Day #321
Sun Valley or Alta?
Sun Valley is the oldest ski resort in the United States. Established in 1936, Sun Valley was designed to be a “destination” ski resort. Indeed, it was the darling of the Hollywood set. Ernest Hemingway lived there until his death in 1961. Baldy, the premier lift accessed mountain in the valley is fun to ski, you can get a lot of vertical in a season if you put your mind to it.
On the other hand, Alta was chosen as a resort location because it has the greatest snow on earth. So they say, and they are probably not exaggerating as much as the slogan suggests. I like the fact that Alph Engen who started the ski school at Sun Valley moved to Alta to start up their ski school. He was know for his ski jumping ability, but more importantly, he was the pioneer of what became knows as powder skiing. This is largely because the snowfall in Little Cottonwood Canyon provides more days of powder skiing in a winter than almost anywhere else on earth.
January 15th 2024 marked the 85th Anniversary of Alta. Alta was established two years after Sun Valley opened. For various reasons, some personal, some related to terrain and snow conditions, I prefer Alta, but I make it a point to ski both every winter.
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