The chill air now blowing through the valley brings with it the promise of snow. As winter settles in, a transformation comes over our valley’s towns. Brilliant fall foliage and serene autumn days give way to a crystal clear, whitened landscape and a tangible buzz of excitement: It’s time to ski.

This winter in particular, we have much to be excited about and thankful for. After all, we still have a town to call home and a ski mountain to enjoy. Mere months ago neither of those things were certain.

In 20 Days of Fire, our exclusive photo essay on the August wildfire that threatened Ketchum, we commemorate the valley’s close brush with a fiery fate named Castle Rock. Go behind the fire lines with the BLM and National Interagency Fire Center’s official photographer Kari Greer, and relive the fast-paced events through the words of the Idaho Mountain Express newspaper’s chief fire reporter, Jason Kauffman.

With the fire behind us, we can rejoice in Baldy’s perseverance and future. In Moving a Mountain, we investigate the implications of Sun Valley Company’s ambitious Bald Mountain Master Plan. Now that Baldy is safe (not a single ski run or structure on the mountain was damaged by the fire) discover what new ski runs, chairlifts and gondolas will be available for your continued skiing pleasure in the coming seasons.

Of course, it’s not just skiers who enjoy Bald Mountain’s many offerings. In The Other Cold War, Michael Ames explores the genesis of snowboarding in Sun Valley. From the early days of their strict containment to the success of today’s Sun Valley Snowboard Team, boarding is no longer Baldy’s redheaded stepchild.

With every issue of the Sun Valley Guide, we strive to celebrate this community. For me, it is the people of this valley that make it worth celebrating. Within the following pages you’ll meet the Corrock, Uhrig and Pearson families, Eric Boyer, Nancy Harakay, Scott Mason and Tom Hickey. You may already know them, you may pass them on the street or see them in the supermarket. They are your friends and your neighbors. They are the people who make this valley the vibrant, extraordinary place that it is.

Idaho Press Club
Awards 2006

1st place General Excellence, 2004 & 2005, 2nd place General Excellence, 2006

Magazine writing: Serious Feature
1st place, 2nd place and Honorable Mention

Magazine writing: Light Feature
1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and three Honorable Mentions

The Sun Valley Guide is published spring, summer, fall and winter by Express Publishing Inc.,

P.O. Box 1013, Ketchum, ID 83340.

For advertising and content information, call (208) 726-8060 or email editor@sunvalleyguide.com. Find us at www.sunvalleyguide.com.

©2007 Express Publishing Inc.