voted “Valley’s Best Lunch” in 2011. 180 Main St. S., Ketchum, 727.6766.

mama inez

Southwestern cuisine since 1987. Serving chile colorado burritos, chile verde burritos, enchiladas, gordos, tacos and salads. 210 N. Main St.,

citing selection of seasonal appetizers, entrées and desserts, daily lunch specials, an extensive beer and wine selection, TVs, catering and fast, friendly delivery service. 200 Sun Valley Rd.,

Ketchum, 726.0125.

Ketchum, 622.5625.

PUBS & GRILLS

ITALIAN & PIZZA

ASIAN / SUSHI

lefty’s bar

& grill

Lefty’s has been a local and visitor favorite for more than 20 years, and for good reason.

Lefty’s has a great casual dining menu, including killer burgers served on fresh-baked bread, monster hot sandwiches, wings, salads and our specialty, fresh-cut French fries. For families, Lefty’s has all the foods kids love, at a price you’ll love. There is no better place to watch sports than Lefty’s, whose motto is “All the games, all the time.” Live music. Great outdoor deck! 231 6th St. East, Ketchum, 726.2744. whiskey jacques’

Whiskey’s is the premier live music venue and sports bar in Ketchum, with eight HD bigscreen TVs and one projector screen. Whiskey’s kitchen is famous for their brick-oven pizza, awesome wings, refreshing salads and tasty grinders. The upstairs room is available for your private event. 251 N. Main St, Ketchum, 726.5297.

MEXICAN despo’s

bald mountain pizza

A family friendly restaurant featuring handtossed pizza, pasta bowls and salads.Very casual and fun fare for kids. A full take-out menu is available and Bald Mountain Pizza delivers to Sun Valley Resort properties. Sun Valley Resort

enoteca

Ketchum’s newest gastronomic addition, with its upscale pizzeria and wine bar. Enoteca has a plethora of small plates to choose from. 300 N. Main St., Ketchum, 928.6280.

il naso

Owner Sam Turner invites you to enjoy his warm, inviting restaurant with Italian-influenced cuisine. Il Naso is special whether you drop by to have a burger and beer at the wine bar, or to relax in the candlelit dining room.

The extensive wine list and knowledgeable staff will help you choose just the right bottle to enhance your dining experience. Large parties welcome. 480 Washington Ave., Ketchum, 726.7776.

A local favorite for over 25 years. Founder and owner Jim Funk is committed to authentic, delicious Mexican dishes that respect your desire for a healthy meal without compromising flavor. Offering fresh ingredients, high quality, regionally sourced meats, daily specials, vegetarian selections, and three kinds of salsa made daily. 211 4th St. E, Ketchum, 726.3068.

restaurant

kb’s

rico’s

The New York Times named KB’s as a muststop in its article of top 10 things to do in 36 hours in Sun Valley, Idaho. Travel writer Sarah Robertson wrote, “Even when people are far away, they’re still thinking about the food at Ketchum Burritos. This cheerful, laid-back burrito joint serves delicious fish tacos and offers a make-your-own burrito, with a choice of 27 fillings. 260 N. Main St., Ketchum, 928.6955; 121 N Main St., Hailey, 788.7217.

la cabanita

Only one way to put it… best authentic Mexican food in town. The town’s hidden gem that is truly a favorite. 160 W. 5th St., Ketchum, 725.5001; 745 N. Main St., Bellevue, 928.7550.

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& pasta

103

Food with love. Fresh local ingredients sculpted into a pizza, pasta, salad or burger. Idaho crafted. Our menu is influenced by the nuances of traditional Northern Italian cooking, which in turn complements Idaho’s regional favorites such as our grilled 103 burger. 103 South Main St., Hailey, 721.8958.

Founded in 1982 by Rico and Amy Albright, RICO’S menu includes starters, soups, salads, over 20 signature pastas, hand picked nightly specials, calzones and 11 specialty handtossed deck oven pizzas. 200 Main St., Ketchum, 726.7426.

smoky mountain pizzeria grill

Smoky Mountain Pizzeria Grill is a comfortable, casual, dynamic family restaurant in downtown Ketchum. Our extensive menu features unique pizzas and pastas, delicious salads, sandwiches, grilled steaks, hamburgers and more. You’ll also find a kids’ menu, an ex-

dang’s thai cuisine

Also known as “Dang Good,” Dang’s Thai Cuisine is a favorite among the locals! A newer addition to the Wood River Valley, Dang’s offers a wide selection of popular dishes ranging from Sushi, Green Papaya Salad, Pad Thai, and their infamous Green Curry with Chicken! If you like spicy food, don’t forget to ask for the little jars of Sambal and Thai Chili Sauce! Highly recommended as an affordable, flavorful and fun experience in Hailey! 310 N Main St., Hailey, 928.7111. globus

If your palate demands flavorful and adventurous cuisine, then a unique dining experience awaits you at Globus. Located in downtown Ketchum since 1992, Globus serves delectable and satiating world fare where patrons often come more than once a week to try executive chef Tracy Bailet’s fresh and creative daily specials. 131 Washington St., Ketchum, 726.1301. rickshaw

Serving “ethnic street foods,” as chef Andreas Heaphy likes to say, Rickshaw has been well received by locals, visitors and critics alike.

Creative, fresh, small plates are inspired by the flavors and foods in locales such as Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. 460 N. Washington Ave., Ketchum, 726-8481.

sushi on second

Established in 1994, Sushi on Second is the Valley’s oldest sushi restaurant. But don’t let age fool you. Head sushi chef Zack Venzon is at the center of a talented crew of sushi chefs that delight in creating dishes that are as appetizing to look at as they are to eat. 260 Second St., Ketchum, 726.5181.

zou

75

Rediscover this Main Street gem in downtown Hailey! Zou 75 is your destination for more than great Asian fusion, sushi and seafood selections. With fresh fish flown in several times a week straight from Honolulu, Hawaii, you can always count on the best in quality and freshness. With a martini/wine bar, two

private rooms and take-out party platters of all sizes, Zou 75 is the perfect choice for your next dining event. 416 Main St., Hailey, 788.3310.

MEDITERRANEAN town square tavern

Town Square Tavern, established in June 2015, is a gathering place in the center of Ketchum, Idaho, serving fresh and inspired world cuisine. With flavors inspired by the Mediterranean regions stretching from the Middle East, to North Africa, to Spain, Italy and France, there is something sure to please everyone’s palate. 360 East Ave. N., Ketchum,

sun valley club

Possibly Sun Valley’s most popular lunch spot. The Sun Valley Club is open for guests and the public and doubles as the Sun Valley Nordic and Snowshoe Center in winter. 1 Trail zinc

ZINC—where the design is sleek, yet raw and industrial, and the menu showcases American classics with a twist. Each handcrafted ingredient is focused and presented with care. Come see where the most exciting food is being created in Ketchum! 230 Walnut Ave., Ketchum, 727.1800

STEAK & SEAFOOD

REGIONAL NORTHWEST

sawtooth club

Real food from real places featuring local and Northwest regional ingredients and fresh fish nightly. Great wines from all over. Dine in a comfortable, casual and energetic space. Eat here, eat well! 320 Main St., Hailey, 788.1223. cornerstone

Longtime locals Meg and Erik Vorm welcome you to a Main Street venue as stimulating to the eye as it is to the taste buds. Recipient of the prestigious AIA Honor Award 2010, the Cornerstone (built in 1884) remains the only building in Ketchum listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Inside its modern decor, you’ll enjoy a seasonally changing array of game, seafood and vegetable dishes, complemented by handcrafted cocktails and a list of beer and wine that’s both familiar and eclectic. 211 Main St., Ketchum, 928.7777.

Coat Factory

Creek Rd., Sun Valley, 622.2919.

726.6969.

ck’s real food

Sheepskin

The Sawtooth Club has been the gathering place for Ketchum locals and visitors alike since 1987 … and for good reason! Always warm, comfortable and welcoming, intimate yet lively. Rustic elegance and sophistication without pretension. The Sawtooth Club is downtown Ketchum at its very best. 231 North

tuxedo rentals

since 1971

Main St., Ketchum, 726.5233.

511 SUN VALLEY ROAD

the ram

www.sheepskincoat.com

KETCHUM 208.726.3588

Modern steakhouse with organic and local Idaho products, full service. Live music with Larry Harshbarger on the piano. Located in the Sun Valley Inn. Make your reservation now! Sun Valley Village, 622.2225.

Your full service Pharmacy providing traditional and compounded medications.

duchin lounge

All new and inviting, this legendary lounge serves up cocktails, imported beer and an extensive wine list. Now you can also duck in for a quick bite from our lounge menu.

Sun Valley Lodge, 622.2145.

grill at knob hill

The environment at the Knob Hill Inn is casual and comfortable, yet sophisticated, with distinctively Northwest cuisine, and a variety of American and European classics. A top local favorite! 960 N. Main St., Ketchum, 726.8004. ketchum grill

For nearly 22 years, Ketchum Grill has brought your dining experience to the highest gastronomical level, and the best Idaho has to offer. 520 East Ave., Ketchum, 726.4660.

taste of sun valley Sun Valley Magazine’s dining and menu guide, TASTE of Sun Valley, offers chef profiles, features on innovative dishes and foods, as well as exquisite recipes to try at home. Pick up a free copy on racks throughout the Valley, or read the digital edition at sunvalleymag.com/dining. The winter issue is on stands now!

WINTER 2015/2016 | sunvalleymag.com 151

{

a·poth·e·car·y [uh-poth-uh-ker-ee] noun, plural -car·ies. 1. a druggist; a pharmacist. 2. a pharmacy or drugstore.

p 208-726-26RX {2679} f 208-726-11RX {1179} 201 N Washington, Ketchum www.ketchumpharmacy.com pharmadonna@gmail.com

}

in the end, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember that time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. ~jack kerouac

152 sunvalleymag.com | WINTER 2015/2016

photo : ray j. gadd

whywelivehere | parting thoughts