| Bald Mountain | |
|---|---|
Bald Mountain from Sun Valley Lake |
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| Location | Ketchum & Sun Valley Blaine County, Idaho United States |
| Nearest city | Twin Falls - 80 mi. (130 km) Boise - 150 mi. (240 km) Salt Lake - 330 mi. (530 km) |
| Vertical | 3400 ft - (1036 m) |
| Top elevation | 9150 ft - (2789 m) |
| Base elevation | 5750 ft - (1753 m) River Run |
| Skiable area | 2054 acres - (8.3 km²) |
| Runs | 75 - 36% easiest - 42% more difficult - 22% most difficult |
| Lift system | 14 - 1 gondola (8 person) - 7 hi-speed quads - 3 triples - 2 doubles - 1 surface |
| Snowfall | 220 in. - (560 cm) |
| Snowmaking | 645 acres - (2.6 km²) |
| Night skiing | none |
| Web site | Sun Valley.com |
Bald Mountain (9150 feet, 2789 m) is a mountain in south central Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in Blaine County. "Baldy" is the primary ski mountain of the Sun Valley ski resort, renowned for its lengthy runs of constant gradient, at varying levels of difficulty, with absence of wind.
In the resort's fourth year (1939–40), Bald Mountain was opened for lift-served skiing with three single chairlifts, in series, unloading at an elevation of 9020 feet (2749 m), just below its summit. Baldy has one of the higher summits of the Smoky Mountains of Idaho, located in the Sawtooth National Forest. The wooded Smoky Mountains were named for their propensity for summer forest fires.
With a base elevation of 5750 feet (1753 m) along the Big Wood River at River Run, Baldy's vertical drop is 3400 feet (1036 m) along its northeast face. It is served by 14 ski lifts (1 eight-person gondola, 7 high-speed quads, 3 triples, 2 doubles, 1 surface); Baldy has more uphill capacity per skier than any other ski area. It has 75 runs with 2054 acres (8.31 km²) of on-piste skiing, 645 acres (2.61 km²) of which have snowmaking. The slope ratings are 36% easiest, 42% more difficult, and 22% most difficult. These ratings are relative, not absolute; much of the "easiest" terrain on Bald Mountain would be rated as "intermediate" at most ski areas, as the beginner areas are on the gentler and smaller Dollar Mountain.
Sun Valley's Bald Mountain is independent of the Bald Mountain Ski Area, a modest ski hill near Pierce in Clearwater County in north central Idaho.
In the NBC-TV miniseries, 10.5: Apocalypse, this mountain was believed to be an extinct volcano, until it erupted with devastating force. An avalanche of hot gases and ash cascaded down the mountain and buried everything, including the mountain's ski areas, and the towns of Sun Valley, Ketchum, and Hailey. Multiple rescue teams arrived at the scene and dug through the debris caused by Bald Mountain's eruption, looking for any survivors.
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