Sun Valley and Ketchum are in Idaho's Wood River Valley, gateway to
backcountry and wilderness areas. Settlers first arrived in the early
1880s, attracted by a silver rush. In 1883, the railroad connected the
valley to the world beyond its borders and brought in outside capital.
During the silver depression of the 1890s, mining was replaced by sheep
raising, and the area later shipped more sheep than anywhere except
Australia. In 1936, during the Great Depression, Union Pacific board
chairman Averell Harriman built Sun Valley, the area's first destination
ski resort, spending $2.5 million in two years ($45 million today). Sun
Valley offered a lavish lifestyle, a luxurious lodge, Austrian ski
instructors, and chairlifts invented by Union Pacific engineers. Known
as America's St. Moritz, it was a magnet for beautiful people and
serious skiers. It had a monopoly on grandeur for decades and influenced
ski areas that developed later. Subsequent owners Bill Janss and the
Holding family expanded and improved Sun Valley, making it one of the
world's premier year-round resorts.