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oh say, can you ski?
By Craig Tansley.
Published in the July-September 2011 issue.
If you thought that skiing in the United States was limited to Colorado, think again. Here, three alternative American states that are proving to be rather cool.
IDAHO
There’s a saying among skiers in Idaho: Movie stars go to Aspen but the people who pay the movie stars go to Sun Valley. And they fit right in.
Enjoying a shimmering setting in central Idaho, Sun Valley is one fancy snow resort. It’s skiing minus the hassles – there are no queues to use chairlifts; clouds don’t seem to settle on wide, blue skies; ski lodges dazzle with floor-to-ceiling windows, open fireplaces, stone walls; and the snow is first-class.
Upon opening the resort nearly 75 years ago, the man behind the project, Union Pacific Railroad chairman W. Averell Harriman, declared: “When you get to Sun Valley, your eyes should pop open.” He wanted haute cuisine, perfect service and nightly orchestral performances to complement the pristine snow action.
All that, yet Sun Valley doesn’t feel at all precious; in fact, it’s extremely convivial. The region of Idaho Sun Valley calls home was built on mining and, to this day, an air of blue-collar wholesomeness overrides all the gold-plated taps in the bathrooms. The town Sun Valley’s built around – Ketchum – still looks like a mining village, with wide streets and preserved historical buildings. Granted, most mining towns don’t have billboards advertising Flexjet – a private jet company that promises customers they can save themselves the hassle of public air travel – but you can still get a steak here for US$10 at some diners, with a beer thrown in if you go on the right nights.
In Ketchum, even Hollywood hipsters have to wait for tables at favourite local restaurants. Unless, of course, they own said restaurants.
Bruce Willis owns a bar on the main road in Hailey in Sun Valley (and has been spotted playing gigs there on occasion); Tom Hanks has a holiday chalet here; and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s soon-to-be-ex-wife Maria Schriver specially requested that a short but particularly challenging Sun Valley ski run be named after Arnie for his birthday in 2001. The locals don’t pay much attention: they’re used to seeing stars around town.
In 1936, Harriman enlisted a hotshot New York publicist to spread the Sun Valley word. What followed was arguably history’s most successful public relations stunt. The publicist offered the biggest Hollywood stars of the day no-expense-spared invitations to enjoy Sun Valley. The likes of Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman took up the invitation, attracting an ever-increasing circle of Hollywood starlets. The cooler Sun Valley got, the more the stars lined up for invites.
The Hollywood beeline became such a swarm that Sun Valley was documented on the cover of Life magazine in 1937. Before long, Harriman saw his vision realised: Sun Valley had become the most glamorous ski resort in the United States.
All the stars are still there today – black-and-white photographs on the walls of the Sun Valley Lodge show a young Marilyn Monroe (who filmed the movie Bus Stop in Sun Valley) alongside Clark Gable, Janet Leigh, John Wayne, Lucille Ball and the Kennedys. Writer Ernest Hemingway liked Sun Valley so much he chose to live in nearby Ketchum; allegedly, he wrote several chapters of For Whom the Bell Tolls in a suite at the Sun Valley Lodge.
Still, gold trimmings and chandeliers only count for so much. A ski resort should always be about one thing: skiing, and that’s where Sun Valley’s strength lies.
Many regard Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain, with its windless, steep slopes that drop more than one kilometre, as the best single-ski slope in the world. Fringed by picturesque pine trees, the runs are not for the faint hearted; even the green runs here will have your adrenalin pumping. But the terrain is stunning, and the views from the top of the ridges seem to stretch forever. Less experienced skiers are also catered for, as Sun Valley consists of two mountains and the other – Dollar Mountain – might have been designed for beginners and intermediate skiers – its vertical pitch is just 191 metres and it’s treeless, making it ideal for those who are new to the snow.
CALIFORNIA
California may be synonymous with beaches and sunshine but it’s also one of the best ski destinations in North America. There are ski resorts stretching all the way from the north of the state to its Mexican border, and some, such as Mountain High, are easily accessible from major cities like Los Angeles. There are more than 30 ski resorts to choose from across California, and many of them – especially those located near Lake Tahoe – are close together, making it quite possible to sample a different resort every day. Best of all, because of California’s unique topography and climate, you can surf before breakfast and watch the sun set over the snow the same day.
A 3.5-hour drive east of San Francisco, Lake Tahoe – America’s largest alpine lake – is the stunning centrepiece to the largest concentration of ski resorts in the country, most of them receiving more than 10 metres of snow in a typical season.
Heavenly Ski Mountain, on the south bank of the lake, offers the best tree runs in North America, paired with lively Vegas-style entertainment options including casinos open around the clock.
Mammoth Resort is popular for its elevation: it sits atop California’s highest mountain and boasts the state’s longest ski season – indeed, people have been spotted on Mammoth’s slopes in June. The resort, with some of the world’s best terrain parks, is a mecca for ski and snowboard pros.
Just down the road, Squaw Valley offers equally impressive runs, with six peaks in a ski area that stretches across 1,619 hectares of mountainside.
UTAH
Utah is known as the powder capital of the world – the snow is so dry and deep here that you’ll need to master a whole new way of skiing. Each ski season, Utah receives more than 12 metres of the white stuff, making it the United States’ snowiest state after Alaska. Apart from its legendary powder falls, one of Utah’s biggest drawcards is the fact that its best resorts are easy for interstate and international skiers to access. Of the 13 world-class ski resorts in Utah, 11 are located within an hour’s drive of the state’s international airport. Touch down at Salt Lake City International Airport and you can be at Park City Mountain Resort, which sprawls over 1,335 hectares of skiable terrain, within 45 minutes of clearing customs. And the Canyons ski resort – the biggest of its kind in Utah, with nearly 1,500 hectares of terrain across eight mountains and five bowls – is less than 50 kilometres from the international airport.
Both ski resorts are close to Park City, a former mining town that’s become one of the world’s premier après-ski villages, housing some 100 bars and restaurants, dozens of boutiques and a host of upscale hotels and inns including the world’s only ski-in, ski-out whiskey distillery.•
Photographs courtesy of respective resorts.
getting there
United Airlines offers regular flights from Australian cities to San Francisco and Los Angeles, with onward connections to Idaho’s capital, Boise, and to Salt Lake City in Utah. 1800-001-641; unitedairlines.com.au
when to go
Sun Valley’s ski season runs from mid-November until late April, with the best conditions generally experienced in January and February. California’s ski season usually lasts from November through March, as does the season in Utah.
further information
• The Canyons. thecanyons.com
• Heavenly. skiheavenly.com
• Mammoth Mountain. mammothmountain.com
• Park City Mount ain Resort. parkcitymountain.com
• Squaw Valley. squaw.com
• Sun Valley. sunvalley.com
• Utah ski resorts. skiutah.com
Skimax and Mogul Ski World can help organise ski trips to the U.S.
• Mogul Ski World. 1800-335-724; mogulski.com.au
• Skimax. 61-2/9267-1655; skimax.com.au
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