Stories

Celebrate the Nordic Festival with a free outdoor concert with Tim Snider and Sound Society on Thursday, February 2. The concert will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts lot across from the Ketchum post office. The band will start at 5:30 and the finals of the Elite Competition will begin at 5:45.

Quickly becoming the can't be missed event of the nine-day Sun Valley Nordic Festival, the Ketchum Downtown Jam and NordicTown USA Sprint features sprint races with top Nordic skiers, food and drinks and a bonfire to keep spectators warm. The evening includes the legendary World Snowshoe Dance Competition which is open to all and begins at 6:30 (with snowshoes … there will be snowshoes on hand for those who want to join the fun).

This year’s band, Tim Snider and Sound Society, blends music from all over the world into a high-energy, soul-stirring, foot-stomping stew. Tim has traveled to Europe, Cuba, Morocco, Spain, Indonesia and much of Central America in his ongoing journey to study different... (more)

The snow has arrived and BCRD Quigley Nordic is open!  Now is the time to take your Nordic skiing to the next level with ski lessons at the BCRD Quigley Nordic Winter Park conveniently located just minutes from downtown Hailey.

The BCRD Nordic ski school offers a variety of programs, clinics and lessons for all levels and types of skiers.  Join the BCRD instructors in a women’s only skate group that will focus on basic techniques, hill skills and gliding gears in a three-week program starting January 30th.  First time skate skiers can join an introductory class to get started using the proper techniques and make starting skiing more enjoyable.  Custom group lessons can also be scheduled for folks wanting to pick their own time and instructor.  Private and semi-private lessons are available for classic or skate technique. 

A professional lesson can make all the difference to learn the skills you need to become a happier, more efficient skier.  You will have a great time being taught... (more)

Kick off the start of the weeklong Sun Valley Nordic Festival on the BCRD Wood River Trail at “Ski the Rails” Saturday, January 28.  Blaine County Recreation District and the Hailey Chamber of Commerce invite you, your friends & family and even your dog to join in a free cross-country ski tour along the former Union Pacific Railroad.  Ski from Ketchum to Hailey at this popular community event and add the kilometers to your tally for the 200 km Trails Challenge, a challenge to ski 200 km of the valley’s Nordic trails. The BCRD Wood River Trail is groomed for both classic and skate skiing. Funded by tax dollars, no trail pass is required to ski on the BCRD Wood River Trail.  The trail is a multi-use trail, open to walkers, snowshoers, skiers and dogs.  After skiing the rails to Myrtle St. in Hailey, ride the shuttle to the Sun Valley Brewery and see what Hailey has to offer.  Live music starting at noon by "Paddy Wagon".

KSKI 104.7, KECH 95.3, KYZK 107.5, The Community School, Wood River... (more)

Scheduled for Saturday, January 28

^th 2012, the 16^th Annual Galena & the Trails Winter Benefit is just around the corner. A valley favorite, this fantastic fun and fundraising evening kicks off the 2^nd Annual Sun Valley Nordic Festival. Celebrate your love of Galena and the Trails with our amazing Nordic Community and enjoy a wonderful dinner with wine, an incredible live and silent auction, and live music with local favorites “All Night Diner.”

Remember, no tax dollars are used to support Galena or the Trails, which means that all the funds raised at the benefit are crucial to keeping these valley treasures alive. Hurry! Tickets are going fast. Individual tickets are $95. Reserve you ticket or table today.

NEW this year, you can view the fabulous Live Auction Packages on our website at bcrd.org. Check out the great trips and experiences for your “bucket list.”

For ticket information and purchase, visit bcrd.org. Questions?  Please call Kris Stoffer at 208 578-5455.

The west may be having a warm and dry winter, but the cross-country skiing in Sun Valley is superb after welcomed snowfall during the holidays. With more than 150 kilometers groomed and in great shape in NordicTown USA, the groomers of the Blaine County Recreation District and Sun Valley Resort have been working hard to set up great tracks for classic skiing, skating, and snowshoeing from Ketchum, Idaho to Galena Lodge in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area just north of Sun Valley.

Conditions on the Harriman Trail (Boulder Mountain Tour course) are incredibly good and even if there is no additional snow for the first week of February, there is plenty of high quality snow for the Sun Valley Nordic Festival to go forward without disruption.  The entire week of Nordic festivities and fun are scheduled to begin January 28

The Boulder Mountain Tour is filling up fast and promises to be the same premier marathon event we have come to expect. Don't hesitate... (more)

Take your Nordic skiing to the next level with ski lessons at the BCRD Quigley Nordic Winter Park conveniently located just minutes from downtown Hailey. The BCRD Nordic ski school offers a variety of programs, clinics and lessons for all levels and types of skiers.  Join the BCRD instructors in a women’s only skate group that will focus on basic techniques, hill skills and gliding gears in a three-week program.  Or, new this year, compete for bragging rights and cool raffle prizes all while getting in your interval workout at the Tuesday Sprints. 

Back again this season is the Youth Nordic Ski program for 2

A professional lesson can make all the... (more)

Tickets on Sale Now!

5:30, Saturday, January 28^th at the Sun Valley Inn Limelight Room

Come celebrate Nordic skiing at the 16th Annual Galena & the North Valley Trails Winter Benefit.  A fun filled evening of great food, drink and music where you can show your support and help raise the crucial funds for our beloved Galena Lodge and North Valley Trail system.

Again this year, the Galena & the North Valley Trails Winter Benefit will launch Sun Valley Nordic Festival, a week of events highlighting the valley’s great Nordic opportunities.  

At the benefit you’ll enjoy a 3 course meal and wine, incredible live and silent auctions, a raffle for a Sun Valley alpine/BCRD Nordic combo pass as well as other great items, and music by “All Night Diner”, brought back by popular demand!  Live auction items include a New Orleans trip for 2, a white water rafting trip for 2 down Idaho’s Main Salmon River, and an all inclusive Kilimanjaro climb for 2. 

An event not to be missed!  Join us for fun, dancing,... (more)

Nordic skiers, don’t get caught without wax on your skis, winter is here and it’s time to think skiing!  Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) and TOKO invite you to learn how to wax your own Nordic skis at a free clinics offered Thursday, Dec. 15 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Art Room of the Community Campus in Hailey. Bring your skis (and any additional waxing equipment if you have it) for this “hands on” clinic. Join TOKO wax expert EJ Harpham to learn the basic waxing techniques.  The clinic will provide an opportunity to learn basic ski base prep and hot-waxing. Remember, great ski bases equal fast skis and that’s makes skiing more fun!  And even if your goal is not speed or race orientated, having well-maintained ski bases can help your skis glide more easily and extend the life of your skis.  Call the BCRD at 578-5453 or EJ Harpham at 578-2169 for more information. 

Galena Lodge is a destination hub for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, and hiking. Friends and families gather here to eat and drink, relax, and refuel by the fireplace or on the deck. And those who aren’t ready to leave can spend a starry night in a hilltop yurt.

Galena Lodge from Visit Sun Valley on Vimeo.

BCRD is offering $34 savings on adult “all BCRD Nordic trails” passes through November 20, when purchased ONLINE at www.bcrd.org.  Season passes are $175 for adults during the pre-season sale ($209 after Nov. 20), $29 for youth ages 13-17, $49 for dogs, and $99 for Quigley only passes.  Back again this season, all children 12 and under ski free.

The 130-kilometer BCRD Trails system is one of the largest in the United States and offers some of the greatest diversity of Nordic fun for the whole family.  Escape to the Sawtooth NRA wilderness, visit Galena Lodge for snowshoe or ski lessons where you can check out the overnight yurts and enjoy a first-class dining experience in the rustic lodge; or spend the day at Quigley Winter Park, where pass holders can enjoy the yurt for hot cocoa, watch the kids sled, play on the terrain park and snowshoe, and ski with your dog.  A season pass offers an affordable and healthy alternative to enjoy the outdoors!

No tax dollars are used to groom... (more)

BCRD FitWorks will host the 3rd annual SkiErg World Sprints November 11–13.  Participants will race 1000 meters on the SkiErg at their convenience during operating hours of FitWorks on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.  FitWorks membership is not required to participate and there is no charge for this event. To compare times worldwide, skiers must post their time to the Concept2 Logbook by 5 p.m. Monday, November 14, 2011.  For more information, visit bcrd.org or call Janelle at 578-5453 or visit skierg.com.

Nordic skiers, don’t get caught without wax on your skis, winter will soon be here and it’s time to think skiing!
 

Blaine County Recreation District (BCRD) and TOKO invite you to learn how to wax your own Nordic skis at two free clinics offered Mondays, Nov. 7 & 14 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Art Room of the Community Campus in Hailey.
 

Bring your skis (and any additional waxing equipment if you have it) for these “hands on” clinics. Join TOKO wax expert EJ Harpham to learn the basic waxing techniques. The clinics will provide an opportunity to learn basic ski base prep and hot-waxing. Remember, great ski bases equal fast skis and that’s makes skiing more fun! And even if your goal is not speed or race orientated, having well-maintained ski bases can help your skis glide more easily and extend the life of your skis. 
 

Call the BCRD at 578-5453 or EJ Harpham at 578-2169 for more information. 

You are not alone if you have been staring at your cross-country skis lately joyfully anticipating skiing on the valleys expertly groomed BCRD Nordic trails. The Blaine County Recreation District announced today season passes for the BCRD Nordic Trails system go on sale October 17th. 

Passes can be purchased at www.bcrd.org. Those who purchase ONLINE will receive a $34 discount on adult “all BCRD Nordic trails” passes until November 20. Season passes are $175 for adults during the pre-season sale ($209 after Nov. 20), $29 for youth ages 13-17, $49 for dogs, and $99 for Quigley only passes.  Back again this season, all children 12 and under ski free.

The 130-kilometer BCRD Trails system is one of the largest in the United States and offers some of the greatest diversity of Nordic fun for the whole family.  Escape to the Sawtooth NRA wilderness, visit Galena Lodge for snowshoe or ski lessons where you can check out the overnight yurts and enjoy a first-class dining experience in the rustic lodge; or... (more)

Youth Garden Educator AmeriCorps  

Service Site: Sawtooth Botanical Garden, Ketchum, ID

Start Date: 9/01/11

End Date: 8/31/12

Service Hours: 1,700

Become an AmeriCorps member with the Sawtooth Botanical Garden and Lewis-Clark Service Corps AmeriCorps. Position includes leading garden and ecology based activities for youth ages 2-9. Other responsibilities include leading after school education, the Annual Bug Zoo, fall programming, Snow School, and summer day camps. Applicants must have a passion for science based education, be self motivated, and have experience with youth.  Benefits: Monthly living allowance, $5,350 education award, loan forbearance, childcare & health insurance. Apply now if you are 18 or older, a US citizen, and committed to service. Contact Allison Marks at (208) 726-9358 for more information. www.sbgarden.org.

Send resume, cover letter and 3 references to:

Allison Marks

Sawtooth Botanical Garden

PO Box 928

Sun Valley, ID 83353

The Sun Valley, Idaho mountains shone bright and white as many of the best

female Nordic racers in the US and Canada tackled the 30km National

Championship at the challenging Lake Creek Cross Country Ski Trails.  Skiers

were greeted with perfect conditions for classic skiing, firmly packed

powder and 20 degree temps, which allowed everyone to have great skis and

the race developed into a true test of physical fitness and mastery of

classic striding. The Lake Creek climbs are frequent and steep followed by

some fast and technical downhills. Within the first few kilometers the field

had broken into a lead group of five that included Alaska Pacific skiers

Kikkan Randall and Sadie Bjornsen. The lead pack also included Morgan

Arritiola (SVSEF), Jessie Diggins (CXC) and Maria Graeffnings(U of Utah).

At 9km,  Super Tour Overall leader Holly Brooks mounted a successful effort

to get back on the lead group while Kate Fitzgerald (APU) and Chelsea Holmes

(Sugar Bowl)continued to chase in hopes of bridging up.... (more)

On an extremely challenging course, for even the best skiers in the country, there was attrition during the 50KM Classic National Championship at Lake Creek today. The race consisted of a 7 lap course with 4491 vertical feet of climbing on freshly fallen, slow snow, making for difficult wax conditions.

Glenn Randall (Bridger Ski Foundation) made a big move in the 5th lap to break up the pack. Then on the 6^th lap, came an attack by Kris Freeman (USST) that split the field for good. The big story of the day was Yuma Yoshida, 20 year old from Japan, who was seeded 31^st in the race and finished on the podium. Official top three results and times:

1. Kris Freeman (USST) 2:37:05.2

2. Kevin Sandau (Alberta World Cup Academy) 2:37:15.1

3. Yuma Yoshida (Japan) 2:37:37.2

Lars Flora (APU) finished the season as the Grand US National Distance Champion.  Flora expanded his lead on the overall USSA SuperTour over 2nd place Sun Valley ODT skier Mike Sinnott, who is still within striking distance to win the overall USSA... (more)

Ketchum resident Reid Pletcher won the 2011 NCAA classic ski title Friday, in an exciting finish in the men's 20 kilometer mass start race at Trapp Family Lodge near Stowe, Vermont. Pletcher, a University of Colorado junior, battled through four soggy laps on the 5 kilometer course in a tight pack of eleven skiers, and in the last climb broke away to win by four seconds over Erik Bjorensen of the University of Alaska Anchorage. Third went to another Colorado skier, Vegard Kjoelhamar.

Boisean Wyatt Fereday, skiing in his last collegiate race, placed 24th for the Colby College Mules.

In the women's championship, Ketchum native Alexa Turzian, a University of Colorado senior placed 14th while her Colorado teammate Eliska Hajova captured first, second went to Maria Graefnings of the University of Utah with Colorado's Joanne Reid taking third.

The NCAA 2011 Skiing Championships concludes after Saturday's mens and womens giant slalom race at Stowe's Spruce Peak.

Results will be found at: http://www.eisaskiing.org/... (more)

Ketchum's Turzian Ninth in Opening Nordic Race

Stowe, Vermont. In the opening freestyle races at Vermont's Trapp Family Resort Wednesday, Univ. of Colorado senior Alexa Turzian placed ninth in the women's five kilometer race. In her fourth NCAA championship, the Ketchum native clocked 14:48.8 while University of Utah winner Maria Graefnings finished in 13:51.9. Ketchum's Reid Pletcher, Univ. of Colorado junior, placed 23rd while Boisean Wyatt Fereday, a Colby College senior, took 26th in the men's 10 kilometer freestyle race. Dartmouth's Sam Tarling won the event. Alpine action also took place on Stowe's big mountain, with giant slaloms featured. However, no Idaho residents are competing in alpine events. At the end of the dat, Univ. of Colorado leads team standings, followed by Dartmouth College and University of Utah.

Complete results are at http://www.eisaskiing.org/BART/Results11/ncaa11.htm

Perry's is celebrating the Nordic Ski Festival week by serving dinner from 5 pm to 8pm on Thursday, Feb. 3rd, to coincide with ski races and music at the Simplot lot, future home of Sun Valley Center for the Arts.  10% of sales will go to the Galena Benefit and the Blaine County Nordic Trails. Donations gladly accepted.

Perry's is now serving Dinner from 5 to 8PM 7 days a week with the full sandwich and gill means along with these great specials. Dine in or take out, its quick and easy!

Perry’s Daily Dinner Specials

Monday through Sunday, 5pm to 8pm

APPETIZERS

Buffalo wings

Baked stuffed mushrooms cap

Steamed artichoke

Brew city onion rings

SALADS

Caesar Salad

Dinner Salad

SOUPS

Perry’s Chicken Noodle

Perry’s Cattleman’s Chili

Perry’s Vegetable Chili

Perry’s Seafood Chowder

ENTREES

Roasted Chicken Breast:  Free range boneless chicken breast and wing accompanied with homemade Yukon Gold garlic mashed potatoes and sauté... (more)

District 25 Legislators Hold Open Discussion Forum for Area Residents in Ketchum, Bellevue, North Shoshone, Gooding, Wendell and Twin Falls

Area residents encouraged to bring questions to forum

Representative Jaquet, Representative Pence and Senator Stennett are hosting an open meeting with district constituents January 28th - 29th at five different locations in Ketchum, Bellevue, North Shoshone, Gooding and Wendell. Constituents are encouraged to come discuss the superintendent's education plan, the Governor's 2012 budget along with any other questions, concerns and ideas.

WHAT: Constituents Outreach Forum. Each session is open to local constituents to come meet their legislators and learn specific details and ask questions about current bills, budgets and plans for the coming year.

WHO: Representative Jaquet, Representative Pence and Senator Stennett

WHERE:

Friday, January 28 5.30pm The Roosevelt, Ketchum

Saturday, January 29th 8.00 am Oak Street Deli, Bellevue

Saturday, January 29th 10:30 am Cup of Joe, North Shoshone<... (more)

Funky and charismatic, the Brooklyn-based Pimps of Joytime will heat up the night at a free outdoor concert on Thursday, February 3 as part of the Second Annual Sun Valley Nordic Festival. The concert will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the future site of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts’ new home, across from the Ketchum post office at Second Avenue and Fourth Street. In addition to the music, there’ll be a bonfire, ski races, a snowshoe dance competition and chili, hot chocolate, beer and wine. As for the music, critics have called it “pure fun.” Prepare to enter a world of infectious dance grooves and indelible melodies. The band’s diverse sound and spirited attitude is strongly influenced by funk bands, Brooklyn DJ culture and the live music scene from which they emerge. The exponential growth of the band’s fan base can be attributed to its artful blend of musical styles, including afrobeat, salsa, rock & roll and electronica. Bandleader Brian J’s classic songwriting and the band’s undeniable stage... (more)

Individual images available at $20 each, with all proceeds going to the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.To order individual pictures, go to adventurelaws.com and select images, then email request to rflaw@cox.net, with preferred picture size. For each image, write a check for $20 to the SVSEF and send to Bob Law at PO Box 4981, Ketchum. As soon as I receive the check, I'll upload the image(s) to Shutterfly so that you can order as many images as you like at a minimal price.

Take your Nordic skiing to the next level with ski lessons beginning January 31 at the BCRD Quigley Nordic Winter Park conveniently located just minutes from downtown Hailey.  Learn to skate ski or improve your skills, or join the BCRD coaches in a women’s only skate or classic group.  Classes are offered weekly and private lessons are also available for classic or skate technique.  A professional lesson can make all the difference to learn the skills you need to become a happier, more efficient skier.  You will have a great time being taught by the BCRD’s top-notch instructors.   For more information call Janelle at the Blaine County Recreation District, 578-BCRD or go to bcrd.org to download a registration form. 

Kick off the start of the weeklong Sun Valley Nordic Festival on the BCRD Wood River Trail at “Ski the Rails” Saturday, January 29.  Blaine County Recreation District and the Hailey Chamber of Commerce invite you, your friends & family and even your dog to join in a free cross-country ski tour along the former Union Pacific Railroad.  Ski from Ketchum to Hailey at this popular community event and add the kilometers to your tally for the 200 km Trails Challenge, a challenge to ski 200 km of the valley’s Nordic trails. The BCRD Wood River Trail is groomed for both classic and skate skiing, and all the tunnels will be snow-covered for the tour. Funded by tax dollars, no trail pass is required to ski on the BCRD Wood River Trail.  The trail is a multi-use trail, open to walkers, snowshoers, skiers and dogs.  After skiing the rails to Myrtle St. in Hailey, ride the shuttle to the Sun Valley Brewery and see what Hailey has to offer.  Live music starting at noon by "Up A Creek", great food,... (more)