Skiing Sun Valley - (Sports) by John W Lundin (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Union Pacific Railroad's Averell Harriman had a bold vision to restore rail passenger traffic decimated by the Great Depression: create ski tourism in Idaho's remote Wood River Valley. A $1.5 million investment opened Sun Valley in December 1936 with a lavish lodge, luxury shopping, Austrian ski instructors and extensive backcountry skiing. Prestigious tournaments featured the world's best skiers. Chairlifts invented by Union Pacific engineers serviced skiers quickly and comfortably. Ski instructor and filmmaker Otto Lang recalled that seemingly overnight, it became "a magnet for the 'beautiful people, ' a meeting place for movie stars and moguls, chairmen and captains of industry, Greek shipping tycoons, and peripatetic playboys--and playgirls--of the international social set." After World War II and Harriman's departure, Union Pacific's willingness to pay the $500,000 yearly subsidy waned. Bill Janss purchased it in 1964 and reimagined it as a year-round resort but lacked the capital for growth. Sinclair Oil owners Earl and Carol Holding acquired it in 1977, revitalizing it into a premier resort with international status. Award-winning ski historian John W. Lundin celebrates America's first destination ski resort using unpublished Union Pacific documents, oral histories, contemporaneous accounts and more than 150 historic images.

Review Quotes

"Skiing Sun Valley is a deeply re-searched, scholarly book about the connections between the Sun Valley of today and the people, places, cultures, economics, wars, inventions, wilderness, ecology, risks, and personal relationships in the 19th and 20th centuries that made it what it will be in the 21st. Every aspect of the story is accompanied by an abundance of photos that on their own are worth the price of the book. Every person with a connection to and love for Sun Valley will be better informed, inspired and wiser after reading it. Skiing History July/August: A Must Read for Sun Valley Fans, 2021- ski racer and author, Dick Dorworth.

"[The book] tells previously untold stories from original Union Pacific documents, oral histories of individuals involved with the resort from its beginning, and histories of Union Pacific and the Harriman family."Far West Skier's Guide- John Watson, Far West Skier's Guide

John Lundin's book "Skiing Sun Valley: A History from Union Pacific to the Holdings" has won the Harold S. Hirsch Award, given every three years to honor the best in snowsports journalism. The award is given by the North American Sports Journalists' Association. Harold S. Hirsch, ski clothing pioneer and founder of White Stag, proposed the idea to promote professionalism in winter sports coverage following the 1960 Winter Olympics...Lundin's book also won a Skade award from the International Ski History Association. Eye on Sun Valley- Karen Bossick, Eye on Sun Valley

There have been many attempts to tell the story of Sun Valley, but this book does so with a thoroughness and flair that this iconic resort deserves. With over 150 photographs and the benefits of extensive research, this book unfolds a history that dazzles with tales of celebrities...and icons of American skiing...Here is the storied past of a one of a kind place in a book that does its heritage justice.Skade award from the International Ski History Association- Skade Award from the International Ski History Association

About the Author

The great-grandson of early Wood River Valley pioneers, John W. Lundin is an attorney, historian and author. He has written extensively on the histories of Washington and the Wood River Valley. In 2018, his book Early Skiing on Snoqualmie Pass received an award as outstanding regional ski history book from the International Ski History Association. John is a founder of the Washington State Ski & Snowboard Museum and serves on its board. His website is www.johnwlundin.com.