Bald Mountain opens for the 2026-27 season on Thursday, Nov. 26, at River Run. The two chairlifts that get you from the River Run side to the top of the mountain, Lookout Express and Christmas, are both scheduled to open in December.
That gap shapes the whole early season. This year opening day comes first, and the summit lifts come weeks later. Baldy's biggest upgrades this winter are all on the route from River Run to the summit, and none of them is promised for Thanksgiving.
Two lifts, one route to the top
The Idaho Mountain Express describes the two replacements as a pair. Lookout Express runs from the top of the Lower River Run ski trail to the Lookout summit of Baldy. Christmas carries skiers from the Roundhouse to the summit. Both are on the River Run side of the mountain.
Sun Valley Resort's season announcement gives the specifications:
| Lookout Express | Christmas | |
|---|---|---|
| New lift type | Doppelmayr high-speed six-pack | High-speed detachable quad |
| Lift it replaces | Original lift built in 1993 | Original lift built in 1988 |
| Vertical rise | 2,673 feet | 1,354 feet |
| Ride time | About 8.5 minutes | About 4.5 minutes |
| Scheduled opening | December 2026 | December 2026 |
The Express reports that both new chairs run at up to 1,000 feet per minute. Lookout also goes from a quad to a six-seat chair. The resort's stated goals are more uphill capacity and better reliability across Bald Mountain.
These two lifts follow four other new lifts installed on Baldy in recent years: Seattle Ridge, Flying Squirrel, Challenger and Broadway. The resort points to SKI Magazine's ranking of Sun Valley as the No. 1 resort for lift infrastructure.
With opening day set for Nov. 26 and both lifts scheduled for December, the early-season lift lineup is worth confirming day by day. The Sun Valley app push notifications and SMS updates are the resort's channel for operating news, and they are the place to check before heading uphill on opening week.
The summer the summit went quiet
Anyone who rode the gondola or biked Baldy this summer already saw this project up close. Construction started in April, after the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management approved the plans. Those two agencies manage the public land on the mountain. The Express tracked the work in stages:
- By late May: the old Lookout and Christmas terminals had been removed, and crews were starting on the towers.
- June: helicopters flew the old lift towers off the mountain.
- July: helicopters flew in thousands of pounds of concrete for the new tower foundations.
- Next: with the sites prepared, the new towers were to be flown in by helicopter.
That work changed summer on Baldy. With Christmas out, there was no lift access to the summit for hikers, bikers or sightseers. Eye on Sun Valley reported in late June that the summer gondola ran only to mid-mountain. It also reported that the Saddle Up and Lupine bike trails were closed and that other trails could close at times during construction. In August, Eye on Sun Valley reported the Lower Bald Mountain Trail closure. It ran through September and cut off access to the overlook and Frenchman's base. The same report covered a full-day closure on Saturday, Aug. 15, that shut the Roundhouse Gondola and every trail on the mountain for helicopter work.
The resort's September 16 announcement still gives December 2026 as the target for both lifts.
Off the lift line: glades and snowmaking
The rest of this year's Baldy work is easier to miss. The resort is opening 50 newly gladed acres between Christin's Silver, Leigh Lane and Upper Broadway. That comes on top of 90 acres finished last summer. The Bald Mountain Stewardship Project has added more than 390 acres of gladed terrain over the past six years.
The timber from that thinning goes back into the forest and the community. The resort says it is used for habitat restoration and forest health work. Firewood donated through the National Forest Foundation's Wood For Life program supports the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and local community partners.
Snowmaking matters most in the window between opening day and the new lifts. The resort's announcement says the 2026-27 winter brings snowmaking upgrades across all four Bald Mountain pumphouses, intended to support the system's reliability. Earlier planning documents reported by the Idaho Mountain Express proposed automated snow guns on Sunset Strip, Ridge and upper Race Arena, plus a spur line to Roundhouse Lodge. Those items are proposals until the resort says they are finished.
On Dollar, Sunny's Adventure Park is back for its second season and opens in December. It is the beginner learning area with kid-sized terrain and interactive features.
The countdown, date by date
Because the season opens in stages, the calendar between now and March is worth having in one place:
- Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 30, at 6 and 9 p.m.: Warren Miller's Days Off plays at the Sun Valley Opera House.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: The Pray for Snow Party returns to River Run Lodge & Plaza with DJ Luke Ross and DJ SID3S. Vintage ski gear is encouraged. Five cans of food earn one raffle ticket, and raffle proceeds benefit the Hunger Coalition. Lightly used jackets collected at the party go to the Shoshone Project.
- Through Sunday, Nov. 22: The Blaine County Recreation District's Nordic season-pass preseason sale runs until this date. Passes are sold online or at the FitWorks front desk.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Opening Day on Bald Mountain at River Run. Terrain opens at 9 a.m., with live music and hot cocoa.
- Nov. 29 to Dec. 20: The resort's December Ski Free offer includes two free lift tickets per night with a stay at the Sun Valley Lodge or Cottages. It can be useful if family is visiting for the holidays.
- December: Lookout Express, Christmas and Sunny's Adventure Park are all scheduled to open.
- March 19-25, 2027: The Stifel Sun Valley Finals bring the FIS Ski World Cup's season-ending races back to Bald Mountain.
The Finals are where the lift work pays off in public. Sun Valley first hosted the invite-only event in 2025, when Mikaela Shiffrin won the slalom and Lindsey Vonn reached her first World Cup podium since returning to racing. This March, the world's top-ranked racers will compete for the season's Crystal Globes in downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom. They will be racing on a River Run side that has a new six-pack and a new summit quad.
For friends visiting on a multi-resort pass
Sun Valley has renewed its partnerships with Ikon Pass and the Mountain Collective. If guests ask, the resort's season pass page says the full Ikon Pass includes seven unrestricted days at Sun Valley. The Ikon Base Pass and Ikon Session Pass do not include Sun Valley access. Season pass prices on that page change as winter approaches, so check the current price there before buying.
One more change took effect this year. Sun Valley Resort has earned certification from DarkSky International, and the resort says it is the first U.S. resort to receive the designation.
Kent and Trevor ski these runs, and they spend the off-season with the contractors, designers and tradespeople who keep valley homes ready for winter. If you're thinking about what this ski season means for a home near River Run, Warm Springs or Elkhorn, Sun Valley Luxury Properties is glad to talk it through before opening day. Contact Us.