Hemingway blew his brains out there but honestly I liked Ketchum. Maybe a big, old, gruffed soul found it peaceful or aimless enough to end it all there but I didn't realize he had done it there it until after I had left the place . I noticed the run named for the ex -pat, Lincoln Brigadeer, Cubano, come tragic, literary, figure. But it was not until long after the turns ached in my legs had I had come to know the truth about exactly where he'd done him self in .
After I secured a killer spot at a local house via craigslist for only $75 a night I ventured to Ketchum, Idaho. I was warned to not speed through the little towns on the way up and sure enough dismissed myself in to a 38 mph in a 25 mph zone ticket 50 feet from a 40 mph sign. The Hailey cop asked me where I was from just before I handed him my CA DL. After he gave me a ticket ($75) he reminded me to be grateful for not being sited for my bent CA drivers license. I returned from Ketchum and Sun Valley in 2nd gear with no further police action.
I believe I was able to visit every bar in the town of Ketchum, Idaho. Whiskey Jacques, Casino, Pioneer Saloon, Michel's Christiania, The Cellar Pub, Lefty's Bar & Grill, Buffalo Bites and the soon to be closed Dirty Little Roddy's. The Casino won for my favorite bar and Pioneer the best restaurant. In any case it was a 2 hour jaunt from Boise, ID and Saturday I was fortunate to have had about 5-6 inches of fresh powder, the first snow in about a couple of weeks. Sun Valley is a family oriented, expensive, skier dominated environment. There were not a lot of 15-28 yr old snowboarders so I felt comfortable leaving some of my gear to dry unattended for some time during the lunch rush at one of the many stoked fireplaces.
The powder 8-12 inches deep on Sunday mooring was nice and the back bowls were epic thanks to a local guide I met on the first lift up.
The Pioneer Saloon is the most popular and supposedly only profitable restaurants in town. Replete with big game trophy's mounted up and down the length of the establishment. I never even made it past the bar. The steak and potato were some of the best I've had and the berry cobbler was too good to be true. Best service, food and drinks ranked in order as finest I had in the entire city.
I thoroughly enjoyed Sun Valley and Ketchum Idaho for the long runs, deep powder, friendly town folk and relative value. The lift tickets are pricey but over all it was a value. I strongly recommend you contact Rex for lodging, lunch at Buffalo Bites and dine at Pioneer Saloon. They say summer is even better and believe it and will make sure to reserve it as a multi seasonal destination location.
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