Sun Valley, January 31 - February 4, 2020

First stop in Ketchum, the knitting store just off main street. We skied for the next three days in those mountains.

Utah has the snow but Sun Valley has the continuous angles.

Steepest Average Slope?

                                                    Rise Ft/Run Ft = Slope %                Average Slope Degree

Jackson Hole Tram                            4,139 / 11,784   = 35.1%                          19.35°
Snowbird Tram                                  2,900 / 7/893     = 36.7%                         20.17°
Squaw Valley KT-22                          1,744 / 4,670    = 37.35%                        20.48°
Sun Valley Challenger Quad              3,133 / 8,378    = 37.4%                          20.50°
Snowbasin Mt. Allen Tram                   508 / 1,056    = 48.11%                        25.69°
Big Sky Lone Peak Tram                   1,426 / 2,463    = 57.89%                        30.06°
Chamonix Aiguille du Midi Tram      9,209 / 15,251 = 60.4%                          31.12°

(slope % = rise/run)  (slope degree = inverse tangent of slope %)

I've never skied fall-lines like that found in Sun Valley. Snowbird is known for challenging terrain but Snowbird's profile is very stair-stepped. The angles from the top of the tram, down Great Scott, down Silver Fox to the tram base is not continuous: flat-steep-flat-steep-flat-steep, for 2,900 vertical feet. The profile of Limelight at Sun Valley is continuously steep for 3,133 vertical feet. No flats top to bottom. Granted, SunValley has nothing like Snowbird's Cirque, but Snowbird has nothing like Limelight's uninterrupted 37 degree slope from top to bottom. Face it, other than Chamonix when you ski the steepest runs off these lifts, on average your total run is high intermediate at best. Short sections might be 'fall-you-die-steep,' but overall you're skiing moderate lines. Only the Aiguille du Midi tram approaches expert slope angles.  

I grew up skiing Snowbird and was told continuously that 'the bird' is one to the toughest ski ares in the U.S. The more I get out of SLC the more I realize those claims are mostly school-boy-tram-line braggadocios. Prime example is Mt. Rose near Reno, which, pound for pound, is a much tougher mountain than Snowbird, but it's almost unknown outside of Tahoe/Reno. Squaw Valley is known as a mecca for steep skiing, which it is, but it also has miles of flat run-outs.

Comparing the slope profiles of Snowbird, Sun Valley, etc. is simple math. The average slope angle of a ski lift will provide the steepest average slope angles of the ski runs served by that lift. That is, divide ski lift vertical rise (rise, or 'y' axis) by horizontal length (run, or 'x' axis). This formula is simple, middle-school math, and, if the measurements are true, will quantify the average slope angles. So what is steepest lift-served skiing in America? The world? My sample above is a drop in the bucket, but those lifts were chosen as they are often cited as some of the steepest, lift-served skiing available.

No run off any ski lift can ever be steeper - on average - than the lift line serving that ski run, unless that lift has some substantial downhill sections. None of the lifts in the sample above have any descending sections that I know of. A ski run might have sections steeper, even much steeper, than the average lift line slope, but a ski run can never steeper - top to bottom - than the average lift line slope. This is due to the back and forth contours of a ski run. In short, the 'x' axis of a ski run is always longer than the 'x' axis of the ski lift you ride to ski that run, unless you straight-line that lift line. Do you know anyone that has straight-lined any of those lifts?

Data was pulled from ski area trail maps and from Google Earth. Slope angles were calculated  by  dividing vertical rise by the horizontal length. Finding the horizontal length, that is the the flat length, is difficult because it is never provided on ski area trail maps. I measured it using Google Earth which may or may not be exactly true, but it's the only measurement I could find. Just know, Google earth provides both a 'map length' and a 'ground length.' Map length is the distance between two points without regard to elevation changes, while ground length follows the ground along the lift line. That is, I measured the horizontal/flat distance from ski lift base to the point at the plum line or right angle directly below the ski lift summit (x-axis). This measurement is challenging and probably not totally accurate - it's Google Earth, not science - but it appears to be fairly accurate because when I measured the actual lift line (ground length), the measurements were very close to data provided on some ski maps.

Sun Valley doesn't get the respect of Jackson, Snowbird or Squaw, but its average slope is steeper than all three. In my sample above the Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky is the steepest lift in U.S., but keep in mind that those slope angles are pretty tame when it comes to actual ski lines. Black diamond (expert) ski runs at a ski area usually begin in the low 30°'s.  Slope angles in the upper 20° to upper 30°'s are usually considered to be easy skiing, especially when groomed and grooming a ski run in my mind takes down the difficulty level down at least one level. A 30° slope with moguls is much tougher to ski fast and fluidly than a 30° slope of corduroy. So, the average slope angles above just are not that impressive, except maybe Aiguille du Midi considering its huge vertical rise.

There is a clear distinction of Chamonix's Aiguille du Midi Tram. It is the steepest with a much greater vertical drop than anything in North America, and that alone ends any argument of  'steepest lift.' Clearly, the Alps are bigger, steeper and much more bad-ass than American ski resorts. The Lone Peak Tram at Big Sky is the steepest US lift in this sample, but it is barely on the radar for those who ski Chamonix. It's a hollow comparison to say the 1K vertical of the LP Tram is comparable to the 9.2K vertical of the Aiguille to Midi Tram in Chamonix. More importantly, the steep skiing at Snowbird, Squaw, Jackson and Big Sky combined wouldn't be a drop in the bucket of the vast, extreme ski lines of Chamonix.

Slope angles are great bragging points but ultimately they don't matter. The only thing that matters is the joy that comes from from flying down a mountain with friends and family. If your joy is found while skiing the 900 vertical feet of Nordic Valley (Utah) then that is where you should be. Just know, Sun Valley has long, steep ski runs, unlike anything I've ever skied. Limelight just keeps dropping and dropping and dropping. I've never had to stop and rest on groomers, until I skied Sun Valley. But don't take my word for it. Go ski Sun Valley.

Kara and the old man, from the Seattle Ridge Lodge with Baldy and Easter Bowl in the background.

View from the top of Baldy, SE to Seattle Ridge.

Kara with the Pioneer Mountains on the horizon.

Pioneer Mountains, big and beautiful, east of Ketchum and Hailey Idaho. 

L-R: Devil's Bedstead, (cliffy face, 2nd from left - 11, 051 ft); Duncan Ridge (middle with several bunched peaks - 11,755 ft); Hyndman Peak (pointy, pyramid, middle-r - 12,009 ft); Old Hyndman (looks like Grand Teton from Driggs, 2nd from right - 11,775 ft); Cobb Peak (pointy peak at r - 11,650 ft).

Exploring the western boundary of the Sun Valley, via International (ski run). Hard to see but there are miles of burned trees from a massive forest fire in the summer of 2007, which was lapping at the western edge of the resort. The smoke-jumpers had Sun Valley turn on their snow-guns to help stop the spread of the fire.

View from our breakfast window. The walk from our condo to the Challenger Lift is shorter than the walk from the Alta parking lot to the base of Collins and much shorter than any Snowbird parking lot to the base of the tram . . . . and zero lift line. My longest wait in line was only one chair, and that on a Saturday or Sunday with the parking lot at Warm Springs only half full. Such a nice break from the three-hour traffic jams that are now the norm every weekend in Utah's Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. I rarely ski in the Cottonwoods anymore, way too crowded.

Monday morning after the storm of the century (per KSL Weather - a foot of new snow on my driveway when we returned on Tuesday). Clear and sunny on Baldy today, but cold and windy. Due to the storm I-84 was closed near Burley, Idaho, so we had to stay another night, hence my skiing today.

So, what brought us to Sun Valley?

After 31 years of service, the Williams Companies decided to transfer most of the Salt Lake City office (150+ people) to Houston Texas. No disrespect to the great Republic of Texas, but I can't live in Texas. I've visited Houston, Austin and San Antonio, and the yes, most Texans (key on 'most') are authentic and genuine, but the landscape is flat and thorny, hot and humid, with nary a snowflake in sight. I need some variation in the topography to feel happy and Texas has nothing to offer. I'm not 'in' to hunting squirrels or wild boar, it does nothing for my psyche. My heart is rooted in big elevation changes, whether that be running, skiing, climbing or cycling. Yes, admittedly, the southern USA is much more talented musically than the inter-mountain west, but that is only because they have no mountains to play in. Instead, after work or on weekends, they go home or hangout with friends, drink whiskey and pick at the banjo or guitar. Thus, southern rock kicks the royal ass of Donny and Marie.

So, here I am, one week out from my career with Williams, one week into my new job and, with knowing there would be no break in between, I took my floating holidays (a Williams 'use or lose' benefit) to go ski Sun Valley the weekend before my last week at Williams (Friday - 1-31-20, and Monday - 2-3-20). My boss at Williams told me 'No Way' on the floating holidays, "you have too much to complete before you leave." Not acceptable Boss-man. Williams would never give away their services for free, so why would I? America has devolved a strange work ethic. So out-of-balance. It is no surprise that American's are the most stressed and unhealthy country in the developed world. In the last year Williams has completely disregarded the heart and soul of their dedicated and loyal employees, all just to add a few percentage points to their stock. In time those percentage points will plateau, then degrade, and in time many lives will be totally disrupted, mostly very negatively. Williams is also on the threshold of dismissing a wealth of knowledge to their competitors. Most of my co-workers are doing just that, scrambling to find work with Williams' competitors in more desirable locations than Houston, Texas. But that is the reality of  America today: "Do only what is right for you, screw anything that gets in your way."

We went to Sun Valley, trying to come to terms with my new reality. We ski hard all day and go eat rib-eyes at night. Surprisingly, dining out in Ketchum is not relaxing. Every night we get lambasted by the loud-mouths at the next table(s), all ranting about the major crime of the U.S. Congress for impeaching the President. Believe me, the guy at the next table (me) just does not give a shit about your politics.

Sunday night was our third night in Ketchum, and our third night in a row that we had to endure the conservative-cheerleading-bullshit loudly bantered from the next table. We just wanted to enjoy a rib-eye, not listen to Fox News in cowboy boots. To be clear, I am not a Democrat, I just don't like the current political nonsense, and both sides are absolute nonsense.

I might be a lukewarm Mormon, but some Mormon ideologies are very obvious to me. Mormon founder Joseph Smith, when praying for direction on which religion to join, received omniscient advice: all religions are wrong, don't join any of them. That, in a nut-shell, is my political dogma: all parties are bullshit, don't join any of them. I can't  support the lowest form of human invention.

I tried my best to tune-out the conversation at the next table (the table are set elbow-close at the Pioneer Saloon), but the big, loud women, apparently bored of her partner, turns to me and says:

"Donald Trump is such a wonderful, handsome, warm and caring leader, so confident and intelligent, I don't understand how ANYONE can criticize him."

Me: "Don't mistake confidence for  intelligence."

Big lady: "You're just an ungrateful LIBERAL!!"

Me: "No, I'm a very grateful LIBERAL."

She stops talking to me (thank GOD!) and continues to inhale her double Creme Brûlée,
all while yammering on and on to her partner about the intellect of the POTUS. Holy hell! Is there no escape? I thought Utah was the worst, but it's everywhere. And such disproportional irony, both the double Creme Brûlée and the talk of intellect of the POTUS, but when they get up to leave, her partner pats me on the shoulder and says, "You're OK!!"

From Baldy, view NW showing some of the 2007 burn.

Warm Springs base. The lift on the left is the Challenger Lift which rises 3,135 vertical feet (the greatest vertical rise for chairlift in North America).

View north towards the Boulder Mountains and Boulder Peak (middle - 10,882 ft).

Old ski map of sun Valley from the 1997-1998 ski season. Three of the lifts have since been removed, presumably due to low skier numbers: Exhibition (2), Sunnyside (6), and Flying Squirrel (9).

After skiing Monday we drove up to Galena Lodge. We had no time to tour but it looks wonderful for another day. Very cold, about 10 degrees at 4pm when I took this photo, my ears still burning from the cold wind while skiing this morning.

Trail head at Galena Lodge.

View SW across the Galena Lodge parking lot towards the lodge.