Citing safety, Sun Valley is tightening down on uphill hiking for the 2019-20 ski season, the resort announced Monday.
Skiers will now have to stick to approved routes to skin up and ski down Bald Mountain, at risk of removal or “other penalties,” according to a statement from Sun Valley spokeswoman Kelli Lusk. That’s one of several changes for the area, which says it’s trying to weigh the increasingly popular practice against its nighttime and early-morning on-hill operations.
“We want to make sure everyone enjoys themselves on Baldy, and we want to make sure everyone is safe,” Lusk told the Idaho Mountain Express. “The main thing is safety—that’s why this policy is in place.”
Baldy sits on public land, split between the U.S. Forest Service and the BLM. The company holds a special-use permit that allows it to run the resort—and set policy around it. Sun Valley can restrict access in the interest of “health and safety,” and based on its capital infrastructure on the mountain, according to Zach Poff, recreation manager for the Forest Service’s Ketchum Ranger District. The latter includes snowmaking, lifts and grooming or trail-making work, Poff said.
“Every ski area deals with this, and most that I’ve been involved in don’t allow [hiking] during the season,” he said. “It’s a big question—how do you safely manage access?”
The issue has grown with the popularity of ski touring over the past decade.
“The main thing is health and safety,” Poff said. “In the past few years, we’ve seen some extremely close calls—people hitting winch lines, almost running into snow cats. It’s stressful for the people up there getting the mountain ready every day, and it can be dangerous.”
The other part is the company’s on-hill investment. Even when there’s no other snow in the valley, people can hike Baldy, Poff said. That’s thanks to the company’s lease.
The policy announced Monday is specific to Bald Mountain, Lusk said. It’s different on Dollar Mountain, which is privately owned by Sun Valley. As of Tuesday morning, Lusk didn’t have details on how the policy would change touring on Baldy’s smaller sibling. And, she didn’t elaborate on the possible penalties the company would levy against those breaking the new rules. The Forest Service won’t be involved, Poff said—it’s up to the resort to enforce its own policy.
On Baldy, skiers will have three ways up. Starting from River Run, they can take the straight shot up Lower and Mid River, or diverge and follow Olympic Lane; the two paths meet at Roundhouse Lane before merging with Upper College to reach Lookout. On the other side, climbers can follow Lower Warm Springs to the Maiden Lane cat track, then take Flying Squirrel and Upper College to the top.
That means no traffic on the the popular route linking River Run to Lower College via Sunset Strip. There, the cat track wraps a blind turn across the hillside that the company wants clear. And, winch cats sometime anchor cables across Lower College to groom the steeper slopes down into the Frenchman’s area.
“Safety is our No. 1 priority, so we want to make sure everyone is aware of the uphill and downhill guidelines on the mountains,” Peter Stearns, Sun Valley Resort’s director of mountain operations, said in a statement. “Our goal is to find a reasonable balance among users who share a common interest in recreating within Sun Valley Co.’s special-use permit area in a safe and sustainable manner.”
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(14) comments
easy answer really would be to make them buy an uphill pass like some other resorts are doing......still puzzles me what with ALL of idaho to use their gucci gear they choose the easiest and least like what the gear was designed for, backyard option .....it must legitimize the need for the gear to them in their minds
As a proponent of access to public lands, this news saddens me. At least it sounds like enforcement will be challenging for SVCO.
Controlled use permit . Lots of other places to go. Please go get a clue !
Thank you SVCO for doing this . Most uphillers are completely clueless as to what goes on up on Baldy to get the mountain ready for PAYING customers. Keeping Baldy safe for all. Well done !
A lot of uphill hikers ARE paying customers
Prove it !
And an equal number are not. They hike up past the Lookout Express, hide in the trees then then ride the lift up when the mountain opens and ski all day for free.
Yep. Its very illegal . Called defrauding the innkeeper. Pretty much all of the Baldy uphillers are poachers !
Hmmm.
Folks - remember, ski patrol/Sun Valley Company has no authority to detain you (as in if they tried, that would be assault). The USFS is not enforcing this with their law enforcement so the only penalty would have to be enforced in the civil courts. Good luck with that Sun Valley!
PS If safety was really a concern, how about enforcing slow zones?
Leadville....no different then back in the day when the "to-poor-to-pay" skiers would hike up the Ho Chi Minh Trail from the Warm Springs side to the old Limelight or Plaza chair to avoid paying. I'm not saying it is right or legal but it was being done more then you think.
I only have to ask myself one question before I break the law.
What would the president do?
So the ski patrol becomes the ski police. Not a role they relish, surely.
you mean these folks may actually have to use their backcountry gear......in the backcountry ??
LMAO, as usual
The whining will hit fever pitch on this one!
Thanks for keeping Baldy open to hiking SV!
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