Baldy opens exclusively for top-to-bottom race training

Young athletes prepare to capitalize on pre-Thanksgiving training. Heather Black

Sun Valley, one of the nation’s iconic ski resorts, opened Bald Mountain exclusively for ski camps this past week, granting 260 athletes ages 10 to 30 access to 3,280 vertical feet of training. Nine clubs and three colleges took advantages of the opportunity provided by the Sun Valley Ski and Snowboard Foundation in partnership with the Sun Valley Resort Company.

The terrain provided multiple lanes for GS and slalom and included drill sets galore, with two end-to-end, full-length GS courses followed by two regulation slalom sets.

“I know I got eight runs (of slalom) yesterday,” exclaimed independent U.S. skier Hailey Duke, who is vying for a spot on the 2015 World Championship team. “Combine the gates with turns getting to the courses, I must have made over 1,200 slalom turns.”

Duke was training with another independent, Will Brandenburg, and also Kipling Weisel, who is part of the U. S. Ski Team’s development group.

“This is ideal for early season,” said Phil McNichol who is working with the Sun Valley Foundation, “great snow and plenty of long natural terrain.”

Athletes and coaches at the training session included: Stevens Pass, Cooper Spur, Mt. Rose, Bogus Basin, Jackson, McCall, Ogden Valley, Bridger Bowl, the College of Idaho, Rocky Mountain College, and Montana State University. Athletes from St. Olaf and Holderness also capitalized on the opportunity.

View a photo gallery from Sun Valley here.