Sun Valley Magazine | Fall Home 2019-2020

DREAM HOMES | KITCHEN FACELIFTS | SHE SHEDS | CHARLES BRANDT | BOHO LOUNGE

Fall 2019/2020

The

Habitat Issue

sunvalleymag.com

de re usarchite c ts.c o m

connecting to place Sun Valley Magazine Front Inside Cover.indd 6-7

PC: Joe Fletcher Photography

Sun Valley | Waimea

8/22/2019 9:43:50 AM

PC: Joe Fletcher Photography

Casting on the Payette River in search of the iconic rainbow trout.

One of the countless adventures available to members of Whitetail Club, the premier private community in the Pacific Northwest. Adventures that run the gamut.

Signature spa experiences. Exclusive wine tastings.

Single-track mountain biking. Exploring natural hot springs.

These are the moments in life you are searching for.

Moments in time that form lifelong memories.

Moments like this, just moments from home.

Located in spectacular McCall, Idaho, just two hours north of Boise, Whitetail Club offers the perfect combination of family, adventure and modern living, all within reach of your luxury mountain-lake home.

Explore more moments at

WhitetailClub.com/Discover or call 877.634.1725.

Homes starting from just over $1 million.

Homesites starting from the low $ 300s.

Obtain a Property Report required by Federal Law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. Whitetail Club is represented by Whitetail Club Realty, LLC. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the nation. Scenes and views may be of a location not on or related to the property.

MOMENTS LIKE THIS… JUST MOMENTS FROM HOME.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Favorite Meals Begin Here

FA M

ILY

OW

NED

A ND O P

E ER ATED FOR THRE

G EN

ION T A ER

S

KETCHUM Giacobbi Square 726.5668 | HAILEY Alturas Plaza 788.2294 | BELLEVUE Main Street 788.7788

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More than a fly shop.

FASHION FOR MEN & WOMEN | HOME DECOR & GIFTS | IN-STORE & ONLINE BOOK A GUIDED TRIP | LEARN TO FLY FISH | GET OUTFITTED silver-creek.com • 500 N Main Street, Ketchum • 208.726.5282

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ART

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ONYX PASSIONATE DESIGN. INTELLIGENT LIVING.

Single level luxury residences in a quiet neighborhood near the heart of Ketchum—only six units remain.

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SHANNON FLAVIN Associate Broker 208.450.9273

Conrad Brothers Conrad Brothers Conrad Brothers

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Armstrong -Root Optometrists

•

Opticians

649 Sun Valley Road • Ketchum, Idaho • 208.726.4250 www.armstrongroot.com

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SOPHISTICATED & ECLECTIC CLOTHING, ACCESSORIES & JEWELRY FOR WOMEN 100 N. LEADVILLE • KETCHUM, IDAHO • 208.726.5160

300 North Main Street, Ketchum, ID jenniferhoey.com 208.726.1561 NCIDQ #21519

JENNIFER HOEY INTERIOR DESIGN Jennifer Hoey Smith, ASID

Legendary. Spectacular. Wild.

Fly Fishing in Montana can be a rugged, sometimes-tiring adventure—that’s why Madison Double R will be a welcome respite at the end of each day.

Located on 2 miles of the world-renowned Madison River south of Ennis, Madison Double R offers first-quality accommodations, outstanding cuisine, expert guides, and a fly fishing lodge experience second to none.

MADISONR R .C OM • 406-682-5555 • office@madisonrr.com

FRESH FINDS INSPIRING DESIGN furnishings + interior design

OWNERS ARIANNE & JOSH HEYSER 10,000 sq. ft. showroom 620 Sun Valley Road • Ketchum, ID 208.726.7797 topnotchonline.com

CONTEMPORARY. MODERN. INDUSTRIAL. CLASSIC.

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Sierra Pacific windows featured in the Michael Doty modern home on pages 66-71 of this issue and the Jim McLaughlin mountain rustic on pages 78-83. Check it out to see what the best window professionals can do for your dream project!

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PAD105664-0052 PAD105664-0052

contents // features 60

66 78

60

Investigator Charles Brandt, Mafia Enforcer Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, and the Jimmy Hoffa murder

BY L AURIE SAMMIS

ON THE COVER

This East Fork home designed

HABITAT 66 DREAM HOMES:

84

A panorama of views at Fisher Creek B Y H A Y D E N S E D E R Reclaiming the feel of the past on the Big Wood B Y K A R E N B O S S I C K California style meets mountain rustic in East Fork B Y K A T E H U L L

84 A KITCHEN FACELIFT

by McLaughlin and Associates

Designers’ tips for upgrades without spending a fortune

Architects brings together a

B Y K AT E H U L L

light, airy, Southern California sophistication with a mountain rustic ambiance.

PHOTO BY JOSH WELLS

86 SHE SHEDS Move over man caves, this oasis is for her B Y K AT E H U L L

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sunvalleymag.com | FALL 2019

CHARLES BR ANDT: R AY J. GADD HOMES (CLOCK WISE FROM TOP): COURTESY / GABE BORDER, L ATHAM INTERIORS AND JOSH WELLS

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contents // departments

54

106

36

28 localbuzz

52 getoutthere

Fall hikes to see the colors

New lift, more snowmaking guns and expanded terrain

EDUCATING THE ‘WHOLE CHILD’ Syringa Mountain School takes the Waldorf approach to learning

32 body&soul

OF EMPATHY, PREJUDICE, AND THE RITUAL OF EXAM A conversation with physician and author Abraham Verghese

BETTER SKIING THROUGH YOGA How to develop flexibility, strength, and

SENIOR PROJECTS Sam Fenn, Lily Fitzgerald, Landon Paschall and Hunter Diehl from the Class of 2019 describe in their own words how they explored their passions, experienced worlds outside

18

ON THE RUN Sheepdog Trials return to Hailey

98 topicsofthewest

THE OTHER MIRACULOUS FISH Steelhead, lesser known than salmon, face equally difficult challenges

100 inthearts

UNBRIDLED ARTIST Jean Richardson’s paintings liberate the viewer’s soul

focus for the downhill season

38 nextgenlife

LEAF PEEPING SUN VALLEY STYLE

‘AMERICAN CIPHER’ Former Valley writer and editor explores the Bowe Bergdahl story

REDHEADED AMBITION Country soul singer Andrew Sheppard’s roots come with a rock ‘n’ roll mom

112 food&drink OTHERWORLDLY

their own, and found inspiration

The Boho Lounge brings a taste

for their lives ahead.

of a Balinese Cafe to the Valley

sunvalleymag.com | FALL 2019

116

also in this issue 22 FROM THE PUBLISHER 24 CONTRIBUTORS 56 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 108 GALLERY BUZZ 116 DINING LISTINGS

YOGA: COURTESY CATHY CACCIA / CHEAT WOOD PHOTOGR APHY SHEEPDOG: COURTESY TR AILING OF THE SHEEP / K AT SMITH ANDREW SHEPPARD’S FAMILY AND BOHO LOUNGE BOOT Y BOWL: KIRSTEN SHULTZ

BALD MOUNTAIN EXPANSION UPDATE

online // sunvalleymag.com PAST ISSUES

VIDEO Watch the trailer for the Netflix movie “The Irishman,” based on a book VIDEO STILL FROM NETFLIX TR AILER

by local Charles Brandt.

MORE STORIES The Sun Valley Magazine website, at sunvalleymag. com, is user friendly and incorporates responsive design so that you get the same award-winning

SUMMER 2019

content on phones, tablets or desktop computers. On

To explore our magazine archives, dating

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all the way back to 1974, visit sunvalleymag.

our print stories, as well as

com/magazine. On our digital magazine

a wealth of additional online

page, you can enjoy back issues of Sun

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Valley Magazine. Travel back in time to

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for an old article? Spend some time in our

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Health goes beyond medical care. It’s how we take care of ourselves and how we take care of each other. Let St. Luke’s be your partner as you work to achieve your best health and life. Check out the classes and seminars we offer in the Wood River Valley.

St. Luke’s Center for Community Health 208-727-8733 | stlukesonline.org

fromthepublisher // insight

publisher

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sunvalleymag.com | FALL 2019

Laurie Sammis / editor-in-chief

PHOTO:

F IVE B

STUDIOS

A

s we turn the corner towards fall with this issue of Sun Valley Magazine, I find myself contemplating the idea of family—brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, and the fierce togetherness and constancy of those unforgettable bonds. Family can be complicated. It is woven with the threads of our successes and failures, our hurts and our triumphs, in the perpetual role of bearing witness to the story of our lives. I come from a big family, full of vigor and action, and swirling with the narratives of each of our lives. These memories my family carries with them like different branches of the same tree, each a part of our shared history.

Family seems to be a thread running through the pages of this issue as well. And just like family, the shape and form of its definition is different on every page. It is present in the loyalty of an unexpected friendship that laid the foundation for trust—and profound remorse and confession—in the story of author and former prosecutor Charles Brandt and his work with Mafia hit man Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran (“An Unlikely Alliance,” page 60). “Frank and I were like family,” Brandt explained this past spring, citing the fiveand-a-half years the two spent together gathering details for the book about Sheeran’s life, “I Heard You Paint Houses.” During their five years together, Brandt, who taught interrogation to cops and cross-examination techniques to other attorneys, questioned and re-questioned Sheeran to get the material for his book, which exposes details on several major murder cases and is soon to be a major motion picture by Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman” released on Netflix), starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

On the other end of the spectrum, Abraham Verghese speaks of the power of family to overcome the prejudice of disease and fear in his memoir “My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story.” In his interview with managing editor Adam Tanous this past July, Verghese reflected that, in his experience, the bonds of family helped to humanize the disease of AIDS and created bridges toward the acceptance of and, ultimately, the better care and treatment of disease (“Of Empathy, Prejudice, and the Ritual of Exam,” page 32).

Read about Waldorf education, which was founded on the basic principles of community and family values, with the goal of creating an environment for growing confidence, narrative, storytelling, and self-expression (“Educating the Whole Child,” page 30). Follow along with The Sage School senior Sam Fenn as he explores the power of rivers to connect humans to the natural world and the family of life through his 2019 senior project, or Sun Valley Community School senior Lily Fitzgerald’s project examining the power of language and community for empowerment in Zambia (“nexgenlife,” page 38). Or learn about the rising star of Andrew Sheppard, who has been hailed as a “heartland rocker with an outlaw country soul” and whose musical roots were a family affair fueled by his rocker mom and talented sisters (“Red-Headed Ambition” page 106).

Nowhere is family more important than in our homes, which is evident in the “Dream Homes” within our Habitat Special Section of this issue, our HOME Annual. Family helps inform the location and shape of Leslie Benz’s legacy property up north at Fisher Creek (“A Panorama of Views,” page 66) and the East Fork compound that joins two families who vacationed together for years before fortuitously being joined in marriage by daughter and son (“East Fork Oasis Celebrates Family,” page 78).

Family, after all, is the story of a common bond, whether as part of your network, your tribe, or clan. In its ideal form, it offers the creation of a place where we feel most at home and accepted as we are, faults and all—making true the adage that the only people who truly know your story are the ones who help you write it.

National Design Award

McLAUGHLIN &

A S S O C I A T E S

A R C H I T E C T S ,

PO BOX 479_SUN VALLEY, ID 83353

PH_208.726.9392

c h a r t e r e d

www.mclaughlinarchitects.com

A I A

Th a n k Yo u A ga i n f o r Vo t i n g U s O n e o f Va l l ey ’s B e s t A rc h i t e c t s in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019!

featuredcontributors // writers & photographers

JAMIE TRUPPI

BRYANT DUNN

KIRSTEN SHULTZ

RAY J. GADD

Jamie Truppi, MSN, CNS,

Bryant Dunn owns Sun Valley

Kirsten Shultz doesn’t

Ray J. Gadd is a born-and-

is an integrative nutritionist

Outfitters and Wanderlust

remember a time when she

raised Idahoan but an equal

on a mission to connect

Flyfishing Adventures, which

didn’t love photography. As

opportunity adventurer with

people through meaningful

outfits flyfishing groups in the

a professional photographer

a hankering for documenting

food experiences inspired

Himalayas, Southeast Asia

for more than half of

the journey no matter

by nature. In her private

and the South Pacific. Bryant

her life, most of those

the location. Uncovering

practice, she focuses on

works for the Sun Valley Ski

years have been spent

unfamiliar smiles, stories,

family nutrition, functional

Patrol in the winter and is

photographing in and out of

mountaintops, and backyard

foods, gut microflora, and the

the proud dad of his four

Sun Valley. Published in many

businesses, in search of

endocannabinoid system.

troublemaking kids, Maddy,

publications, including The

preserving that emotion

An edible educator, she

Amanda, Daker and Hunter.

New York Times and Martha

with each frame are his

creates and teaches nutrition

When not outfitting guests in

Stewart Weddings, her work

favorite parts of the journey.

programming for early care,

the wildest places on Earth,

is driven by her love of the

Happiest enjoying post-ride

elementary, middle, and

Bryant spends his time hiding

arts, music, travel and food.

beers, coming up for air on

high school students. A

out at his cabin on the upper

When not shooting weddings

deep days of storm skiing,

food systems advocate, she

Salmon River, downstream

or assignments on location,

overcoming the trials and

volunteers with nonprofit

from Stanley.

she enjoys working from her

tribulations of casting to

studio and chasing the light

educated fish and sprinkling

with her husband, daughter,

in the occasional type II fun.

and dog.

Stalk him on Instagram at

organizations in the Wood River Valley. A mom, she

“On the Run,” page 54.

beckons her kids into fromscratch cooking experiments.

“Educating the ‘Whole Child,’” page 30.

@rayjgadd.

“Redheaded Ambition,” page 106; “Step Into Another World,” page 112.

“Leaf Peeping Sun Valley Style,” page 52; “An Unlikely Alliance,” page 60.

also in this issue writers Karen Bossick, Hunter Diehl, Sam Fenn, Lily Fitzgerald, Cheryl Haas, Kate Hull, Brent Lawson, Jennifer Liebrum, Landon Paschall, Laurie Sammis, Hayden Seder, Adam Tanous, and Kira Tenney

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photographers Randy Ashton, Gabe Border, Karen Bossick, Kristin Cheatwood, Steve Dondero, Flaviu Grumazescu, Heidi Long, Mike Patterson, Nils Ribi, Julia Seyferth, Kat Smith, Cuylar Swindley, and Josh Wells

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

Sun Valley, ID w w w.byla.us of f ice: 208.726.5907

K

KETCHUM KUSTOM WOODWORKS We Build It The Way You Want It.

Fall 2019

publisher/editor in chief Laurie C. Sammis

managing editor Adam C. Tanous

creative director Roberta Morcone

guest art director Kristina Mitchell production director Drew Furlong

advertising sales Kelly Mitchell Alicia Cachuela

copy editor Patty Healey controller Linda Murphy circulation director Nancy Whitehead

Sun Valley Magazine Online: sunvalleymag.com email: info@sunvalleymag.com Sun Valley Magazine Awards 2018 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Feature Article - “Primal Necessity” 2017 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Feature Article - “The Long Journey Back” Finalist, Best Profile - “A Life in the Sky” 2016 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Feature Article - “The Great Migration” 2015 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Annuals & One-Time Custom Publication/Consumer Finalist, Best Cover/Consumer 2014 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Annuals & One-Time Custom Publication/Consumer 2013 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Semiannual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer Finalist, Best Special Theme Issue/Consumer 2012 MAGGIE AWARDS Winner, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer 2011 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer Finalist, Best Special Theme Issue/Consumer 2010 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer Finalist, Best Special Theme Issue/Consumer 2010 OZZIE AWARDS Gold Winner, publication fewer than 6 times per year 2010 EDDIE AWARDS Gold Winner, publication fewer than 6 times per year 2010 IDAHO PRESS CLUB Best Magazine Serious Feature & Best Blog 2010 MAGGIE AWARDS Finalist, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer 2009 MAGGIE AWARDS Winner, Best Semi-Annual & Three-Time/Trade & Consumer

CUSTOM CABINETRY ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK

118 Lewis St. • Ketchum, ID • 208.726.1905

Sun Valley Magazine® (BIPAD # 074470772330) is published three times a year by Mandala Media LLC. Editorial, advertising and administrative offices are located at 313 N. Main St., Hailey, Idaho 83333. Telephone: 208.788.0770; Fax: 208.788.3881. Mailing address: 313 N. Main St., Hailey, Idaho 83333. Copyright ©2019 by Mandala Media, LLC. Subscriptions: $24 per year, single copies $7.95.

The opinions expressed by authors and contributors to Sun Valley Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor and publisher. Mandala Media LLC sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This issue was printed on recycled fibers containing 10% post consumer waste, with inks containing a blend of soy base. Our printer is a certified member of the Forestry Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and additionally meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards. When you are finished with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it. Postmaster — Please send address changes to: Sun Valley Magazine, 313 N. Main St., Hailey, ID 83333

Printed in the U.S.A.

JOE MARX • TIM CARTER Ketchum, Idaho • www.idahomountainbuilders.com • 208.726.1603

localbuzz TURKEY BOWL

COLD SPRINGS CHUTES

S E AT T L E R I D G E LODGE

GRETCHEN’S GOLD

Cold Springs, the “before” shot

1

2 3

EXTENSION OF LOWER B R O A D W AY WITH SNOWMAKING

tours&dates Over the 2019-2020 winter season, Sun Valley plans to give “Experience the Expansion” tours of the new acreage to advanced skiers. In summer of 2020, utilities and the new chairlift will be installed. The terrain, lift, and snowmaking system will all be ready for the 2020-2021 season.

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BALD MOUNTAIN EXPANSION UPDATE Sun Valley Resort to put in new lift, snowmaking guns and expanded terrain B Y H AY D E N S E D E R

PHOTO COURTESY SUN VALLEY RESORT

A

lnyone who has skied Bald Mountain in Sun Valley, Idaho, will soon see a dream come true; even more terrain added to this world-class ski resort. A ski area within a ski area, work on the Bald Mountain Expansion has been underway since summer 2017 to add over 380 acres of skiable terrain to the mountain.

The project is expected to be finished in the fall of 2020 for the 2020-2021 ski season and will feature a new lift, increased snowmaking, and access to new and extended runs.

The current Cold Springs ski area is serviced by the Cold Springs (#4 lift), the oldest lift still operating at the resort. The Bald Mountain Expansion serves the dual purpose of replacing this lift while also adding new terrain to the mountain.

“The lift was due for an upgrade and in looking at replacing that, we looked at how the ski area could be enhanced and how the guest experience could be improved,” said Peter Stearns, Sun Valley Resort’s director of Mountain Operations. “It’s something that’s been considered for a long time.”

The terrain that will be accessed is in both U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management areas as well as within the current Sun Valley Ski Area Special Use Permit. Finally accessing this terrain will increase offerings from the beginner and intermediate range to advanced.

“It’s an opportunity to embrace some additional terrain within our existing special use permit,” said Stearns.

The #4 Cold Springs chairlift will remain in place for the 2019-2020 season and be replaced during summer of 2020 with a new, high-speed detachable lift that will provide transport to The Roundhouse restaurant, the Roundhouse Express Gondola, and the Christmas (#3) chairlift. It will have a vertical

rise of 1,582 feet and will be 5,535 feet long.

The new lift has not yet been ordered as Sun Valley Company goes through the process of corresponding with several manufacturers who will need to survey the terrain before submitting bids.

In terms of new terrain, the Lower Broadway ski run will be extended another 4,200 feet with similar width and gradient as the existing ski run. The run will be lined with at least 25 highly efficient snowmaking guns. Access will be from the top of Seattle Ridge where skiers and riders can descend into “Turkey Bowl” and proceed north for access to extensive tree skiing. The new acreage will feature a combination of steep chutes, tree skiing, and open bowls.

Skiable acreage within the Sun Valley Resort boundary will increase from 2,054 acres to 2,434 acres—an addition of 380 acres— when the project is done.

“We’re really excited about the extension of Lower Broadway because we’re starved for that kind of terrain,” Stearns said. “It’ll be good for lower and intermediates that normally would ski Broadway, and the snow sports schools can use it for instruction.

The majority of the 380 acres out there is undeveloped, and we’re considering it advanced and expert skiing.”

The project began in summer 2017 with fieldwork and an environmental assessment.

The following summer saw the re-routing and re-construction of the Cold Springs mountain bike trail (completed July 2018), grading and site preparation of the Cold Springs Canyon area and timber work done on the Lower Broadway area. Over summer 2019, additional snowmaking guns were placed along Lower Broadway and tree thinning and glading took place in the Cold Springs area. 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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localbuzz // syringa mountain school

EDUCATING THE ‘WHOLE CHILD’ Syringa Mountain School takes the Waldorf approach of experiential learning

BY JAMIE TRUPPI

A

family festival held 15 years ago at The Mountain School in Bellevue was a ceremonial homage to the seasons and nature’s bounty. It was alive with costumes, performances, dancing, music, and intoxicating merriment that felt like a step back in time to the Renaissance era—when celebrations were sacred and treasured. What was this captivating place?

It was a Waldorf school.

Often misunderstood in North America, Waldorf education is an approach that recognizes the needs of the whole child as he or she develops his interconnected mind, body and spirit. As Mary Goral writes in “Transformational Teaching,” it fosters intellect through “story, parable, and myth.” Children build skills and intelligence through hands-on tasks, creating art, and experiences in nature.

In early years, children grow in confidence, wonder and voice; later, the narrative and 30

sunvalleymag.com | FALL 2019

creative tasks shift into reading, writing, math, the sciences, active imagination and problem solving.

In the Waldorf tradition of storytelling— a fundamental concept to invoke language development, memory and expression—the following narrative describes how the work of play and learning-by-doing taught a young boy to read.

Like all children, James was born to read. In infancy he imitated gestures, organized symbols and repeated sounds. At 3, he entered Sweet Clover School, a Waldorf preschool in Hailey, where routine and rhythm diverted his wild energy into intuitive activity. It was an ebb and flow of storytelling, outdoor exploration, cooking, singing, painting and creating. Neither he nor his parents knew it, but he was preparing to read by exploring the world through his senses.

Colors and textures were beguiling; natural aromas were fresh and inviting; sounds of wood toys knocking, the chopping of vegetables, and tiny toddler voices reciting songs filled the school.

In kindergarten, James entered Syringa Mountain School, a public charter founded on traditional Waldorf ideals that also adheres to required common standards. His parents wondered how this nontraditional unfolding

of experiential learning would translate into academia. The methods were unfamiliar. The teachers were inspiringly dedicated to Waldorf concepts, and their students flourished. There was trust in the process that timing is everything, and everything is strategic.

Early care Waldorf methodology guided James into rich experiences in which bodily skills were transformed through nature, art, song, and movement. James began to see letters by painting vibrant images, lines, and curves with a tactile wooden brush; these gestures would eventually become letters. He explored books of adventure, and learned traditional verses in rhythm and rhyme.

In first grade, emphasis was placed on a deep and potent organization of letters captured in the spoken word, song, play, and craft. Letters were presented to James in lively pictures that told stories and appealed to his imagination. For example, the letter “S” was a fairy tale snake sinuously slithering through the grass on some secret errand.

On the chalkboard, his teacher depicted the letter “W” embedded in an image, hidden in the waves. James drew letters in the air with his hands and on the floor with his feet. He immersed his entire being in the phonetic, visual, and physical experience of learning the 26 symbols that make up the alphabet.

COURTESY SYRINGA MOUNTAIN SCHOOL / CUYL AR SWINDLEY

Letters became meaningful. They were not just memorized; they were embodied.

James began noticing letters everywhere; he pointed, sounded, and asked what they symbolized. He cultivated his own relationship with the human alphabet by reading the natural world in the forms of landscapes, water and weather, plant and animal life, color and form, and rich interaction in festival life. His word recognition seemed to hatch overnight, yet it was carefully cultivated, and taught out of order.

The foundation was set for James to blossom on an innate pathway toward cognitive learning. By the third grade, his reading and writing skills flourished and his zest for creative expansion was evident.

According to Dr. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, playwright, artist, and literary critic who created much of the foundation of the Waldorf method, children should be taught based on developmental stages of growth that shift approximately every seven years. During early childhood, a child learns through senses, absorbed patterns, rhythms, and impersonations that create an

inner and outward foundation for his individuality. Around 7, the brain connects the rational with the emotional. The child leaves dreamy early childhood and shifts into a more conscious state. Feelings and imagination develop, and he becomes aware of himself as an individual.

Subsequent years bring forth increased stability and independence. Around 14, intellectual consciousness abounds, and deeper concepts of the world, humans and phenomena are examined and understood.

This educational system relies on the inherent learning abilities of children through the phases of their changing bodies and brains. Intelligence unfolds as naturally as the movement of the seasons. Students go on to excel at math, music, science, writing and reading. They become proficient in the humanities—music, acting, art and handwork—a place to focus their left-brain activities. They also foster an unmistakable connection with nature, community, their inner character, and humankind. This is the remarkable work of Waldorf: to cultivate, as Goral writes, “head, hand, and heart.” 2

Students at Syringa Mountain School experiment with creative writing and running an apple press.

a

very brief history

After World War I, Dr. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, playwright, artist and literary critic, was invited to create an education model for children of the WaldorfAstoria Cigarette Factory workers in Germany. In this tumultuous time, the goal was to cultivate children who would not want to create more war. This became an opportunity to inspire industrial children to learn and grow by discovering the world through their senses and experiences. Waldorf education incorporated Steiner’s view that a child’s creative, spiritual, and moral development is as important as intellect.

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body&soul OF EMPATHY, PREJUDICE, AND THE RITUAL OF EXAM A conversation with physician and author Abraham Verghese B Y A D A M TA N O U S

T

he first thing one senses in meeting Abraham Verghese—physician, educator, and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction works—is a calm humility. It is a humility that comes with seeing countless patients through harrowing disease and decline. And yet, it is a humility fortified by a firm belief in both the power of medical care, with an emphasis on care, and in the idea that triumph can come even as mortality may be imminent.

As a young doctor specializing in infectious disease, Verghese arrived in rural Tennessee—Johnson City—in October 1985, two months after the first HIV-infected patient appeared at the Johnson City Medical Center. While the first academic papers reporting the early cases of the disease appeared in 1981, the infections were all specific to port cities: Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. As Verghese wrote in his first memoir, “My Own Country”: “Everyone thought it had been a freak accident, a one-time thing in Johnson City. This was a small town in the country, a town of clean-living, good country people. AIDS was clearly a big city problem. It was something that happened in other kinds of lives.”

As it turned out, it was a storm that knew no boundaries, geographic or otherwise.

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To read Verghese’s account of his five years treating AIDS patients in Johnson City is to understand what true empathy is. Though, in a long conversation I had with him during the recent Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, he, of course, waved that off. But I wondered if that profound empathy so evident in the book was just inherent to people who ended up in medicine or something learned. Verghese explained it this way: “I didn’t choose to specialize in AIDS. I actually went into infectious disease because … it was all about an astute diagnosis, and the patient rose like Lazarus, you know. And then AIDS just landed in our lap. So, a generation of us in infectious disease were suddenly treating people with a fatal condition, which is exactly what we had not wanted to do. We had gone into this field for a kind of hope, if you like.

So, it was an education, and perhaps the empathy was also part of the education for us.”

The fact that there were no effective treatments for the disease until 1995—14 years after the first cases were described in medical papers—had a profound effect on Verghese and other doctors on the front lines of the epidemic. In a 2016 podcast titled, “The Importance of Being,” Verghese touches on a theme central to medicine: the distinction between healing and curing.

“I look back and think of patients long gone, particularly patients in the early AIDS era, young men for the most part …

They were full of the ripening of life, full of desire, longing, ambition … I wanted to do for them, to fix what ailed them. I wanted to be busy with them in a medical way even though in those days we had no effective HIV medications, and there was nothing we could do to change the course … The absence of any treatments also taught us physicians powerful lessons.

I learned from my physician’s assistant, Della, a warm and caring woman who felt less of the pressure to do and instead could just be … Once, as we walked in to visit a patient who was hours from exiting the world, I said, ‘What are we going to do here, Della?’ She said, ‘We are going to be with him.’”

Given all of the progress on the medical front with the disease—there are now real and effective treatments, as well as some promising vaccines in the pipeline—it is easy to forget the direness of the situation in 1985. Everybody was navigating in the dark. “No one knew what this was,” Verghese explained. “It was an unknown condition. It is hard to tell my medical students now [Verghese teaches at the Stanford Medical School] to imagine that time when we didn’t know causes, we didn’t know how it spread. Our best guess was that it was blood borne because it was

COURTESY SUN VALLEY WRITERS’ CONFERENCE / NILS RIBI

Dr. Abraham Verghese at this year’s Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.

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body&soul // abraham verghese

“

It was a truism [of the AIDS crisis] that family trumped prejudice.

Any bias you had, any dogma you subscribed to, went out the window when it was your son, your brother.”

— DR . A BR A HA M V ERGHES E

Verghese has written three books: “My Own Country,” “The Tennis Partner,” and “Cutting for Stone,” the latter of which is a novel.

He has a new novel, “The Maramon Convention,” coming out soon.

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the same risk groups popping up, namely intravenous drug users, blood transfusion recipients … and men having sex with men. But that wasn’t true in Africa … where the male-to-woman ratio [of infection] was one-to-one. In America it was more like 20-to-one … The epidemic in America was literally at the tip of the iceberg. The real epidemic was in Africa, and there it was a very different looking disease.”

Perhaps attributable to the lack of understanding of the disease at the time and partly due to the specific etiology of the disease, patients not only suffered the ravages of a horrendous disease, they also endured tremendous prejudice. Verghese described the milieu at the time: “Along comes a plague that’s unknown in how it spreads and that is affecting a group for whom society as a whole had a lot of distaste. And it was easy to blame them for it. ‘This was brought on by you’ is what they were saying …

So, the metaphor of AIDS was one of shame and secrecy. It was one of blame: ‘You got this for your actions.’ That got in the way of everything, my treating them, my getting help to treat them. There were doctors who would [treat them] and others who would have nothing to do with it.”

He described taking an X-ray to a radiologist to get his opinion on the scan.

“He says to me, ‘Why do you take care of these f****** fags, they deserve to die.’

People were willing to talk like that in that era.”

While the AIDS epidemic is by no means over, huge advances have been made, not only in attitudes, but also in treatments and outcomes. But what lessons have been learned that are applicable to current epidemics, or those still to

come? Verghese notes two. “We too often underestimate the impediments that society can put in the way of public health management … It’s happening as we speak with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We actually have now both a vaccine and a treatment that can effectively prevent or control the spread of the disease. But the bigger disease in the DRC now is suspicion of foreign workers, suspicion of any kind of treatments, and, as a result of so much secrecy around Ebola, people are dying. It has become a huge problem … and it’s not a scientific problem. It’s a social problem.”

The other lesson Verghese notes, this one positive, concerns prejudice. “Given all of the prejudices non-Southerners associate with the Deep South, not necessarily true, and given the prejudices around this disease, I think the real marvelous lesson … It was a truism that family trumped prejudice. Any bias you had, any dogma you subscribed to, went out the window when it was your son, your brother. That was reassuring to see … Family was such a strong value, even though they didn’t talk about it, it was.”

Today, Verghese spends less time in the HIV setting than on general medicine wards, and he remains an educator and a writer. After his intense experience in Tennessee, he took a break from medicine and attended the prestigious University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has subsequently published three critically acclaimed, bestselling books: two nonfiction works, “My Own Country” and “The Tennis Partner,” and one novel, “Cutting for Stone.” He has an upcoming novel, “The Maramon Convention,” that will be published by Scribner.

And if that were not enough to consume his time, Verghese teaches at the Stanford Medical School. There he focuses much of his energy and time on training new doctors. He is the Linda R. Meier and Joan F. Lane Provostial Professor at the Stanford Medical School, and vice-chair of the Department of Medicine.

One of his passions in medical education concerns what he terms “the ritual of exam,”—the process both objective and subjective—of interviewing and doing a hands-on, bedside evaluation of the patient, a skill and value he worries may be overlooked by some physicians.

“Too often, I feel, there is a knee-jerk response—‘Let’s order a test. Oh, you’ve got this symptom, let’s get this test,’” Verghese told me. “It is a great luxury of our medical world that we have all of these ways of affirming things. The exam is far from precise, but nevertheless …

I mean, what does a CAT scan of the head show you? It only shows you the skull and the brain. But to understand what’s the deficit the patient is left with … The CAT scan won’t tell you that they are profoundly weak on the right side or can’t speak. You have to do a skilled exam.”

And that exam, Verghese maintains, with its unusual setting with odd furniture, patient gowns and white doctors’ coats, with the instruments there, “… has all the trappings of a ritual …

People are used to rituals. Society is full of them: baptisms, graduations, bah mitzvahs … Anthropologists teach us that rituals are all about transformation.

“What is the transformation in this ritual? One, it is the sealing of the doctor-patient relationship. That privilege of touching—in any other context in society—that’s assault. So, you need to bring to it a great deal of gravity …

Secondly, the localizing of the illness on the body—not on some CAT scan, not on some biopsy specimen … but on your person. It is sort of acknowledging your personhood. We sort of need that, you know.” 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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body&soul // skiing prep

BETTER SKIING THROUGH YOGA How to develop flexibility, strength, and focus for the downhill season

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If you have a body, do yoga.” That is the key message from Cathie Caccia, a Wood River Valley specialist in yoga instruction, yoga therapy, shiatsu, acupressure, and massage. “There are so many types of yoga. There are breathing practices, meditation, and physical, therapeutic, and rejuvenative practices. My recommendation is don’t get pigeonholed into thinking yoga is one thing. It’s so broad and so beneficial that it’s worth asking questions and finding a practice that works for anyone’s specific needs.”

In a place of constant movement like Sun Valley, a person’s specific “needs” in winter are usually related to shredding the snow. Whether you’re Nordic skiing, downhill skiing, or snowboarding, yoga can complement your winter days by building flexibility, strength, mind-body awareness, injury prevention, and injury rehabilitation.

Many professionals recommend incorporating restorative yoga into your ski or snowboard practice. Sun Valley Nordic Comp Team Head Coach Ashley McQueen Knox noted that the ski team incorporates yoga focused on gentle stretching and

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flexibility, building for 30 minutes every workout. “Nordic skiing is relatively easy on the body, but common injuries tend to be tight IT bands, which lead to hip or knee pain, shin splints from summer cross-training, and chronic compartment syndrome,” McQueen Knox said. “Having a balanced body, flexibility, and stretching can really help prevent injuries and improve overall ski performance and health in the short and long term.

“Everything is connected: if one thing is tight it’s going to present itself in another area. Something like yoga is really important for our skiers that are growing, gaining muscle, and working really hard.”

Locally, instructors Cathie Caccia, Lauri Bunting, Richard Odom, and others teach restorative yoga classes, particularly noted for being beneficial after downhill or Nordic skiing. Yoga instructors identify one value of yoga to be balancing out the intensity of

skiing or snowboarding for anyone, not just athletes. Describing her personal experience, Caccia said, “How I really use yoga is for recovery after skiing. We have great skiing in Sun Valley, but whether we have groomed or a huge powder day, it can be hard on the body for everyone. When I do one onehour sequence, I just feel recovered and so refreshed.”

For restorative yoga poses after skiing or snowboarding, Caccia recommends inverted staff pose (raise and rest straight legs against a wall), and reclining hero pose (kneel, sit between your feet, and slowly lower your back as much as your body allows, making sure to immediately stop if any knee pain arises).

Practicing restorative yoga can present the challenge of “slowing down” for those more intense athletes. Laughing, Knox noted: “For the ski team, we incorporate yoga for flexibility, but also for body awareness and a

COURTESY CATHIE CACCIA / CHEAT WOOD PHOTOGR APHY

BY KIR A TENNEY

Cathie Caccia, yoga specialist, stretches, with Baldy in view.

“

How I really use yoga is for recovery after skiing…[as] it can be hard on the body…”

— CATHIE CACCIA

challenge of going slow. We can have really, really good athletes, but then they try to get into yoga poses and don’t know what they’re doing. What I’ve found with our team skiers is that they have the mentality of, ‘Oh, it’s hard, so I can do it.’ But with yoga, you have to say, let’s take a step back and try something new and different. You have to build up slowly.”

The mental aspects of yoga can also complement skiing and snowboarding. Yogic meditation and breathing practices can help both new and experienced skiers and snowboarders with learning and perfecting skills, visualization, and mind-body awareness and connection. Returning to breathing practices learned in yoga, known as pranayama, can help individuals reduce anxiety and increase focus on and off the snow.

Practicing other types of yoga, such as vinyasa, hatha, and yin yoga, can also provide benefits and build such ski-related skills as increased agility and awareness of weight transfer and balance. Incorporation of yoga practices such as vinyasa and power flow can be used to build body strength that conditions for winter sports. In the Valley, offerings for this type of yoga include classes such as Beth Stuart’s Flow Till You Glow at idaYOGA in Hailey and Danielle Fuller’s Yoga Conditioning + Flow at Gather Yoga in Ketchum.

Other local studios also offer classes for higher intensity, strength-building yoga that is meant to build muscle and flexibility to complement time on the slopes. These classes specifically incorporate holds of specific ski-related postures, such as chair pose, a low squat with thighs parallel and arms stretching overhead that is akin to a tuck while skiing. The purpose of building strength particular to skiing and snowboarding through yoga is to increase performance and reduce soreness and proneness to injury.

When practicing any type of yoga, it’s crucial to “listen” to your body and stop if you feel any pain. “What works for me doesn’t mean it works for someone else,” Caccia said. “In yoga, it’s important to let your body be your guide. If your body is telling you, ‘This hurts!’ especially if it’s your knees or a joint, don’t push through. One of the biggest things you get with yoga is the dialog with the incredible intelligence of body. It’s silly to be in yoga, have your body tell you something, and not listen.”

Whatever yoga works for your body, the flexibility, strength, breathing, and mindfulness building of the practice just might be the perfect complement to the Sun Valley slopes. 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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nex enlife

SENIOR PROJECTS enable students to explore their passions, experience worlds outside their own, and find inspiration for their lives ahead. Here are four outstanding projects from the class of 2019, in their own words.

SAM FENN High School The Sage School Project Title How Rivers Can Connect Humans to the Natural World Post-graduation Plans Attending St. Lawrence University, in New York, in the fall

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C

urrently, people are increasingly disconnected from the natural world. “Rural areas cover 97 percent of the nation’s land area but contain 19.3 percent of the population (about 60 million people),” said Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson. Increasing numbers of people live in urban environments, and the natural world feels foreign and terrifying to far too many in society. The best way to reconnect ourselves with the natural world is to return to something that quite possibly allowed for the cities, even the culture, in the first place.

That something is rivers. In our increasingly urban society, we can use rivers to connect our culture back to the natural world through river recreation, an emphasis on rivers in education, and acknowledging the role that rivers can play in identity development.

Our species is unique in using rivers. What we as humans have been able to accomplish with their resources stands alone, and it is important to respect the evolutionarily unique ways that we use rivers. For instance, no other species has used them for power, travel, agriculture, and perhaps most importantly of all, fun. Our recreational use of rivers is unequaled by any other being on the planet.

People who involve themselves in river recreation, whether it be whitewater or fishing or simply relaxing on a river bank, feel a sense of connection to the natural world.

Two of the most popular ways to use rivers are fishing, and kayaking or running whitewater. Both the fishing and whitewater communities experience deep connections to the natural world. Many fishermen feel as Charlie Robinton does about the personal implications of fishing. “Fishing is by nature a reflective and meditative activity that forces you to slow down and enjoy your surroundings” (Robinton, Charlie. “Stay Happy and Healthy: Go Fishing For Physical and Mental Health Benefits”). Kayakers have similarly powerful experiences with the natural world.

Dave Seal, a longtime adventure kayaker, speaks for the kayaking communities with these words: “Without a doubt, paddling has brought me to some of the most amazing places in the entire world. It is difficult to understand or quantify the value of experiencing beauty, but it seems to put us in a mental state that allows us to be more connected to the natural world” (Seal, Dave.

“Why Do We Travel to Go Kayaking on Difficult, Risky Rivers?”)

Above and opposite page: Fenn explored the Colorado River and nearby areas for his project.

River recreation is a relatively easy, fun way to be connected to nature while also improving one’s own life. Indeed, there are personal benefits to river recreation as well.

“Benefits pertaining to whitewater recreation are often realized on physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and social scales that tend to improve the state or condition of the individual” (Whiting, Jason, et al. “Whitewater Kayaking: a Social World Investigation”). River recreation, without a doubt, can help participants realize some of the beauty in life, as well as the beauty in the natural world.

Welcoming in a river experience allows one to share a deeply pleasurable experience with the natural world, which connects them to it.

The beauty of the natural world is often experienced through river recreation such as kayaking. That intersection of personal values and the natural world is very powerful.

“Whitewater kayaking is a unique sport that offers opportunities to have profound experiences, some of which can have lasting impacts on the participants. The unique interaction with this fundamental, earth-shaping, powerful elemental force allows kayakers to discover themselves and form unique bonds with nature and each other” (Scharlock, Florian. “The Influence of Whitewater Kayaking on Identity Development”). Whitewater boating is an endeavor in which humans get to interact with the natural world and enjoy the raw power and beauty of our planet. The ability to have this interaction forms a bond between man and river.

One of the beautiful things about rivers is that they are already relatively easy to connect with. While the outdoors can seem foreign and thereby a challenge to enjoy, rivers are already a part of our lives. “A river isn’t only important to the animals who live in it, or the people who boat on it its value reaches to everyone. Even if you’ve never felt the charge of a rapid, or a nimble trout as it slides through your fingers, you’re still connected to the rivers and streams that flow nearby—we all are. Rivers are our main source of clean drinking water, and their economic value, environmental value, and even aesthetic or spiritual values touch each and every American” (Melford, Michael. “Why Do We Need Wild Rivers?”) While those of us from urban environments may be scared to take a step into the woods, rivers are easier to connect to.

Rashid Clifton was born in Charlotte, N.C., and, as a child, always had an affinity for being outside. He found passion in whitewater kayaking at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, which is a series of man-made rapids that allow people to have a natural whitewater experience in an artificial urban environment.

“Jacq Truong, who is now the raft operations manager at the USNWC, taught me how to roll while I was waiting for my carpool one day. The Whitewater Center is really cool because it made it possible to take advantage of the environment right where I live and from there, I got into kayaking because it fully resonated with me. I found a commuFALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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nexgenlife // senior projects nity that was really welcoming, fun, loves the water and loves nature, which is everything I love as well.” (Tenney, Kira. “Unknowns: The River People You May Not Know”).

From his beginnings at the USNWC, Clifton expanded his kayaking horizons into the natural whitewater that North Carolina has to offer and built his own relationship with the natural world. Even for people from urban environments, rivers run deep and have proven themselves to be an excellent window into the natural world for people from all different places.

Since rivers can be so important in connecting us back to the natural world, it would make sense to raise kids with an education system that supports learning about rivers.

However, our current education system doesn’t cut it. “The natural sciences in schools in a traditional curriculum are directed towards the manipulation of the resources, which should not be the case” (Orr, David.

“Some Reflections on Water and Oil”). Orr writes further, suggesting that, “Water and water purification should be built into the architecture and the landscape of educational institutions.” Fresh water is indeed our most precious resource, and will become of even greater importance in the years to come. Orr’s words speak to the value of a curriculum designed around the importance of rivers to us, rather than the manipulation of resources.

It is crucial to learn about rivers because they encompass so much of what we hold dear and are a resource that we absolutely cannot afford to misuse. Learning about rivers means learning about economics, conservation, land use policy, and history.

To start, learning about rivers encompasses learning about economics because rivers are a huge source of national revenue. Recreation alone on the Colorado River generates around $26 billion a year (McBride, Pete, Director.

Chasing Rivers, Part 1: The Colorado). It would be 117th on the Fortune 500 list, ahead of McDonald’s, Starbucks, Visa, Tesla, Netflix, Progressive Insurance, and MGM. For reference, the Bureau of Reclamation, which is the agency that manages all of the federal dams in the nation, generates around $1 billion a year. It would be a big step for us to recognize the monetary value in river recreation, and would certainly deepen our connection and understanding of their value to us elsewhere.

Learning about rivers would incorporate learning about conservation. The two are very closely intertwined, and disputes over dams 40

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and mines are crucial to protecting our fresh water. If fewer people know about the threats posed to rivers, there will be more water pollution and less clean water in a time that clean water will be in the highest demand.

River education will foster a generation that cares for and protects the entire natural world, as rivers are crucial to maintaining healthy ecosystems. “Salmon play an important role in the ecosystem of the region, returning ocean nutrients to the rivers and streams where they were born, feeding wildlife and even the forests with their bodies” (“Salmon Culture of the Pacific Northwest Tribes”).

“When the waters run clear again and their life is restored, we might see ourselves reflected whole” (Orr). When our rivers run

“

[Public access] would foster a generation that is more connected to rivers, a generation that can more intelligently care for them.”

clear, it will be a sure sign that we acknowledge their importance and that we have a special bond with them.

Learning about rivers would also entail learning about land use policy because the allocation of fresh river water has been at the center of some of the biggest river disputes in the past century. Glen Canyon Dam, which now supports Las Vegas at the expense of recreation and biodiversity on the Colorado River, is one example. The Snake River dams, which have a massive surplus of water that goes wasted every year, are another. In this case, that power could just as easily come from the more sustainable options of solar or wind. Both of these examples show that rivers can bring up complicated land use questions.

Learning about rivers would also mean learning how to get involved with land use.

“It’s important that we insist on public access to rivers, safe parks, and other outdoor areas for all communities, urban and rural, big and small. Every child should have a chance to connect with her river and reap all of the benefits of outdoor play” (Kober, Amy. “Three Reasons Families Need Healthy

Rivers”). Every child should absolutely have that right, and giving it to them would foster a generation that is more connected to rivers, a generation that can more intelligently care for them.

Finally, learning about rivers means learning about history because from the beginning of human history, rivers have been present. “Whoever controlled these means of [agricultural] production became the effective ruling class. The common techno-environmental basis in all those ancient Oriental civilizations, giving rise to similar social structures in them, was water control” (Worster, Donald. “Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West”).

Rivers in history have been extremely important to human civilizations. “It is surely no accident that the first civilizations to develop high levels of political centralization, urbanization, and technology were situated in river valleys” (Bulliet, Richard W. et al.“The First River-Valley Civilizations”). In this example, rivers connected people with urban worlds, but the effect goes both ways. Just as rivers allowed people to move from natural environments to urban environments, they can play a key role in assisting our culture in going from urban environments back to natural environments. They have proven to connect the two before, and now we can let them do so again. If we can teach the role of rivers in human history, we can learn how much we need rivers, and thereby incentivize connection with them.

As a society, we underestimate how important rivers are to us, and education is the key to fixing that and repairing our damaged relationship with the natural world. Where rivers have been introduced into school curriculums, there has been success in connecting kids to rivers. In Connecticut, students in the Hartford area did an exercise designed to build understanding of watersheds and water quality. In the end, “The majority of the students found the programs a positive experience. Students stated that they had developed a greater appreciation for science, the rivers in the Hartford area, and the issue of pollution and how it relates to them.” (O’Connell, Suzanne et al. “Connecting Urban Students with Their Rivers Generates Interest and Skills in the Geosciences”). Building this knowledge forms a sense of connection to the natural world, and having students understand how river pollution relates to them is the first step toward healthier rivers and a stronger relationship with the natural world.

Fenn enjoying a side creek of the Colorado River.

Human beings have a strong connection to rivers due to their role in identity development, whether on an individual level or for our entire culture. Rivers are far more important to who we are than most of us can even imagine. “‘What is the meaning of water?’

One might as well ask, ‘What does it mean to be human?’” (Orr). Orr implies that our very being is so closely intertwined with fresh water that they are impossible to separate.

Rivers are fundamental in supporting human life. Not only are they the primary providers of fresh water, which may very well be the most precious resource on the planet, but they also provide a way for people to connect with the natural world and influence human identity. Many people have been lucky enough to enjoy rivers through kayaking, which is something that proves to be a valuable informant on their identities. After a survey by Thompson Rivers University, “The results of the interviews showed that all of the participants’ identities have been affected in some way through their whitewater kayaking experiences.” (Scharlock) It is a deeply human thing to enjoy rivers, and it is a deeply human thing to feel like they are part of your identity. Kayaking happens to bring that out.

“Others have suggested that the social interactions experienced in whitewater kayaking can lead to learning more about a participant’s individual identity” (Whiting, Jason et al.

“Whitewater Kayaking: a Social World Investigation”). This shows that the identity-related benefits of whitewater are being recognized by a wider and wider range of people, which is the first step toward a greater connection to

the natural world.

While personal identity can clearly be influenced by rivers, we also need to recognize and respect rivers’ role in informing larger scale development as well. In civilizational progress, rivers have been critical and should be appreciated for what they have given us.

“Fresh-water access has allowed for health and prosperity, connectivity, and even political power since the dawn of civilization” (Lambla, Cooper. “The Journey of Freshwater: Source to Civilization in Bolivia and Nepal”). The National Geographic Society also elaborates on elements of civilizational development that are informed by rivers: “Rivers provided routes for trade, exploration, and settlement.

The Volga River in eastern Europe allowed Scandinavian and Russian cultures, near the source of the river, to trade goods and ideas with Persian cultures, near the mouth of the Volga in southern Europe. The Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York is named after English explorer Henry Hudson, who used the river to explore what was then the New World” (National Geographic Society.

“River”).

Both Lambla and the National Geographic Society are articulating spokes of our civilizational wheel that rivers have a massive influence on. The Society brings up the point that rivers such as the Hudson allowed cities, massive cultural congregations, to form.

New York is far from alone. Paris, London, Cairo, Karachi, Madrid, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and many others follow the pattern of being built on river banks. In fact, out of the 10 largest cities in the world,

only Istanbul has no river within city limits.

There is no debate that our civilizations were built on river banks, both physically and metaphorically.

If we decided to recognize, to celebrate, to respect, and to appreciate the fact that without rivers, we wouldn’t be living as who we are today, we would be shifting how we see the natural world. If we were to respect the fact that rivers gave us a deeper understanding of the meaning of being human, we would be respecting the natural world in a new way. If we were to emphasize that without rivers we would have limited access to one of our most necessary resources, we would be emphasizing that rivers are a part of how we live. If we were to teach people that running whitewater could have an impact on who they think they are, then we would be teaching people to enjoy the natural world. If we as a culture were to recognize how many of our cities, how much of what we have built has a watery foundation, we would be recognizing that we have a bond with the natural world that has strengthened us. Our bond with the natural world could be made by rivers just as our identities have been.

Respecting, teaching, and recognizing how important rivers are to us would bond us with the natural world.

Right now, we have become inseparable from our own urban worlds. In general, the 80.3 percent of Americans who live in cities are at a place where the natural world seems foreign. The exposure to rivers would feel natural to people, considering how important they are to us, and that exposure could go a long way. In the words of Kurt Fausch, after his first major experience with rivers, “I first realized then, without forming any clear thought, but only feeling, that this was a world I was drawn to understand” (Fausch, Kurt D. “For the Love of Rivers: a Scientist’s Journey”). Through the incorporation of rivers into education, through river recreation, and through the acknowledgement of rivers in identity development, we can cultivate that draw. We can cultivate the special feeling of wonder and curiosity that Fausch describes, and use it to bond with one of the most special resources we possess. “Wild and free rivers are a key metaphor for the human experience” (Melford). If rivers are as impactful of a metaphor as Melford suggests, they would cultivate a powerful bond. We can use rivers as a powerful tool for our very culture in syncing ourselves up with the natural world, and that bond would be a strictly positive experience for us. 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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nexgenlife // senior projects

LILY FITZGERALD

High School Sun Valley Community School Project Title English for Security and Longevity Post-graduation Plans Attending U.C., Berkeley

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N

elson Mandela once said, “The only assurance an African orphan has, without education ... is death.”

Simply put, if an African orphan does not obtain an education, they will not have the ability to escape the poverty in which they exist and their lifespan will likely be far shorter than that of an average person.

For my senior project, I traveled about 60 hours to a compound in Chipulukusu, Ndola, Zambia, and taught English at a day school for orphaned children.

I started my project with the intention of contributing to the essential component that they lack. The greatest limiting factor in African children’s English development is the exposure to the language, particularly in Zambia. It is vital for children to be exposed to English if they are expected to speak it as a second language. Throughout my time in Ndola, I came to realize that, in fact, English is not lacking as a whole. They do have a select number of teachers who speak it.

Rather, they lack an exposure—exposure to a life different from what they are accustomed to seeing, exposure to an English that will offer them hope, and a life that is far beyond anything they’ve witnessed.

The Republic of Zambia is a geographically unique country in the southern part of Africa. It has a population of 14 million people. Ndola, the city where I was teaching, contains about 400,000 people. It is a city rich with diversity and various ethnic and racial groups; however, only 1.5 percent of the population speaks even a little English. There are many reasons why this landlocked country in sub-Saharan Africa has not failed economically, politically, or socially. Surprisingly, Zambia is considered one of Africa’s most stable countries. It does not face some of the brutal realities that are present in other parts of Africa. It is blessed with an abundance of natural resources such as gold, coal, copper, and many others. However, this is not to say that Zambia does not have its own significant challenges. “Not failing” is a very low bar to surpass.

Most of Zambia’s 14 million people live on less than $1 per day, leading to tragedy.

In fact, one local man in Chipulukusu let me know that the average family, a family of about eight, lives on 60 cents per day.

Over 65 percent of the total population

of Zambia lives far below the poverty line.

Food security, education, health, and poverty remain the most urgent and interconnected issues for the entire population. I believe that education is the primary connecting link.

The rising threat of drought due to climate change-related natural disasters and changing global temperatures exacerbates all issues by diminishing the already poor food security and agriculture-based economy.

The Republic of Zambia remains in the top eight countries globally with deaths due to HIV and AIDS. At dinner one night, I met a 23-year-old girl who takes care of her five younger siblings on her own. But this came as no surprise as this scenario stands for most families in Zambia. Nonetheless, I was shocked when we began talking about the epidemic, and she told me that she believes that seven out of every 10 women in Chipulukusu have HIV or AIDS. Luckily, she explained, there are exciting new clinics that have begun to pop up around the country in an attempt to slow the epidemic.

The average age for pregnancy and marriage is between 12 and 16 for girls, so this effort becomes even more crucial. But again, Africans must speak English in order to obtain help from these HIV and AIDS clinics.

Today, the struggling poverty, health, and hunger levels continue to rise, making education a distant dream. But the irony,

and the hope, is that the fundamental cure for these urgent crises is the very thing that is often inaccessible: education. And education, with the end goal of getting students into any workforce, bringing them further away from their current state of poverty, starts with speaking English. Today, it is the language of international communication and remains the most common second language in the world. Research shows that most cross-border communication is governed in English, and there is an explicit expectation that people must have English competency to communicate.

The importance of speaking English is clear. But, how did we get here to begin with? Orphaned children around the world are often a result of previously discussed issues such as unsatisfactory access to health care, education, and aspects of general wellbeing. These problems are generally considered a result of historical global exploitation compounded by social and political inequalities today. However, in the case of orphaned children in Ndola, Zambia has its own story.

And, I am grateful to have experienced it in the way I did.

The New York Times published a story describing the “Abandoned Generation” in Zambia. It reads: “The AIDS epidemic has been raging in Zambia for nearly two decades, and as the deaths pile up, so do the

Opposite page and below: Fitzgerald with students in Zambia

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nexgenlife // senior projects

“

…the fundamental cure for these urgent crises is the very thing that is often inaccessible: education. And education…starts with speaking English.”

orphaned children.” The United Nations says that Zambia has the highest proportion of orphaned children in the world, relative to population. In Zambia, 2 million children per year are being orphaned due to

sexually transmitted diseases. While AIDS is considered preventable in many places, insufficient health services and education lead to high rates of AIDS and AIDSrelated deaths in Zambia. Many people with HIV do not appear to be sick, so it is not apparent who has contracted the disease.

Lastly, AIDS is an immune deficiency; the virus attacks the immune system, making those infected more susceptible to other diseases. So, many AIDS-related deaths are often attributed to other illnesses.

This death rate has resulted in millions of families, whom the children often call their stepfamilies, taking orphaned children into their own homes to keep them alive.

Sadly, these native families in cities like Ndola do not have the funds to support or feed a child in addition to their own. As AIDS and HIV rapidly kill adults every day, more and more children are left homeless;

Fitzgerald practices conversational English with her students.

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thus, they are broke and have no access to basic life necessities like food and water, let alone healthcare and education. The cycle continues.

In 2005, a Zambian man named Emil Makuka partnered with a Sun Valley local, Peter Dubonne, to reach out to the vulnerable children of Ndola, Zambia.

Together, Makuka and Dubonne found over 300 children living in a garage just big enough for two cars. These children had no financial support. They had no sustenance, no clothing, no school, no medicine, no clean water—no one who cared. They had absolutely no hope for their lives. So, the pair decided to dedicate their lives to creating a school in the compound of Chipulukusu, which, in Bemba the language of Zambia, directly means worthless.

Makuka was raised in Ndola and remains within the minority who graduated

Fitzgerald with Emil Makuka, one of the founders of the school in Ndola, Zambia.

from university. Makuka and Dubonne cared; they intended to break the cycle.

They created The Mapalo (meaning “Blessing,” rather than worthless, in Bemba) Morning Glow Academy. The academy supplies 400 students with a meal every day, has one freshwater well, and gives the orphans an education and hope for the future. The Morning Glow Academy follows the traditional African model of a non-residential orphanage and school.

Without the academy, hundreds of children would still be starving, still fighting for education and well-being, and still facing a life without aim. Times are slowly changing.

The English that the children are learning will allow for opportunity that otherwise would not exist. It will allow for a continual education, a future in any workforce, an understanding of disease and poverty, and an expanded commitment to empower young people who deserve all that is out there. I have created a film that is meant to share my experience, but more importantly, share the students’. I hope that this film gives you the opportunity to understand and see the community for all that it is: both good and bad. And, most importantly, show the reason that your next “I have to” or “I need to” should start with an “I get to.” 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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nexgenlife // senior projects

LANDON PASCHALL

High School The Sage School Project Title On the Allure of the Mountains Post-graduation Plans Attending the University of Colorado, Boulder

Paschall’s project took him to the highest mountains in the world.

T

he irrational drive of mountaineering creates a heightened self-awareness and sublime experiences due to its association with risk and challenge in vast landscapes. Climbing mountains in the form of recreation is easily considered to be innately unwise and irrational as it has no utilitarian use and can be extraordinarily difficult, dangerous, and painful. The argument for the irrationality and absurdity of mountaineering is certainly easier to make than the contrary. Many mountaineers have elaborated on “finding themselves” or “discovering their true nature” in the mountains. Many mountaineers who have

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lost limbs or experienced events involving great risk attest to significant personal transformations. In less critical scenarios, mountaineers report strong feelings of identity and clarity when in situations where great attention and care is needed.

One of the allures of spending time in high alpine environments through experiences of stress and challenge is their tendency to build willpower, strength of mind and spirit, and feelings of great personal growth or achievement. However, these experiences rarely come without hardship. This can include close encounters with frostbite, loss of limb or the death of yourself or a companion.

Ironically, it is commonly reported by mountaineers that a great sense of being alive is achieved when they are close to death.

Mountain literature in the past century has no lack of depiction of beauteous landscapes and the feelings they bring, or even the necessity of their presence in one’s life.

Experiences associated with vastness, such as outer space, oceans, and mountains, bring us feelings described as being akin to interactions with higher powers. This emotion is often described as “the sublime” and is a feeling of purity and admiration.

These emotions, commonly realized when experiencing the grandeur of the

mountains, are likely the greatest allure to mountaineering.

It should be noted that in this paper I am elaborating solely about experienced mountaineers: the select few people who passionately seek high alpine mountaintops as their primary effort in life. On the psychology of mountaineering, there is no easy answer. The discussion more often than not leads us to the question of why. As famed climber Tenzing Norgay once said, “Nothing made sense about it … Any man in his right mind would have said no. But I couldn’t say no, for in my heart I needed to go, and the pull of Everest was stronger for me than any force on earth” (Breashears, David. “Why Do People Climb Everest?

The Roof Of the World As a Window Into Human Nature”).

Many describe the allure of mountains as if there is some force of gravity pulling them in, and great willpower is needed to resist. This emotion is a form of the allure of the mountains. Evidently, there is no such physical force, but the account is so common that there must be some authenticity to the claim.

It’s not a surprise that people who don’t climb mountains can’t understand why people would devote their lives to reach high alpine mountaintops. What is surprising is that mountaineers themselves cannot easily, if at all, put their finger on the reasoning behind their recreation. Social scientist George Loewenstein writes, “Once a mountaineer has set his sights on a peak, the goal of making the summit becomes detached from rational calculations about the cost of achieving the goal. Mountaineers are well aware of the difficulty of relinquishing their summit ambitions even when abandonment of the goal is strongly merited” (Loewenstein, George. “Because It Is There: The Challenge of Mountaineering ... for Utility Theory.”) The goals that mountains represent seem to become less about the physical challenge and more about the irrational need to climb perceived mountains of the mind.

Evidently, the argument is far easier to be made for the irrationality and even the insanity of mountaineering than for its coherence. But, “as is often the case with things that seem insane ... there may well be some deeper sanity in it.” (Breashears).

One theory with substantial advocacy is

that several weeks or months following an expedition, the participants often cannot recall certain unpleasant events that transpired with adequate depth. That’s not to say they cannot remember the experience in general, rather, they cannot always recall the specific hardships of their travels or the fear and doubt that they felt. To this point, Loewenstein writes: “Mountaineers cannot themselves remember the miseries of climbing, this helps explain why they keep returning for more.” All that remained was the stunning view, how fulfilling it felt to stand on the summit, and the anticipated return to comfort and safety.

But when considering why mountaineers do what they do, we must consider why, in fact, any of us do what we do. If asked the question, would any of us find it any less difficult to explain the reasoning behind our recreation? Climber Lou Kasischke posed the

“

Climbing mountains in the form of recreation is easily considered to be innately unwise and irrational…” question: “Why would anyone ever want to climb Mount Everest? My standard answer was not very convincing, even to me…

How does anybody ever really know why we do what we do?” (Breashears). The reality is that all of us do things that may seem irrational to the outside viewer, sometimes even to ourselves. As climber and writer Jon Krakauer put it: “Most climbers aren’t in fact deranged, they’re just infected with a particularly virulent strain of the Human Condition.” (Breashears). Mountaineering may seem insane at first glance, but, when the topic is navigated, we all can relate to the irrationality of sport.

Mountaineers are often the test subjects of these curiosities. For example, if a football player was asked to argue for the rationality of his sport, I can only assume he would

have great difficulty, as there is no utilitarian use for running across a field and hitting people to transport a ball.

The epiphanies of identity and self-awareness that can come from mountaineering are a strong allure of the sport. Heightened experiences such as risk, challenge, or mastery over environment and self in mountaineering can inspire subtle, or even transcendent, change in people who experience it. “The Buddhist monk of Tibet may declare ‘Why climb so far when with one bound my spirit can tread in peace and serenity what your feet must win so painfully?’ But we in the West believe that it is only through our physical as well as mental selves, through toil, struggle, difficulty, and danger, that we discover the true worth of the spirit, and that to rise superior to his environment is the greatest privilege of man’” (Lester, James. “Spirit, Identity, and Self in Mountaineering”).

Mountaineering accounts are laden with self-discovery due to struggle and risk in the mountains. There is something about being exposed in natural environments that inspires a heightened sense of identity. “The stresses of high-altitude climbing reveals your true character; they unmask who you really are. You no longer have all the social graces to hide behind, to play roles. You are the essence of what you are” (Breashears).

Mountaineering often necessitates participants to push themselves to the extremes of their physical and psychological capacities to achieve their goals. Interestingly, that is part of the allure of mountains, likely due to the benefits reaped from the hardships involved with the mountains and the challenge summits represent.

“One needs to have some appreciation of the hardships of mountaineering, which are amply catalogued in the mountaineering literature. They include relentless cold (often leading to frostbite and loss of extremities, or death), exhaustion, snow-blindness, sunburn, altitude sickness, sleeplessness, squalid conditions, hunger, fear, and realization of that fear (in the form of accidents)” (Loewenstein). Going through conditions such as these, people change, stirring a greater appreciation of mortality and a reevaluation of priorities in their lives. “We are not proud enough of being alive” (Loewenstein). The change that is experienced, however, can take many forms. Maurice Herzog, The first FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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man to climb an 8,000-meter peak, who lost several fingers and parts of his hands and feet to gangrene, reported a quite unexpected result of his injuries. The ordeal, he said, “has given me the assurance and serenity of a man who has fulfilled himself. It has given me the rare joy of loving that which I used to despise. A new and splendid life has opened up before me” (Loewenstein). Of course, it doesn’t always turn out this way. It has been reported that mountaineers can experience little to no fear during times of extreme risk and toil. However, several days later, in a safe environment, they reported feeling petrifying and crippling fear for long periods of time.

One of the greatest and most alluring feelings of identity mountaineers can feel is due to an ability to feel safe or in control in situations of severe danger or risk. Famed climber Reinhold Messner once said, “To be alone and trusting in my own abilities gave me a strong feeling of identity” (Lester, James. “Spirit, Identity, and Self in Mountaineering”). These emotional epiphanies typically come only after safety or summit is achieved and are partially due to acute mental clarity. In my findings, situations in the backcountry—especially in frigid temperatures that necessitate all your attention—clear the mind more than a year’s meditation. Once safety and comfort is achieved, the mind effortlessly makes heightened realizations about identity and the true nature of the self.

Motives behind the relationship between mountaineering and the self aren’t exclusive to discovery, nor mastery over environment.

“Inherent in every virile man is the desire to rise superior not only to his environment, but to himself ” (Lester). Mountaineers seek not only discovering the true nature of the self, they seek to improve it. The mountains offer battlegrounds for the spirit, in which your will is put against the elements and itself. Some go mad, some acquire chronic fear, and some achieve lasting peace and happiness following their expeditions. With every expedition one becomes stronger-willed, more experienced, and with this a person bears more respect among his peers and abroad. “One of the most common remarks in climbing accounts has to do with feeling in touch with something not just stronger, but better within one’s self in the mountains— purer, more honest, more authentic we would 48

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Paschall explored the motivations and experiences of climbers who face great physical and mental adversity in attaining their goals.

say today” (Lester). There is a great lust for the triumph of the greater self over the deemed lower self.

Hardship in mountaineering seems to have qualities that support strong feelings of personal prosperity. The evident truth here is that physically climbing mountains has great connection to climbing mountains of the mind. This may explain why mountaineers are so inherently goal oriented.

As Sir Edmund Hillary put it: “It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves” (Parks, Rosa. “Sir Edmund Hillary, Conqueror of Mount Everest”). The opportunities to summit physical mountains as a means to climb mountains of the mind can carry great appeal for many.

Another allure of the mountains is the sublime emotions we experience in the grandeur of their vast nature. Mountains have long been realized as places of great beauty.

However, mountaineers have reported feelings far greater than a simple charm of appeal.

“Whereas the beautiful in nature is bound by a definite form, the sublime is evoked by the formlessness and unboundedness of the object of experience” (BÜYÜKTUNCAY, Mehmet.

“John Muir and the Natural Sublime In The Yosemite”). Sublime, as an adjective, is

defined as being “of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe.” Mountaineers’ relationship with the sublime is through experiencing great vastness, which the towering mountains administer without repent. “The discovery of space through the invention of the telescope allowed new avenues for people to appreciate God. Thinking about the vastness of space, oceans, and mountains allowed people similar feeling to experiencing deities in a lens of the unknown and mysterious. These developments led to the concept of the sublime. Mountains, the sea, and all things vast becoming examples of the sublime and thus considered as ‘triggers for the highest and purest feelings’” (Lester). The mountains hold great weight in this regard as there are few things that make you feel smaller and command more admiration than mountains.

Being a little speck looking up at the grandeur of great peaks can make one feel as if in the presence of the gods.

It is because of this that mountains are mentioned over 500 times in the Old Testament. In fact, mountains are deemed as being holy in many religions perhaps because they are seen as being closer to God. “In the ‘esthetic of the infinite’ the value of vastness

home and soft bed, all they want is more.

Mountaineering is irrational. So is the Tour de France, skydiving, and football. Charley Mace, who has climbed the highest summit in each continent, had a far simpler answer than all this, “It just feels right.”

Mountaineers gain sought after feelings of identity in the mountains as well.

“According to Taylor, the ‘search for self in order to come to terms with oneself … has become one of the fundamental themes of our modern culture’” (Davidson, Lee. “A Mountain Feeling: The Narrative Construction of Meaning And Self Through A Commitment To Mountaineering In Aotearoa, New Zealand.”).

However, the allure of the identity gained from mountains is more subtle than all this. It’s the feelings mountaineers get when they feel confident and comfortable in their own abilities to keep themselves safe even in extreme danger. There is something innately revealing of one’s true nature in experiences such as these. Simply being in the mountains brings heightened feelings of purity and admiration of the landscape, which is described as the sublime.

Feelings of the sublime are experienced from the great vastness and grandeur of the mountains and can leave one feeling dwarfed by such magnitude. The beauty of memories regarding sublime experiences in the mountains can be an irresistible allure, despite any hardship. When a mountaineer wakes up after an extremely harsh and dangerous night and steps out his tent to see a sunrise over the Himalayas, my words could not do the experience justice.

It is the purest and highest feeling on this earth for many, and some could not live happily without the mountains and any associated recreation. In truth, part of the allure of the mountains lies in the hardships and challenges that manifest themselves in summiting mountains. The hardships of the mountains translate to the hardships in other aspects of life. Mountaineers seek mountaintops, because at the top of each mountain is a new version of himself—one of greater will, richer spirit, and one that is rid of all thoughts besides the unequalled beauty of the rising sun on the mountains.

The greatest allure of the mountains, for many, is the person that they will shape you to be. 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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was that it produced an “expansion of the soul” (Lester). Mountaineers and Buddhist monks alike seek to improve their spirit and will, and both find it in the sublime experiences of the vast mountains of the Himalayas. Many mountaineers will seek inner council and peace of mind in sublime feeling found in mountains.

All who spend great amounts of time in mountains understand the undeniable admiration for their environment. The mountains are not a forgiving environment.

One must acquire certain skills to survive here. Depending on your activities in the mountains, the danger that comes with them can be quite extreme, yet for many there is great peace in mountains. “How great are the advantages of solitude! How sublime is the silence of nature’s ever-active energies! There is something in the very name of wilderness that charms the ear, and soothes the spirit of man. There is religion in it” (Nash, Roderick.

“Wilderness And The American Mind”).

The romanticism behind mountains has been explored for centuries, and demonstrated in art, poetry, and writing. “Further down the line we get Byron and Shelly, preoccupied with the solitary wanderer, a creature alienated from the customary world seeking ‘strange truths and undiscovered lands’” (Lester). The spread of romanticism in mountains through different art forms is part of what has put mountains in such a glimmering light—as opposed to being a curse on humanity, that which it was thought of in the Middle Ages.

And the sublime nature of mountains, which had not been broadly realized in those times, is greatly to thank for this revolution.

To sum things up, mountaineering does not seem like a logically enjoyable thing to do. But when considering why mountaineers choose to climb mountains, we must consider what they gain from all of it. In truth, mountaineers don’t enjoy every second of their expeditions. In fact, they may not enjoy them at all. Many mountaineers describe climbing Everest as a test of how much pain you can endure. Yet they keep doing it, because what they gain and what they remember of their expeditions is too tantalizing to resist. The feeling they achieve upon summiting completely washes away the fear that they weren’t going to make it or the piercing cold they fought through the night before. Once they are back in their warm

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For his senior project at Sun Valley Community School, Diehl went to Nashville to learn about recording music.

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HUNTER DIEHL High School Sun Valley Community School Project Title Music City Madness—More Than a Melody Post-graduation Plans Basic Cadet Training, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

I

walk into Legends Studio. The first image I recognize is a wall with the names and album covers of legends such as Lee Brice, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard. I hear the tapping on the engineer’s keyboard as he begins to open a new project for each of my songs about to be recorded, and I’m filled with nothing but excitement. I meet the studio musicians, show them my acoustic tracks, and they go into the sound room and start. Out of nowhere, I get thrown into the vocal booth, and the drummer exclaims “One, two, three, four… ” Music has always been an important part of my life, not just because of good songs or the pleasure of writing one, but because it is an outlet that allows me to find bigger things than myself. I have been able to cope with issues pertaining to more than myself. And, I have been able to put my own feelings into words. Writing music is a unique experience for every song written, as each one is different from another. New stories, experiences, and wisdom are seen in each, and this is why I have found a strong love for writing songs and music itself. The lyrics and melodies in songs are what set songs apart. Jason Blume, journalist for Broadcast Music Incorporated, explains that these two components are what make songs famous. He writes: “A new angle—a fresh way of expressing a topic that millions of listeners relate to coupled with unique lines of lyric can be the bait that hooks in an audience. Finding new ways to express ourselves becomes even more critical when writing about topics such as love and physical attraction, subjects that are

frequently addressed in songs. Songs that rise above the competition rarely do so with lyrics that are predictable or cliché.”

This quote explains how songs need to be “fresh” and “different” in order to become famous. And, when done correctly, the combination of unique lyrics and melodies brings about real topics in unparalleled ways, making particular songs relatable to listeners.

The importance of connecting with listeners is what allows songs to gain traction and therefore be seen as new and popular.

For me, music comes naturally. There is a feeling that comes from music that allows us as humans to decompress and refresh ourselves. The Pfizer medical team writes, “The brain actually releases a chemical called dopamine that has positive effects on mood … According to some researchers, music may even have the power to improve our health and well-being.” This shows how we may actually be healthier when exposed to more music that relates to our mood. Music has always given me an outlet to escape personal troubles, while also being an area that I have a passion for. This idea seems to translate to all musicians such as those I met at Legends Studio. Their level of confidence and talent seemed to stem directly from their jobs as people who play music eight hours a day, five days a week.

I hadn’t thought that the second day of my project would turn out to be so monumental to my experience, but once I stepped foot in the vocal booth, my music came to life when I was in the company of such a high level of talent that the studio musicians encompassed. Many describe this part of music as magical, and it truly was, as my ears are still ringing from the allure of hearing my songs turned into masterpieces. And, in speaking with those in business positions of the music industry, I found that this business contains myriads of people all working for one musician or band. “It is like a bike wheel where the spokes, the managers, producers, lawyers, marketing agents, etc., all lead to the center of the wheel, known as the artist,” explains talent manager Zac Koffler. The music industry is unlike any other as the diversity of positions involved all require talent, hard work, and time, which is what I learned on my journey to discover how music is made, and how a song comes from a small town to a big time hit. 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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LEAF PEEPING SUN VALLEY STYLE Fall hikes to see the colors

BY K AREN BOSSICK

T

he East gets all the hype when it comes to fall colors. But fall in Sun Valley is golden.

Yellow cottonwood leaves drift onto the creek that runs past the Hemingway Memorial. Fiery orange and red aspen leaves

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dancing in the breeze contrast with the royal blue skies above. And the yellow shimmering on the clear Big Wood River is enough to give fishermen fall-blindness.

It’s as if Mother Nature has taken a brush to the trees, infusing them with a painter’s palette of yellow, orange, red and sometimes even magenta. The air is crisp and

invigorating. Fall showers have settled the dust. And the foliage on fire acts as nature’s chill pill.

“When we get that first snow and the aspen turn to red and orange, it’s just magical.

It’s the gradual unfolding of summer into fall,” said Ketchum District Ranger Kurt Nelson.

“The cool dry air that accompanies our falls—there’s something about it,” added Ann Parry, Ketchum resident and leader of bird watching outings for the Environmental Resource Center.

You don’t have to go far, nor do you have to breathe hard, to gorge on fall foliage in Sun Valley. Here are four easy hikes in which to indulge yourself:

PHOTO: R AY J. GADD

The Proctor Mountain Trail framed by yellow aspens.

1

LAKE CREEK TRAILS The Vamps and Dons who do fall dry-land training in the Lake Creek area

don’t have to run fast to get their heart pounding. A mere look at the groves of trees decked out in various shades of color will set the heart pulsating on its own. Drive north out of Ketchum on Highway 75 and turn off at the newly paved Lake Creek parking lot on the left. Cross the footbridge, jog up the hill and turn right onto the Riverside Trail, which parallels the Big Wood River. The trail will lead you up the hill where you can gorge on still more fall colors before looping back to the trailhead.

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CORRAL CREEK Towering aspen closes in on hikers here offering respite from the warm

Indian summer sun. Drive out Sun Valley Road and park at the parking lot just north of Boundary Creek campground. Follow this trail to the northeast until it crosses on a bridge over Trail Creek to a sagebrushcovered flat on the other side. The trail continues east through aspen stands to a sheep corral where you can turn around.

On the way back, you will find plenty of aspen color along Trail Creek Road; look for the amazing orange tree on the other side of the road.

3

PROCTOR MOUNTAIN TRAIL This hike is framed in yellow that looks particularly dynamic when backlit by

the morning sun. Drive east from Sun Valley

Centrally located in the middle of America’s

best wild trout fishing

Resort on Trail Creek Road. Park at the parking lot for the Hemingway Memorial just before the turnoff for Trail Creek Cabin.

Follow the trail downhill, skirting the Sun Valley Golf Course, not forgetting to check out all the golden aspen dotting the golf course. Cruise around the rocky knob and head up the trail.

4

HYNDMAN PEAK TRAIL This trail offers gorgeous color from the get-go. Drive south from Ketchum

on Highway 75 for 5.5 miles and turn left onto East Fork Road. Drive for another seven miles, turning left onto Hyndman Creek Road. Follow this five more miles to the end of the road. The bonus? You pass some pretty stunning stands of color

Fly fish Montana’s fabled rivers and private-access streams with pro guides, experience well-appointed riverside cabins and enjoy first-class dining — all in a

enroute. From the parking lot, cross the creek on a footbridge and follow the trail through open meadows and aspen groves.

place that couldn’t be farther from big city frenzy.

The color is particularly beautiful in the thicker stands of trees. Many people end their fall hikes three miles in when the trail meets up with the creek. By that time, you will have feasted on plenty of color.

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getoutthere // sheep dog trials

ON THE RUN

B Y B R YA N T D U N N

I

daho folklore suggests that, in the 1860s, John Hailey herded the first flock of sheep through the Wood River Valley.

The namesake of Blaine County’s most populous town was a pioneer in an industry that largely would come to define the region three quarters of a century before Sun Valley came to be recognized as America’s first destination ski resort and the advent of the chairlift on Ruud and Proctor mountains.

At that time, Idaho’s sheep population numbered approximately 14,000 rams, ewes and lambs. By 1890, that number had grown to over 600,000; by 1918, well over 2.5 million sheep roamed the valleys and mountains of Idaho, nearly six times the human population of the burgeoning state. In fact, it was not until the 1970 54

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U.S. Census that the human population finally outnumbered sheep in Idaho due to a significant decline in the sheep ranching industry.

As many non-native Idahoans relocated to the Wood River Valley in the latter part of the 20th century, conflicts between local flocks and recreationists increased. Local sheepherding families such as the Peaveys and Laidlaws realized that such conflicts threatened the industry that had been their family’s lifeblood for generations. In an effort to educate the evolving community about the historical, cultural, and economic importance of sheep ranching, the Trailing of the Sheep Festival was born.

Twenty-three years later, from Oct. 9 – 13, thousands of visitors and locals alike will enjoy a multifaceted celebration that features the Trailing of the Sheep parade through

downtown Ketchum, culinary exhibitions, the annual Wool Fest, a sheepherders Q and A, the Sheep Tales storytelling gathering, and, one of the highlights of the festival, the Sheepdog Trials.

In this nationally sanctioned event, handlers using crooks and sheep dog whistles team up with their canine counterparts to drive sheep through a challenging course of gates, posts and pens in an attempt to score the most points. If successful, competing teams may qualify for the national championships.

The history of sheepdog herding goes back to the United Kingdom and Ireland many centuries ago where local populations depended on sheep as a primary source of food for the table and fiber for the loom.

Once emigrants had relocated to the New World, sheep ranching was a natural

COURTESY TR AILING OF THE SHEEP FESTIVAL / K AT SMITH

Sheepdog trials in the Wood River Valley

FROM LEF T: COURTESY TR AILING OF THE SHEEP FESTIVAL / MIKE PAT TERSON, K AT SMITH AND FL AVIU GRUMA ZESCU

To see more photos, or to sponsor a dog, visit trailingofthesheep.org/dogs

profession to pursue in the wide-open landscapes of the West.

Additionally, and somewhat ironically, members of the Basque culture of the Pyrenees Mountains and Bay of Biscayne of northern Spain were integral to the history of sheepherding in Idaho. Sheep ranching was not common in their homeland; in fact, “Basques were fishermen and whale hunters, not sheepherders,” Xole Uranga, Sheepdog Trials coordinator for the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, explained. But Basques were known to be hard working and dependable and were thus trustworthy stewards for the valuable flocks in their newfound homeland.

The history of the Basques in Idaho is well documented, and families like the Cenarrusas, Guerrys, Urangas, Oxarangos and Etcheverrys, among others, have deep roots in local communities across the state.

The Trailing of the Sheep Sheepdog Trials organized and overseen by the United States Border Collie Handlers’ Association (USBCHA) and one of the most important events of the year-round season. The field of competitors here is larger than that at most competitions across the country. In addition, the event is highly respected due to the wild nature of the sheep that are driven from the local mountains only days before

the competition. As a result, they are much more challenging to manipulate and drive effectively than are the generally tamer sheep used in most other competitions.

The trials begin with dogs and handlers poised to address a small flock of four or five sheep in an open field. The first stage of the event is known as the “outrun” where the dog gauges his woolly targets and positions himself 12 to 20 feet behind, attempting not to disturb or split up the group.

Next, and perhaps the most important moment of the drive work, is to execute the “lift,” which is when the sheepdog identifies the leader of the flock. This will define much of his or her decision-making throughout the challenging remainder of the event. “If the dog starts well, things will probably go well. If it starts wild, it gets pretty wild,” said Kelly Ware, USBCHA trial coordinator.

Following the lift, the sheepdog will then execute the “fetch” in which the dog herds the sheep at a manageable pace toward the handler and fetch panels—small barriers that act as a gate. Sheep must be driven in a straight line toward the handler then redirected around a post in a tight group toward the driveway panels. The driveway panels are separated by a 21-foot corridor through which the sheep are driven toward

the cross-drive panels. Once the flock has been driven through the cross-drive panels, they will then be driven into a circular chalk circle known as the shedding circle. At this point, the sheepdog will demonstrate the “shed” by separating one or two sheep from the flock, then will drive the flock into a 10-by-10-foot pen as the handler opens the gate for the oncoming sheep. 2

dates&info 2019 National Point Qualifying Sheepdog Trials Friday through Sunday, October 11-13 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Quigley Canyon Field, Hailey ($5.00/person entrance fee at the door; children under five are free)

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getoutthere // calendar

FALL

2019EVENTS

MOVIES IN THE PARK Sept. 26, 2019

Bringing community together to enjoy free showings of classic, feature-length films under the stars. Showing 9/26: “A League of Their Own.” Forest Service Park, Ketchum. 9-11 p.m.

Baldy Hill Climb

MUSIC IN TOWN SQUARE Sept. 27, 2019

Summer and winter in the Wood River Valley are spectacular in their individual ways. Often overlooked, though is the fall, which has its special beauty, too. It used to be a “slack” season. No more. The weather is usually clear and warm, and the activities and events are plentiful— both those outdoor and indoor. Here we have collected a few of the highlight events of what many longtime residents consider their favorite season of the year.

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WOOD RIVER FARMERS’ MARKETS Sept. 19, 24, 26, 2019

The Wood River Farmers’ Markets offer seasonally available and locally grown and raised fruits, vegetables, eggs, sheep, goat, and cow cheeses, organic cuts of beef, chicken and lamb, fresh herbs, plant starts for your garden, and prepared foods. Ketchum Market on Tuesdays at River Run. Hailey Market on Thursdays, Main Street, Hailey. 2-6 p.m. wrfarmersmarket.org

‘CRY IT OUT’ Sept. 25 – Oct. 12, 2019

The Family We Find: Cooped up on maternity leave and eager for conversation, Jessie invites the funny and forthright Lina for coffee in their neighboring backyards. They become fast friends, quickly bonding over their shared “new mom” experience — and arousing the interest of a wealthy neighbor hoping for a similar connection. Presented by Company of Fools. Liberty Theatre, Hailey. 7:30 p.m. sunvalleycenter.org

Weekly concert featuring a variety of artists and genres presented by the City of Ketchum.

Ketchum Town Square. 5-8 p.m. visitsunvalley.com

BALDY HILL CLIMB Sept. 28, 2019

The Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) hosts the annual Baldy Hill Climb. This fundraiser for the SVSEF is a fun but grueling hike/run up the Warm Springs ski run on Bald Mountain. Participants climb 3,200 feet over 1.9 miles. Fitness freaks take on the Cheeso Double, which involves two trips to the top, one on bike and the other on foot. baldyhillclimb.com

TRAILING OF THE SHEEP FESTIVAL Oct. 9-13, 2019

Enjoy this five-day celebration of sheepherding life and culture. Events include the sheepdog trials, a folk life fair, cooking classes, live music, and, of course, the trailing of the sheep down Main Street, Ketchum and Quigley Canyon, Hailey. trailingofthesheep.org

BALDY HILL CLIMB: COURTESY SVSEF / JULIA SEYFERTH DANCERS : COURTESY TR AILING OF THE SHEEP FESTIVAL / STEVE DONDERO

Trailing of the Sheep Festival

You have the

energy and money.

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TIP:

Just a few degrees makes a big difference in energy savings! Adjust your thermostat as low as comfort allows.

For more energy-saving tips and programs, visit:

idahopower.com/save

SUN VALLEY MAGAZINE BY, FOR and ABOUT people who love Sun Valley.

gardEning with kids | hiking with dogs | outdoor advEnturEs

DREAM WEDDINGS | ROUNDING UP IDAHO RODEOS | PARAGLIDING | SHOPPING

Spring/Summer 2013

magazine

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Summer/Fall 2013

for the future of Sun Valley

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outdoor fEvEr 22 useful tips for parents 11 local superstars 10 rainy day ideas 3 camp recipes

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High Flying Adventures of Miles Daisher Mackay Keeps its Old West Character Honoring Idaho Artist Rod Kagan

summer camps

yoga & dance FOR KIDS AND TEENS

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getoutthere // calendar

AN EVENING WITH KEB’ MO’

TURKEY TROT 5K

Oct. 10, 2019

Held on the morning of Thanksgiving each year, this great community event brings out over 650 participants to run, walk & stroll the beautiful 5K course through the Draper Preserve in Hailey.

It’s the perfect way to burn off some calories before you stuff yourself silly! haileyidaho.com

It all took off for Keb’ Mo’ in 1994 with the selftitled release under his newly coined Keb’ Mo’ moniker, and over the years, he has proven that he is a musical force that defies typical genre labels. Album after album, 14 in total, garnered him four GRAMMY awards and a producer/ engineer/artist GRAMMY Certificate for his track on the 2001 Country Album of the Year.

The Argyros. 7 p.m. svcenter.org.

Keb’ Mo’

Nov. 28, 2019

SVGA GALLERY WALKS Nov. 29 & Dec. 27, 2019

The Sun Valley Gallery Association hosts evenings of art and discussion at Ketchum’s many world-class galleries. Artists are often in attendance. Enjoy a glass of wine and discuss the latest in the art world. svgalleries.org

SUNS HOCKEY Dec. 2019 – March 2020

The Sun Valley Suns host games at the Sun Valley Ice Rink and the Campion Ice House. The games, with teams from Jackson, Park City, Bozeman and Boulder, are always exciting. sunvalleysunshockey.com

‘MISS BENNETT: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLY’ Dec. 11-29, 2019

SUN VALLEY JAZZ AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

Gallery Walk, Kneeland Gallery

The ever-dependable Mary Bennet is growing tired of her role as dutiful middle sister in the face of her siblings’ romantic escapades. When the family visits for Christmas, an unexpected guest sparks Mary’s hopes for independence, an intellectual match — and possibly even love?

Liberty Theatre, Hailey. sunvalleycenter.org

WOOD RIVER HOLIDAY CONCERT Dec. 15, 2019

Join the Wood River Orchestra for its annual holiday concert! Free. Church of the Bigwood, Ketchum. 4-5:30 p.m. wrcorchestra.org

SUN VALLEY NORDIC FESTIVAL Jan. 29, 2019 – Feb. 2, 2020

The Nordic Festival is a four-day event culminating in the world-famous Boulder Mountain Tour, 34- and 15-kilometer Nordic races through stunning terrain. The festival features clinics, town races, and other fun events. nordictownusa.com

Oct. 16-20, 2019

Jazz lovers from all over the country make the journey to Sun Valley for the annual celebration of an original American musical genre. This year the festival offers 40 bands and over 200 musicians playing vintage jazz, contemporary jazz, cabaret jazz, swing, Western swing, big band, zydeco, gypsy jazz, and blues. sunvalleyjazz.com

WILD GAME DINNER Nov. 15, 2019

Join the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation for its biggest fundraiser of the year in the Limelight Room of the Sun Valley Inn. The fundraiser features an elegant dinner, silent and live auctions, and live entertainment. svsef.org

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The Black Market Trust, set to perform at this year’s Sun Valley Jazz and Music Festival

FAMILY OF WOMAN FILM FESTIVAL Feb. 26 – March 3, 2020

The Family of Woman Film Festival was established to raise awareness about the work the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is doing as a leading global agency working to ensure all females have access to education, reproductive health care, and basic human rights. Five documentaries and dramatic films are featured each year highlighting women in societies around the world. familyofwomanfilmfestival.org

COURTESY SUN VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

This year’s celebrity guest speakers to be announced soon

SUN VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL March 18-22, 2020

The festival offers avant-garde independent films, mixed media shorts, premieres and discussions with filmmakers and screenwriters. sunvalleyfilmfestival.org

JANSS CUP PRO-AM CLASSIC April 3-5, 2020

Join the fun as amateur and pro skiers compete in a fun-filled race series peppered with social events. Costumes and fast skiing are paramount. svsef.org

SUN VALLEY WELLNESS FESTIVAL June 26-29, 2020

The Sun Valley Wellness Festival is an annual gathering of the top speakers and practitioners of mind, body, spirit and environmental wellness. sunvalleywellness.org

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CHARLES BR ANDT: R AY J. GADD

Charles Brandt is the author of “I Heard You Paint Houses,” which is the basis for a new Netflix movie by Martin Scorsese.

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AN UNLIKELY ALLIANCE

INVESTIGATOR CHARLES BRANDT, MAFIA ENFORCER FRANK “THE IRISHMAN” SHEERAN, AND THE JIMMY HOFFA MURDER

BY L AURIE SAMMIS

C

harles Brandt is not what you would expect.

Brandt’s long legal career as a homicide investigator, prosecutor and chief deputy attorney general of Delaware would conjure an image of a steely, hardened man with little mirth. His tenure at the latter post in the 1970s witnessed some of the worst rates of violent crime in the nation, and Brandt personally investigated or prosecuted over 55 murder cases. But Brandt seems to carry little of those days with him now. Affable and warm, he is sincere, yet quick witted, keenly observant, and prone to spontaneous eruptions into song, usually singing small snippets of show tunes from the 1950s or his favorite Perry Como tune.

Recognized as an expert in interrogation and cross-examination, Brandt taught interrogation techniques to police officers and crossexamination to other trial lawyers but is perhaps most well-known for his 2004 release, “I Heard You Paint Houses,” a No. 1 New York Times bestseller that offers the biography and confession of Mafia hit man Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran. The book exposes the inside story of the Mafia and one of America’s most famous murder cases—the disappearance and murder of legendary Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa on July 30, 1975.

Hoffa’s body was never found, and his fate has been speculated about for decades in one of the world’s most famous missing persons cases. Theories exist about his body having been cremated, crushed by a 40-cubic-yard trash compactor, shredded in a chicken slaughterhouse, buried on a farm in Michigan, placed in a 50-gallon drum that was set on fire before being crushed and sold as scrap metal, and most famously, shot and dismembered, then frozen and buried in cement under the old Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

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These are not exactly bedtime stories, and yet, Brandt sat with Frank Sheeran, Hoffa’s confessed killer and a Mafia hit man attributed with over 25 to 30 murders, almost daily for nearly five years gathering material for his book. The book was released in 2004 (with a second printing with 57 pages of additional material in 2016), the year after Sheeran died at age 83, and is now being made into a Netflix original movie directed by Martin Scorsese to be released this fall. The film stars Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci; Academy Award-winning screenplay writer Steve Zaillian wrote the screenplay.

The movie was optioned back in 2009 and has been in the works for almost a decade, with the release pushed back at least twice to accommodate new material. Some of the new material was withheld by Brandt because he feared for his life and couldn’t release it while the principals were still alive.

Brandt—the grandson of Italian immigrants Rosa and Luigi DiMarco, who were illiterate, and the son of parents whose schooling stopped at the eighth grade due to family finances—began his career as a junior high English teacher in Queens and welfare investigator in East Harlem before applying to and graduating from Brooklyn Law School in 1969. His amiable and charming demeanor seems to mask a deep yearning for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing

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but the truth, and Brandt’s ability to “dig in” and keep the witness talking make him a worthy adversary to any hardened criminal.

But how did Brandt get Sheeran to confess to not only the Hoffa murder, but the murder of mobster “Crazy Joey” Gallo in the infamous gangland slaying at Umberto’s in 1972, Hoffa murder coconspirator Sally “Bugs” Briguglio, and several dozen others?

Sheeran was in prison for labor law violations, serving 32 years of jail sentences, when Brandt got a call from the Philly mob requesting his help in getting Sheeran out on an early medical release. Sheeran was about 70 at the time and Brandt and his partner pleaded his case before the parole board, securing his early release. After the celebratory lunch at Vicente’s, Sheeran pulled Brandt aside to tell him that he’d read “The Right to Remain Silent,” Brandt’s first novel based on his cases as a prosecutor in Delaware, and was interested in talking.

“He told me he was tired of being written about in all the books on Hoffa’s disappearance,” said Brandt, “and that he wanted to clear his name.” This was 1991, 16 years after Hoffa disappeared, and dozens of books and articles had been written about it with Sheeran mentioned in almost every single one as having a role. Nobody knew what role, because nobody was talking, but Sheeran was always a

CHARLES BR ANDT: R AY J. GADD

Charles Brandt, whose tapes of Frank Sheeran confessing his involvement in the Hoffa murder were subpoened by the FBI in its investigation.

central figure. “He said he wanted to tell his side of it and he wanted me to write it,” Brandt said, “And instantly, in that moment, I knew he wanted to confess.”

“Frank gave me 80 percent of the material I needed in our first meeting,“ Brandt recalled. “I was trying to prolong the conversation because you don’t want your subject to ever step away and think about Sheeran (right) with Hoffa in 1974 at Frank Sheeran Appreciation Night, a what they’re saying; you year before Hoffa’s disappearance. want them to just keep talking.” Sheeran had mentioned eight people involved in the ‘Hoffa thing’ and Brandt dug in, knowing the answer, but asking Sheeran why there were so many individuals involved as a tactic to keep him talking.

“That way, if you go bad, you only know what you did.

You can’t rat on the other ones before you and the other

ones after you,” Sheeran responded. “They’re definitely not going to have a massacre, but a lone cowboy will be disposable.”

Brandt dug in further, innocently making the correlation to Lee Harvey Oswald’s lone-wolf status in the Kennedy assassination, but remembers in chilling detail what came next. “Something changed suddenly in his demeanor,” said Brandt, who remembers Sheeran turning to stone and waving him off with his right hand, almost as if wiping him out of his vision. “I’m not going anywhere near Dallas,” Sheeran said.

Brandt said it was one of only two times he was ever truly afraid in Sheeran’s presence. Sheeran was just out of jail and his house was probably bugged, either by the Mafia or the FBI, or both. Maybe the mob thought Sheeran had been released from jail in exchange for telling secrets or had turned state’s evidence. Maybe they didn’t want Brandt knowing what Sheeran knew. Maybe they had both become a liability. Brandt wasn’t going anywhere near Dallas, either.

He wrote up the information related to the Hoffa brief and submitted it to Sheeran for review—Sheeran had provided new information but had not yet named the man who pulled the trigger. Sheeran turned to stone again and said, “You can’t use this material, these people are still alive.” So the two parted ways, with Brandt saying to

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days in World War II (when the average number was 80 days), surviving three amphibious invasions and liberating Dachau, and believes that it was during his “prolonged and unremitting combat duty that Frank Sheeran learned to kill in cold blood.”

But Sheeran didn’t enter into that life immediately.

“Frank came back to America changed after the war,” Brandt said. He returned to America to reenter normal society. He got married, had several daughters, and was working as a truck driver when a chance encounter with mob boss Russell Bufalino changed his trajectory and the course of history forever.

“I was hauling meat for Food Fair in a refrigerator truck in the mid-fifties,” Sheeran stated in “I Heard You Paint Houses,” “when my engine started acting up in Endicott, New York. I pulled into a truck stop, and I had the hood up when this short old Italian guy walked up to my truck and said, ‘Can I give you a hand, kiddo?’”

The “short old Italian guy” turned out to be Russell “McGee” Bufalino, boss of the northeastern Pennsylvania crime family that bore his name and a man who had secret interests in Las Vegas casinos, connections to the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, and who was identified by the Pennsylvania Organized Crime Commission as a silent partner of the largest supplier of ammunition to the United

MOVIE STILLS : COURTESY NETFLIX

contact him if he ever changed his mind. That was in 1991 and Brandt and Sheeren didn’t speak again for over eight years, when Sheeran called again.

As Brandt tells it in “I Heard You Paint Houses,” Sheeran’s daughter had arranged a private audience with a Catholic priest. Sheeran had grown up a devout Catholic, his father had studied for the priesthood and his mother went to Mass every morning, and Sheeran was seeking absolution for his sins so he could be buried in a Catholic cemetery. “After that meeting, Frank called saying he wanted to give the details to someone,” said Brandt, “and that someone was me.”

In over five years of taped interviews, Brandt began to unravel the details of Frank Sheeran, the man who confessed to killing his friend and mentor Jimmy Hoffa, as well as nearly two dozen others, in cold blood. Through hours and hours of almost daily conversation, Brandt teased out the details of what he calls Frank Sheeran’s unique and fascinating life, describing him as “the witty Irishman” who had a tough upbringing during the Great Depression Sheeran enlisted in the Army, serving in the 45th Infantry, General Patton’s infamous “killer division” that was instructed to take no prisoners and paid heavily for their valor, suffering 21,899 battle casualties. Brandt estimates that Private Frank Sheeran served 411 combat

“The Irishman” is an American biographical crime drama film directed

by Martin Scorsese, based on the book “I Heard You Paint Houses” by Sun Valley local Charles Brandt. The film stars Robert De Niro as Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, Joe Pesci as Russell “McGee” Bufalino (bar scene, this page); and Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa (center left, opposite page).

States government. In a report of its findings, the McClellan Committee on Organized Crime of the United States Senate called Russell Bufalino “one of the most ruthless and powerful leaders of the Mafia in the United States.”

“Frank didn’t even know there was such a thing as organized crime until he fell in with the Mafia and became an integral part of it,” said Brandt, who became close to Sheeran over the years. “We were family, we did things together,” said Brandt, adding that “if the Mafia had ever suspected what Frank Sheeran was confessing to me, we would have both promptly been whacked.”

But it was a broken-down truck near the New YorkPennsylvania border around 1955 that brought the Mafia to Frank Sheeran, a 6-foot-4 Irishman and WWII combat veteran who was to alter the course of history 20 years later through his alleged involvement in the disappearance of teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa on July 30, 1975.

Bufalino and Sheeran became friends, having dinner together and becoming close (a fact that Sheeran said, unbeknownst to him, saved his life on at least two or three occasions). Sheeran handled certain matters for Bufalino when he asked, “never for money, but as a show of respect.”

Maybe Bufalino represented the protective father figure that Sheeran never had growing up (Sheeran’s father would box him, using him as a punching bag, daily after school).

Bufalino was the one who first introduced Sheeran to Hoffa. It was a job interview set up over the phone and the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank Sheeran were, “I heard you paint houses.” According to Sheeran, the paint refers to the blood that gets on the wall or the floor when you shoot somebody. Sheeran told Hoffa, “Yeah, I do my own carpentry work, too,” which refers to making coffins and means you get rid of the bodies yourself.

At the end of the conversation, Hoffa asked Sheeran, “Do you want to be part of this history?”

“Yes, I do,” Sheeran replied, having no idea how much he really would.

•••••• Brandt said that until Sheeran drew his last breath, he wore on the same hand Russell’s gold-piece ring and the gold watch Hoffa had given him. He wore them both as a reminder of his loyalties. The jewelry symbolized the emotional and moral conflicts going on inside him, and Brandt believes the murder of Hoffa haunted Sheeran from the day he was ordered to do it until the day he died.

“When you’re as close as he was to two of the most powerful men of that era,” said Brandt, “you are going to be exposed to a great many things.” 2

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HABITAT

a panaroma of views 66

sunvalleymag.com | FALL 2019

DREAM RETREAT AT FISHER CREEK

by Hayden Seder photography by Gabe Border

W

hen dreaming of the perfect home, elements that have been stored in the back of one’s mind start to reappear; memories of a lifetime of other homes visited, bookmarked pages in home design magazines. For Leslie Benz, the owner of her own mountain retreat at Fisher Creek, her vision centered around the spectacular views visible throughout the house as well as a space that interacted as seamlessly with the surrounding environment as possible.

Using architect Mike Doty of Michael Doty Associates (MDA) and Lee Gilman Builders (LGB), Benz was able to complete her dream oasis in the fall of 2017.

“Both of my kids were born and raised here,” Benz said, of the Wood River Valley.

“A few years ago I asked a realtor friend to show me properties in the Sawtooth Valley in the hopes that I could find a ‘legacy’ property in the mountains that could be a family spot even after my sons had started their own lives elsewhere.”

After finding her perfect property, Benz met with Doty in September 2015 to discuss her vision for the house.

“From the property, you have the Sawtooth panorama, a super-cool view

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HABITAT

// DREAM HOMES

of the Salmon River through the valley, and the White Clouds to the east,” Benz said. “The neighbors are terrific, the wildlife is amazing too. Building a home there had to respect all of that.”

Doty worked to design a home that would focus on the views while also taking environmental sustainability into account and keeping the home low-maintenance for the time the home was unoccupied.

Building team Lee Gilman started construction in spring 2016, using both Doty and Benz’s vision to create a home whose lines worked in conjunction with the environment, materials that blurred the distinction between home and nature, all the while making sure that the house stood up to some of the harsh natural elements of the area.

Light and dark wood elements were incorporated throughout the house, starting with the Shou Sugi Ban exterior, a Japanese term for charring wood that makes it durable, fireproof, bugproof, and very low-maintenance. Two levels of Shou Sugi Ban were used; a heavier burn for the main house that is darker and more textured and a lighter burn for the entry and a “toy

bunker” that sits above the garage.

The high winds in the area—the home sits at 7,050 feet—meant that materials needed to be durable and not require much maintenance since this is a retreat home for Benz. The winds blow so hard in the winter that the snow builds up almost to the roofline.

“It’s harsh up there,” said Mike Pfau, Lee Gilman on-site superintendent. “The Stanley Basin, in general, is harsher.

The temperature swings are greater than Sun Valley, it’s always colder, and it’s a particularly windy site. So we needed to use materials that could handle it and not have to be maintained all the time.”

The house lies in a Forest Service overlay so there were already regulations to follow in terms of the skyline of the

“

THE TEMPERATURE SWINGS ARE GREATER THAN SUN VALLEY, IT’S ALWAYS COLDER, AND IT’S A PARTICULARLY WINDY SITE SO WE NEEDED TO USE MATERIALS THAT COULD HANDLE IT AND NOT HAVE TO BE MAINTAINED ALL THE TIME.” —MIKE PFAU, LEE GILMAN ON-SITE SUPERINTENDENT

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house. The slope of the roof follows the ridgelines and every effort was made to ensure that no matter the location in the house, the views are spectacular.

This is also why the house isn’t just one-story but rather one-story plus.

“The living room steps down a little bit and with the angle, we wanted to be able to stand in the kitchen and look across the valley at the peaks and not have the roofline impede on that in any way,” Doty said. Pfau added that the way the house was excavated on the hill it sits on, you

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can take a few steps up from the main entrance to the house and look right over the top of it, as if it’s not even there.

The end result is a sleek home with a steel and wood palette and endless views through floor-to-ceiling windows. The home has three bedrooms (one master and two double guest rooms), with bedrooms on one side and living, kitchen, and dining rooms on the other to make a home that is part public and part private. To make that separation even more distinct, a corridor runs between the two sides.

Different wood elements, such as a black walnut bench that starts outside the home and has the illusion of going through the house, help bring the outdoors inside. Steel elements both inside and out help bring the indoors out, increasingly blurring the distinction between the two.

It would be hard to forget what’s outside this house while standing in it; the team behind the project truly made every effort to frame and provide views in all directions.

“The photos of the house are nice, but the view is much greater than what can be shown in them,” Pfau said. “When you’re in the place, every which way you look is a view.”

Certain spots in the house have slender, floor-to-ceiling windows meant to perfectly frame Decker Peak, the highest peak in the area. The window over the bathtub in the master bedroom frames the mountain such that it truly looks like a photo or a painting of mountains.

“Part of the reason we wanted the single story was to elongate the house so as you travel through or are in a room, you’re taking advantage of those views,” explained Doty.

Steel elements have been incorporated throughout the house: in the fireplace,

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entry, kitchen island, and in metal bookshelves built by Lee Gilman. Doty and the Lee Gilman team, with the help of Isotope Design Lab’s Nate Galpin, also created a unique feature in the form of a dining room table on wheels.

When the weather allows, the table can be wheeled onto a covered porch.

The house is also wheelchair accessible (complete with ramp in the living room) to accommodate one of Benz’s friends, a war veteran and paraplegic.

In addition to having a minimal visual footprint, efforts have been made to reduce the environmental footprint.

The home has a robust thermal envelope and the heating system is a hybrid. The home has solar panels as well. All of these elements, while environmentally friendly, also serve to make the home low maintenance during unoccupied times.

“It has cameras, it has solar panels, and a generator. It’s a house you don’t have to worry about,” said Gilman.

In the end, the vision became a reality.

“MDA and LGB were my dream team,” said Benz. “It is my dream retreat.” 2

The Team ARCHITECT Michael Doty, Michael Doty Associates BUILDER Lee Gilman Builders INTERIOR DESIGN Steve Schafer LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Landwork Studio CUSTOM CABINETRY Ketchum Kustom Woodworks, Inc. HARDWARE Rocky Mountain Hardware STEEL FABRICATION Isotope Design Lab

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reclaiming the feel of the past

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A SANCTUARY ON THE BIG WOOD

by Karen Bossick photography by Heidi A. Long, Longviews Studios

I

t looks as if the two-story home has been there for a hundred years.

But it was built yesterday, fashioned from reclaimed barn wood.

And the beautiful home a stone’s throw from the Big Wood River serves as a sanctuary for a fly-fishing enthusiast and his wife who love to entertain guests.

The home displays the unparalleled teamwork of architect Janet Jarvis, builder Paul Conrad, interior designer Terri DeMun, and its owners from start to finish.

Conrad found the heavily textured wood for the rustic Western home in Montana. Jarvis found oak for the floors in North Carolina. They secured red barn wood for the media room. And they located brown barn wood for the doors, which sport old-fashioned cross braces.

“Finding these reclaimed materials these days is not for the weak of heart!” said DeMun. They worked really hard to get the right materials and all the hard work paid off in the end.

The homeowners love color and so Jarvis was careful to pick big boulders in gold, reddish brown and grey from

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a quarry on the Canadian border for the fireplace. Doors that pocket behind the fireplace complete the set.

A bi-folding door system opens up the handsome great room to the patio made of frontier stone and a large natural grass area suitable for badminton during summer.

“It’s a family house designed to have a lot of people,” said Conrad.

The kitchen cabinets built by Dave Weaver of Design Woodworking Cabinetry utilize old barn wood in keeping with the rest of the house. And a breakfast nook welcomes the morning light.

“The owners are from Seattle, so naturally they wanted a lot of sun in the morning,” said Jarvis. “It’s a cozy nook with corner windows that bring in a lot of light.”

Both the husband and wife have small offices. His is more like a fly-tying room, positioned up a half flight of stairs where he can look out the window to see if the fish are biting while conversing with his wife while she’s cooking dinner.

All the windows open in the master bedroom so he can keep his ear tuned to the river, as well.

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The ceiling in the master bathroom angles down, ending in a bay window that offers a lovely view of the river from the freestanding tub. A cupola placed above the bathroom on the corrugated roof provides yet more light for homeowners who long ago tired of the grey.

There is a junior master bedroom downstairs in case the homeowners ever feel the need to move to the first floor.

But a bunkroom on the second floor features eight bunks built out of reclaimed wood. The room, which can be accessed via a hallway with a reading nook, features pitched roof dormers

with an arched ceiling in the middle.

“It’s a nice to celebrate the quirkiness of the roof,” said Jarvis.

“People like it because it makes it feel like it’s a storybook house.”

Even the windows in this house are custom made of wood inside and out to remain true to the home’s rustic character.

“I always felt windows are the most important part of a house—they tell a lot about the soul of the property,” said Jarvis. “I spend a lot of time making sure the proportions are right and thinking about what they need to do from the inside and how they look from the outside.”

An attached garage has a toy room for the fly-fisherman’s fishing supplies; a back porch is designed for him to get his gear together.

An old hewn timber Oregon Trail cabin that was dismantled and brought over from Soda Springs, Idaho, has been given an 18-inch stone foundation to hedge against snow. The 500-square-foot guest cabin features a bedroom and bathroom.

Builders added a porch and the homeowners lined the railing with old brown beer bottles found during excavation.

“This had a special craftsmanship in the dovetailing,” said Conrad. “You can’t make that kind of authenticity from

scratch. You’ve got to use old materials.”

DeMun worked with the clients to provide fixtures that would be in keeping with the rustic nature of the house. She found a refrigerator that looked like an old wooden ice box, hand-forged iron hardware with a distinct blacksmith feel for doors and cabinetry, and repurposed an antique cheese cart that holds a plow disk as a sink in the powder room. She repurposed railroad spikes and wooden dowels for coat racks and found a plumbing

fixture that looks like a pump spout.

She attached rope handles to some cabinet doors and made other cabinet door handles from a $1 belt purchased at the Gold Mine thrift store that she applied with square nails.

The homeowners also brought back a few things from their travels, including an ornate coal-burning stove and an antique wall-mounted telephone.

DeMun especially delighted in forgoing modern recessed or track lighting for 175

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“

THIS HAD A SPECIAL CRAFTSMANSHIP IN THE DOVETAILING. YOU CAN’T MAKE THAT KIND OF AUTHENTICITY FROM SCRATCH. YOU’VE GOT TO USE OLD MATERIALS.” —PAUL CONRAD, BUILDER

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old-fashioned light fixtures. Many were refurbished antiques, some were custommade out of antique parts, and the rest were reproductions of old-fashioned lights.

One bathroom, for instance, boasts a pendant made from a large Mason jar. A hallway is lit by enamel-painted industrial pendants from Amsterdam.

And a chandelier on the landing is made of miscellaneous vintage parts such as a wheel, pressure gauge, and vintage aerator.

Antique and reproductionstyle furnishings contribute to the authenticity. Rustic buckets are used as trash cans, family photographs have been reframed using antique tramp art frames, and a giant architectural wheel offers a focal point for the mantel.

The crowning piece is a mural recreated on one of the walls in the powder room that was based on a child’s painting found on a wall in the old root cellar when the property was excavated.

“We took a drawing by a 9-year-old and magnified it,” said Jarvis. 2

The Team ARCHITECT Janet Jarvis, Jarvis Group Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR/BUILDER Conrad Brothers Construction INTERIOR DESIGN Terri DeMun, Lone Star LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Steve Job / Sun Valley Garden Center CUSTOM CABINETRY Dave Weaver / Design Woodworking HARDWARE White Chapel RECLAIMED MATERIAL Henderson Corp, Montana Reclaimed Lumber DOORS Idaho Glulam IGL

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CALIFORNIA STYLE MEETS MOUNTAIN RUSTIC

by Kate Hull photography by Josh Wells

T

ucked away on five acres by the East Fork of the Big Wood River overlooking national forest, a 6000-square-foot oasis beckons family to celebrate, make memories, and connect.

The home is a realized dream of two Southern California families with a storybook connection. The owners of the property, who wished to remain anonymous, had been coming to Sun Valley to stay at a dear family friend’s home in East Fork for winter ski trips, holidays, and the like for more than 20 years. As fate would have it, their son married their friends’ daughter, joining the two families even tighter. When the vacant lot next door to their frequent vacation home became available, the couple hatched a plan.

“My wife’s wheels started spinning and we got the idea of having a sort of compound between the two families, our son and his wife, and their grandkids, and the in-laws,” the owner said. “It was all about family. We wanted something

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that was unique and would capitalize on the beauty of Sun Valley and all it has to offer, but also celebrate our families.”

The plan began five years ago, and construction took two years. Now, the two families are neighbors in the hillside locale with two pathways between the properties, one that goes down to the river and the other providing direct access to each back door.

“We designed it to have that familyfriendly atmosphere,” the owner said. “It’s our own field of dreams: build it and they will come.”

They knew they wanted to engage local builders and craftsmen to make this dream a reality. Jim McLaughlin of McLaughlin and Associates Architects designed the home and McQueen Construction was the general contractor.

“The owners had seen several of our homes and gave us the design freedom to create a one-of-a-kind family getaway home that would accommodate their children and grandchildren,” McLaughlin said.

Interior designer Jennifer Hoey worked with the family to combine their Southern California sophistication with mountain rustic and a warm approach.

“I used a light color palette inspired by Southern California style blended with a few rustic materials,” Hoey explained.

Recycled timber and grey, weathered siding effortlessly connect the home to its setting in the hillside among wooded vistas with views of the river from each room. With one look inside, the attention to the home’s intended use is palpable.

Reclaimed beams, wood ceilings, and neutral tones create a bright, warm space.

The home features a master suite, two guest suites, and a bunkroom with bath. The master suite is situated on one wing of the house, with the guest suites and bunkroom on the opposite side.

The design enables the kids to retreat to their rooms for naptime and affords

“

THE OWNERS HAD SEEN SEVERAL OF OUR HOMES AND GAVE US THE DESIGN FREEDOM TO CREATE A ONE-OF-A-KIND FAMILY GETAWAY HOME THAT WOULD ACCOMMODATE THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.” —JIM MCLAUGHLIN, MCLAUGHLIN AND ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS

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a quiet oasis for the grandparents.

Each bedroom has a bay window large enough for a full-size bed for sleepovers. The bunkroom has a compartmentalized bath with separate toilet room, shower room, and vanity.

The kitchen and breakfast nook create a charming atmosphere meant for gathering. “The kitchen has a lowerbeamed ceiling and a cozy feel with great outdoor views,” McLaughlin said.

“With a breakfast nook and a big island, it’s a great spot for someone cooking a

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meal to have conversations or for the little ones to cuddle up in the nook.”

Nearby, an outdoor covered dining area with a fireplace offers wonderful outdoor dining for the summer months.

McLaughlin drew on the spectacular surroundings when orientating the house.

“The home is situated to take advantage of views of the stream from all rooms in the house,” he said.

Inside, the great room is the star of the home, with an open floor plan that connects the living room and dining room in the center.

“We wanted to make sure that whoever is in the kitchen is still connected to the activity. Whether there’s a football game on or the kids are doing a puzzle, we want to stay connected to what the kids are doing; that was a Jim [McLaughlin] and Jennifer [Hoey] design feature,” the owner explained.

On each side of the great room, 10-by6-foot, on-grade terrace doors lift and slide open take advantage of the sun for outdoor living and effortlessly bring the outside in. The striking beams throughout the house provide a sophisticated, oldbarn feel. The cozy furnishings and fireplace invite family to sit, relax, and enjoy the space.

“If you are going to have kids in the house, make it feel comfortable and make it feel warm,” the owner noted. “The great room is the center of relaxation, and it is a place you want to come and be together in.”

For the owners, this meant ensuring the furnishings and design could hold up to everyday life in the space: kids running around, games being played, and comfortable furnishings that invited you to sit and enjoy.

“We used durable fabrics, furnishings with a soft sit and low-pile carpets,” Hoey

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said. “We also varied the price point of our vendors by area and the use of each area.”

The result is a space beckoning habitants to sit and enjoy.

“Jennifer did a spectacular job in working with my wife in putting it together.

You don’t cringe when you see the grandkids running all over the place. They need to feel that it’s a place where they can go, too.” This was realized, no doubt. The holidays welcome a bustling home full of life and joy.

With the right team and vision, the property’s intent was realized: “a remarkable coming together of families who absolutely celebrate each other,” the owners said. 2

The Team DESIGN PRINCIPAL Jim McLaughlin, McLaughlin and Associates Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Mark McQueen INTERIOR DESIGN Jennifer Hoey Interior Design LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Eggers Associates

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// KITCHENS

a kitchen facelift

Designers’ tips to spruce up the most-used room in your home without spending a fortune

SUSAN WITMAN INTERIOR DESIGN

HABITAT

by Kate Hull

T

he kitchen is the pulse of the home. It’s where we pour our coffee, converse over meals, and begin and end our days. It’s no wonder the kitchen is one of the most frequently remodeled spaces in the home, falling second behind living rooms.

But its costly must-haves also make it the most expensive room to freshen up.

Deciding on a kitchen remodel, however big or small, can be daunting and pricey. But fear not. Cue the kitchen facelift. No matter your budget or needs, the kitchen can undergo simple, budgetfriendly design upgrades to leave you with a shiny new space for the fraction of a remodel price tag. The secret? We asked some of Sun Valley’s design experts for tips, what not to do, and where to begin.

TIDY UP

PLAN AND BUDGET

Before you begin, never underestimate the power of a little tidying up.

“Try to organize your belongings and utensils and clear the clutter off of the counters,” principal designer Allison Connolly of Allison Paige Interior Designs says. “Or consider treating yourself to some new dishtowels and pot holders. How about a Mason jar filled with fresh tulips?”

Spend some time in the space and consider a bit of decluttering to open up counter space and lighten the room.

“Eliminate clutter! Nine times out of ten, removing excess items can be a major improvement,” says Sarah Latham, principal designer of Latham Interiors.

If your space still needs something to jazz it up, consult the experts.

“Even though a homeowner may be working on a budget, I recommend that they hire a quality design professional on an hourly consultation fee to give them perspective on their space,” says Susan Witman, ASID, of Susan Witman Interior Design. “The designer may recommend something the homeowner never even considered, and it’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can tell you about your space.”

Then, set budgets and do your homework.

“Shy away from jumping into a project without putting together a budget and get accurate estimates from local companies,” Witman recommends. “Make sure to get referrals based on quality performance of local contractors or subcontractors instead of shopping the Internet.”

Witman also recommends using Houzz.com for inspiration. “They have thousands of kitchen styles, sizes, and budgets,” she says. “Create an ideabook of the things you love.”

ALLISON PAIGE INTERIOR DESIGN

L ATHAM INTERIORS

Decluttering counterspace and displaying dishes in one color or style are both simple ways to update the kitchen.

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Updating lighting fixtures, replacing faucets, and painting cabinets can freshen the look of any kitchen.

STEER CLEAR OF TRENDS That trendy tile pattern and unique hue of appliances might be all the rage right now, but when it comes to the kitchen, timeless is best. Each designer echoes the sentiment: say no to trends.

“Just because it’s hot now and you see it everywhere doesn’t mean it’s classic,” Connolly says. “I tend to take hints from history—what finishes have stood the test of time? Carrara marble always comes to my mind.”

Those cement countertops might attract attention now, but will they stand the test of interior design time, begging for another upgrade in a few years?

“Plain white subway tile and black slate go a long way and will look just as great in 10 to 15 years,” Connolly says.

And at the end of the day, the space should reflect your style. 2

FIVE STAR KITCHEN & BATH / HEIDI A. LONG OF LONGVIEWS STUDIOS

The kitchen is all about functionality and fitting its uses with your lifestyle needs. If staying organized is not your strong suit, shy away from open shelving that will cause you stress when left disheveled.

“As one of the most-used rooms in a house, if it doesn’t work for how you live in it, it won’t be worth a remodel,” Latham says.

Consider what’s already in place and ask what works and what doesn’t. “It can be as simple as updating the lighting,” says John McGuone, project manager with Five Star Kitchen and Bath. “Replacing old fixtures with new pendants or upgrading the bulbs to more efficient LED fixtures can give your space a new, brighter look.

Play with different light colors like white light or yellow light to brighten the space.”

Like lighting, dated appliances can be upgraded, giving new life to the space.

And although they can come with a hefty price tag, the increased efficiency can be worth it, and appliance sales are frequent around the holidays.

But properly functioning appliances might also be an unnecessary expense. If yours are in good shape, skip the new stove and look to refreshing your color palette.

“Could you paint your cabinets? Would new decorative hardware be a simple fix? How about new countertops? Some local shops sell remnants,” Latham says.

“What about updating your faucet with a pull-down spray that will add convenience to cleaning up pots and pans?

There are so many options to consider!”

While changing countertops and adding backsplash are go-to kitchen remodel projects, Sarah recommends looking first to the accents.

“It’s easy to change out a dated faucet or decorative light fixtures and give a new feel to the kitchen,” she says.

Add a thoughtful cohesive look with new dishes and cups in one color or style.

This sleek look adds classic sophistication and is a quick way to tie in other colors of the kitchen. And when in doubt, keep it simple.

ALLISON PAIGE INTERIOR DESIGN

KEEP IT SIMPLE

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she sheds

Move over man caves; make room mantuaries—this oasis is for her

by Kate Hull

S

he sheds have arrived in style and are staking claim to their rightful space.

These detached spaces or rooms in a house are reserved specifically for the matriarch of the home front to pursue interests or find some quality alone time.

She sheds are becoming a mainstay for women across the country and have made their way to the Intermountain West.

It is fairly common to find a home with a separate shed or detached garage space that is noted as a “man cave.” This space might be for craftsman work, a specific hobby like home brewing and gaming, or act as a sanctuary to read, watch the game, and unwind. The desire for such a space, however, is felt by both genders; thus, she sheds were born.

Whether you’re considering adding your own shed to your backyard, looking to redesign a room or loft, or ready to give an old barn a facelift, start with vision and recruit the experts.

Enlist a general contractor to create your small space. A plus on the résumé is an aptitude for small spaces or tiny homes. Already have a shed? Make sure and hire the professionals to add insulation, electricity, or plumbing to make the most of the use and ensure it’s livable even in the cold winter months.

If you find yourself looking at your backyard and seeing a lack of available shed space, do not fret. The beauty of the trend is to reclaim a space just for yourself. Maybe that unused office room could get a makeover or your kids’ former playroom is no longer needed. Get creative and improvise.

Seeking tips from a designer will help you utilize even the smallest space to its

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DESIGN ~ CABINETRY ~ NEW CONSTRUCTION ~ RENOVATION www.fivestarkitchenbath.com 208-726-4039

HABITAT

// SHE SHEDS

utmost potential and spark ideas for some surprising designs. Ready to claim your space? Elizabeth Ellis, project designer at Jennifer Hoey Interior Design, says to first start with a purpose.

“Identify what the use of the space will be for, i.e., yoga, reading, art, crafting studio, etcetera,” she says. “Once this is determined, identify your personal style and what items are needed for the space.

Create a plan and layout of what your ideal furnishings are, make sure everything you would want fits in the space.”

And when it comes to accessories, lean toward less. Or, as Ellis says, “Keep it clean, lean, and simple.”

“It is important to keep it organized and simple as the space will most likely be small,” she says. “You want it to feel personal yet still be completely functional.”

If your hope is for a reading nook, find a cozy daybed, reading-friendly lamp with adjustable light settings, and a simple bookshelf. Add pops of color with pillows, simple décor, and a table set up for tea or coffee. Put thought into your favorite

Elizabeth Ellis of Jennifer Hoey Interior Design advises clients creating she sheds to first identify what they want to use it for, whether yoga, art, reading, or other pursuits.

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books, and line the shelves with your reading list for the next few months for inspiration.

Looking for more of a yoga or exercise retreat? Keep an open floor plan with ample room for movement and a yoga mat or two. Add lighter tones in the finishes, like paint colors and upholstery, to help make the space feel bigger.

To really maximize the space, focus on natural light and thoughtful organization.

“If possible, incorporate lots of great daylight options with windows,” Ellis says. “Having an option to open up doors to bring the outside in will also increase the overall size of the space.”

But as the name implies, it’s all about you, and there is no right or wrong way to go. Ellis’ ideal she shed? Her own personal escape to just unwind and decompress.

“I would create a personal retreat to remove myself from everyday life duties,” she says. “Ideally, I would have floor-toceiling sliding glass doors to open up to a deck outside. White walls, light wood floors, good lighting, a small kitchenette

She sheds can simply be a room that you can retreat to for some personal time.

with some built-in storage and water closet.”

Yoga, reading, unplugging, you name it; she sheds are meant to be a reprieve from the grind. So claim your space, hunker down, and make room for something all your own. While the space may be small, the possibilities for this miniature retreat are endless. 2

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Home & Design spotlight Home & DesignA special advertising section A special advertising section spotlight

Photos by Audrey Hall

spotlight on: Conrad Brothers Our approach to building for our clients

Photo by Sun Valley Photo

Our project managers each has an average

is dictated by our desire exceed their Cabin of 12+ years with Conrad Brothers and we spotlight on: toPioneer Company expectations through superior service and have 35 full time employees many of whom

Riley Buck and Paul Conrad Owners and General Contractor/ Project Managers

Paul Conrad Owner

Blaine County & Beyond 105 Lewis Street, Suite 101 105 Lewis Street, Suite 101 Ketchum, ID 83340 Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 726-834 7 (208) 726-3830 www.pioneercabincompany.com www.conradbrothersconstruction.com

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quality. We build high quality structures in have been with us for 5-10 years. With a Cabin Company is a Full Service Construction in the responsible a Pioneer cost conscious manner while honoring staffCompany capablespecializing of self performing in various development of Remote Properties with construction of buildings in guaranteed the authenticthat true craftsmanship.

Relationships areexpertise key in in the areas of construction we are rustic vernacular.both in our relationships with our approach; timelines and high standards will be met. clients & architects in our from committed Our services includeand everything initial land planning & design through all aspects of “Thank you the for your patience, construction, welllocal as the ongoing service and maintenance following completion of the partnerships aswith subcontractors and communication, and expertise throughout project.

Wewho build everything from small cabins, barns & silos to custom residential homes.

Our suppliers are vital to our success. theprojects buildingrange process.

We knew the local base of operations is the Wood River Valley but our throughout the from Greater Conrad Brothers emphasizes proper start we were in excellent hands.”

Intermountain West. preconstruction planning, competitive – Sherri & Dave “The team of leaders, project management, their craftsmen and all of their subcontractors bidding along with active & responsive brought excellence and enthusiasm to our project. The end result has far exceeded our wildest communication to ensure successful results.

“There is a reason Conrad Brothers has a dreams and expectations.”

We have found our clients to be impressed great reputation in our community. We have – Ken Verheyen with our excellent document management been fortunate to have them as one of our Sawtooth Valley–Mountaintop and total transparency throughout the key partners in improving our airport and building process. By building a realistic look forward to working with them in the Enduring Quality, Professional Service, Lasting Relationships schedule we are able to meet tight deadlines future because we know they will deliver.” and are able to control budgets while – Chris Pomeroy delivering a high quality product.

Airport Manager Friedman Memorial Airport

Home & Design Design spotlight spotlight

Photos by Audrey Hall

AA special advertising section special advertising section

Photo by Sun Valley Photo

The Picket Fence Interior Design At The Picket Fence InteriorPioneer Design, we are dedicated to creating inspiring spaces that you can’t spotlight on: Cabin Company wait to come home to. Our mission is to design spaces that capture our clients’ personality, lifestyle spotlight on:

Riley Buck and Paul Conrad Owners and General Contractor/ Project Managers

Blaine County & Beyond 105 Lewis Street, Suite 101 Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 726-834 7 www.pioneercabincompany.com

351 Leadville Ave N. Suite 205A Ketchum ID 83340 208-806-2900 www.tpfinteriordesign.com

and environment. Our designers come from varied backgrounds, which caters well to the diversity ofPioneer styles seen the Wood Valley. Our projects have included mid-century rustic, CabininCompany is aRiver Full Service Construction Company specializing in the modern, responsible contemporary traditional. development of and Remote Properties with expertise in the construction of buildings in the authentic rustic vernacular.

We’ve assembled a team of three fabulous designers and one feisty project manager to bring your vision to life. We believe in beautiful, and quality design-your home should your favorite Our services include everything fromclean initial land planning & design through allbe aspects of place on earth!

Details are important to us, and and maintenance we choose fabrics and the finishes that compliment construction, as well as the ongoing service following completion of the your daily dogs, entertaining coming home from a day on the homes. hill. Through project.

We routine: build everything from smallguests, cabins,or barns & silos to custom residential Our a streamlined process, weisare to easily share design and selections with our living local base of operations theable Wood River Valley but ourboards projects range throughout theclients Greater outside the Valley.

Intermountain West. We understand that we are your eyes on the ground, and we work closely with architects and execute your project like was our own.

“The team of builders leaders, toproject management, theirit craftsmen and all of their subcontractors brought excellence enthusiasm our project.

The end result has far our wildest Whether you areand starting from theto ground up, or simply trying to erase theexceeded nineties from your living dreams and expectations.” room we look forward to helping you fall more in love with your home. Recently, we have created spaces for our clients in the Bigwood –condos, Diamondback townhomes, and new-builds in the Ken Verheyen White Clouds. Visit our website, dropSawtooth in to our design studio in the Galleria, or stop in to our store to Valley–Mountaintop meet the team and share your ideas for an upcoming project.

Enduring Quality, Service, Relationships Working with The Picket FenceProfessional Interior Design was Lasting an absolute pleasure from start to finish.

While I was initially apprehensive about working on renovating our Ketchum home from the East Coast, The Picket Fence Design team quickly assuaged my concerns by always being innovative, enthusiastic and just plain terrific. I can’t say enough great things about them!

– Jennie Lewis FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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Home & Design spotlight Home & DesignA special advertising section A special advertising section spotlight spotlight on: BYLA Landscape Architects

BYLA

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

BYLA Landscape Architects Ben Young – Principal, LA Chase Gouley – Principal, LA 323 Lewis Street, Suite N Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 726-5907 www.byla.us

Photos by Audrey Hall

BYLA is a Ketchum Idaho based design firm specializing in Landscape Architecture, Land Planning and the creation of outdoor spaces.

We have been working locally in the Sun Valley areas since 1999 and have since then designed a variety of projects around the country that involve resort planning, custom gardens, and anything involving indoor-outdoor living.

At BYLA our philosophy is that outdoor spaces are important and should be a part of our lives; nature matters and being outside is important! We help our clients imagine, plan, and then create magical spaces that reinforce a connection to the natural world. We enjoy both the soft and green aspects of plant material as well as the creation of built outdoor forms.

Partners Ben Young and Chase Gouley both come from a diverse gardening, planning, and building background.

spotlight on:

Good design begins with meaningful conversation between clients and the design team. At BYLA, we take the time to listen to our clients needs and goals. We currently have a team of 5 people with differing backgrounds to help make each project unique and successful.

Our people in a sense, are our biggest asset and we strive to make a fun and enjoyable place to not only work, but to learn. This appreciation and connection also extends to the relationships we build and maintain with the artisans, craftsman and people who help make each creation a reality.

We believe that it is this combination of people and passion and taking time to listen to our clients that allows us to continue to create beautiful spaces.

Anne Moles Mulick Interior Design

an appreciation for design, art, and versatile AMM Interior Design, established by Anne decor.

Moles Mulick, is rooted in creating honest, authentic, and visionary spaces. From remodels Eventually, life brought her to the mountains and new construction, to furniture selection of Idaho. It was here that she discovered and custom woodwork, AMM Interior Design theCompany delicate balancein the between elegant Pioneer Cabin Company is a Full Service Construction specializing responsible intersects both residential and commercial sophistication naturalinbeauty.

Over time, development of Remote Properties with expertise in the construction ofand buildings the authentic interior design. she has developed a strong sense of business rustic vernacular. and her & own stylethrough preferences — sheof is all Our As an experienced interior designer, Anne is services include everything from initial land planning design all aspects about functional and ofcharming known for her her love construction, as easy-going well as the personality, ongoing service and maintenance following aesthetics the completion the for all types of style, and for her in thebarnstaste. project.

We build everything fromcredibility small cabins, & silos to custom residential homes. Our local base of operations is the Wood River Valley but our projects throughout Greater and design world.

Anne hasrange worked with the designers Intermountain West. architects in both San Francisco and Ketchum, Anne grew up in a traditional East Coast “The team of leaders, management, craftsmen of atheir of whichand haveallleft marksubcontractors on her career. For home, exposed to fineproject finishes and classictheir all brought excellence and enthusiasm to our project.

The end result has far exceeded ourofwildest Anne, the most rewarding aspect the design furniture. Fast-forward to her early 20s, and dreams and expectations.” process is coming together with clients. She her design repertoire grew. She graduated – Ken Verheyen loves collaborating to design a space that stays from the University of San Francisco with a BFA Sawtooth Valley–Mountaintop true to her clients’ personalities and visions. in Interior Design as well as from the Academy of Art University. Between time in California, Enduring Quality, Professional Service, Lasting Relationships coupled with a year abroad in Italy, she curated

spotlight on: Pioneer Cabin Company Riley Buck and Paul Conrad Owners and General Contractor/ Project Managers

Anne Moles Mulick

ASID Blaine County & Beyond 105 Lewis Street, Suite 101 Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) c/o The726-834 Design 7Studio www.pioneercabincompany.com 333 South Main Street, Suite 107 Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 721-1411 www.amminteriordesign.com

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Photo by Sun Valley Photo

Home & Design

spotlight

A special advertising section

A special advertising section Home & Design spotlight

Photos by Audrey Hall

Photo by Sun Valley Photo

Latham Interiors FromCompany residential to commercial After meeting her husband moving to Sun spotlight on: and Pioneer Cabin spotlight on:

Riley Buck and Paul Conrad Owners and General Contractor/ Project Managers

Blaine County & Beyond 105 Lewis Street, Suite 101 Sarah Latham Ketchum, ID 83340 Principal, LEED7AP® (208) 726-834 www.pioneercabincompany.com

500 Washington Ave. Ketchum ID 83340 208-928-6366 www.lathaminteriordesign.com

projects, Latham Interiors’ award-winning mountain Valley in 2006, Sarah Latham fell in love with the modern style has found itself at home in the mountain lifestyle and hasn’t looked back. Her Pioneer Cabin Company is result a Full Service Construction Company the responsible Wood Riverspecializing Valley and in beyond.

Whether you’re foundation in design—the of working with development of Remote Properties with expertise in the construction of buildings in the authentic looking to build a new home or business, San Francisco’s Fisher Weisman, Lake Tahoe’s rustic vernacular. remodel, or add a few accessories around the Bentley Interior Designs, and Ruscitto, Latham, Our services include everything from initial land planning & design through all aspects of house, their team knows just what you need.

Blanton Architecture for ten years—continues construction, as well as the ongoing service and maintenance following the completion of the bytotheir Ketchum studiohomes. or shop online at to support her expertise and innovation.

When project. We build everything from small cabins, barns Stop & silos custom residential Our shop latham.com for their favorites in furniture, Sarah’s not closely collaborating with studio local base of operations is the Wood River Valley but our projects range throughout the Greater decor, bedding, serverware, statement lighting, Intermountain West. her free time outdoors. From clients, she spends and more.and all of their subcontractors biking to running, skiing, and gardening, Sarah “The team of leaders, project management, their craftsmen brought excellence and enthusiasm project. is constantly immersing herself in to theour place she The end result has far exceeded our wildest dreams and expectations.” calls home and drawing on its inspirations.

– Ken Verheyen Sawtooth Valley–Mountaintop

Enduring Quality, Professional Service, Lasting Relationships

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Home & Design

spotlight

A special advertising section

Photos by Audrey Hall

Photo by Sun Valley Photo

spotlight on: Pioneer Cabin Company Riley Buck and Paul Conrad Owners and General Contractor/ Project Managers

Blaine County & Beyond 105 Lewis Street, Suite 101 Ketchum, ID 83340 (208) 726-834 7 www.pioneercabincompany.com

Pioneer Cabin Company is a Full Service Construction Company specializing in the responsible development of Remote Properties with expertise in the construction of buildings in the authentic rustic vernacular.

Our services include everything from initial land planning & design through all aspects of construction, as well as the ongoing service and maintenance following the completion of the project. We build everything from small cabins, barns & silos to custom residential homes. Our local base of operations is the Wood River Valley but our projects range throughout the Greater Intermountain West.

“The team of leaders, project management, their craftsmen and all of their subcontractors brought excellence and enthusiasm to our project. The end result has far exceeded our wildest dreams and expectations.”

– Ken Verheyen Sawtooth Valley–Mountaintop

Enduring Quality, Professional Service, Lasting Relationships

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Architecturally Authentic Lodging

Design // Construction // Project Management Remote - Ranch - Custom Residential

www.pioneercabincompany.com

208.726.8347

Getaway to the Great Outdoors

Come visit us at Wild Horse contact us or visit our website at

www.wildhorsecreekranch.com 208.588.2575 4387 Wild Horse Creek Road, Mackay, ID 83251 The Ultimate Sun Valley Getaway

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Macy Mitchell, Assistant

Autumn Hills Equestrian Center is a Hunter-Jumper training barn that caters to the individual horse and rider’s needs through personal attention.

Our mission is to promote a healthy and happy learning environment through training, horse shows and stable management.

Kelly Mitchell, Owner, (208) 720-0263 | Teresa Englehart, Head Trainer, (208) 720-5903

22994 Duff Lane, Middleton, Idaho | autumnhillsequestriancenter.com

topics of thewest

THE OTHER MIRACULOUS FISH Salmon River steelhead, lesser known than salmon, face equally difficult challenges

BY BR ENT L AWSON

Fishing guide Riley Berman holds a steelhead caught on the Grande Ronde River, a tributary of the Snake River.

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OPPOSITE PAGE: R ANDY ASHTON

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hile the plight of wild salmon is often the subject of great debate and policy fights, the challenges Salmon River steelhead face are less well known, though equally formidable.

Salmon River steelhead—which are an anadromous type of trout—embody the geographical diversity and untamed wildness of the Pacific Northwest. As an anadromous fish, defined by their ability to occupy freshwater and saltwater habitats, steelhead begin their journey as fry, measuring roughly one inch in length, in the upper stretches of the Salmon River. Following brief developmental growth, fry are swept downriver by the currents of the Salmon River, ushered through the Snake, then Columbia River basins, and then into the Pacific Ocean.

If they survive, the adventurous and formidable fry reside in the saltwater ecosystem for one to four years. The duration of their Pacific Ocean residency classifies the fish as an “A-run fish,” which spends one year in the saltwater, or “B-run” fish, which spends two years or longer in the saltwater feeding ground. Despite harsh conditions and aggressive predation, the caloric-rich chambers of the Pacific Ocean allow steelhead to grow extremely rapidly, with older fish growing to over 37 inches and 20 pounds. The Idaho state record for a caught steelhead is a 44-inch, 30-pound beast “roped” in 1973.

Following the feeding frenzy and rapid growth period, Salmon River steelhead commence their arduous expedition back to their native headwaters. In total, Salmon River steelhead travel over 900 miles and climb 7,000 feet in elevation. The journey ranks as the longest and steepest steelhead run in the country. These “pioneers” have made this exact migratory voyage for over a millennium.

However, as the Northwest river systems have been developed and managed, these remarkable fish—like the salmon—have been depleted.

The environmental and societal factors contributing to their demise is complex.

However, precipitous fish decline can be attributed to three general factors: irresponsible angler pressure, degradation of habitat, and the negative effects of the Columbia and Snake River dams.

Irresponsible angler pressure includes fishing with barbed hooks, targeting fish

with snagging techniques, illegally harvesting wild steelhead (hatchery fish are only harvestable, as evidenced by a healed adipose scar), and unlawfully exceeding daily bag limits.

Additionally, conscientious anglers need to implement proper fish handling skills, including keeping fish in the water and removing quarry only low to the water, and keeping them out of water no longer than a few seconds, if necessary. The use of live bait, multiple hooks, and treble hooks are additional exogenous factors diminishing steelhead populations. Finally, overplaying fish, thus “horsing” fish to exhaustion for enjoyment, is a lesser, yet still harmful practice.

As the angler effects of catch-and-release practices on steelhead have been extensively researched by wildlife biologists, numerous studies reveal that the most traumatic effect of catch-and-release fishing is caused by excessive time out of the water. The stress the fish undergo decreases the dissolved oxygen available to them and increases blood pH and lactate in their systems. No doubt the proliferation of social media and the quest for the “perfect” image have materially increased the fish’s time out of water.

From a macro-perspective, habitat degradation includes water pollution, the diminishing health of oceanic ecosystems, and lack of access to historic freshwater habitat.

The impacts of climate change and increased global water temperatures are also complex but relevant factors.

Finally, the dam systems have significantly impacted the health of Idaho’s wild steelhead runs. These fish must descend and ascend through eight dams on their journey to and from the Salmon River tributaries, including the lower four Snake River dams: Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite: and the four Columbia River dams: Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day and McNary.

In navigating these dams, the steelhead fry are forced through a chute into the turbine system, which consists of five blades and a large shaft weighing over 120 tons.

This system rotates at approximately 80 revolutions per minute, creating high pressure, often injuring or killing the juvenile fish. Fish mortality occurs as fish are forced into violent contact with the blades and concrete walls or through intense water pressure that leads to exhaustion.

According to a report by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, “Biologists estimate that if turbine passage is the only way past a dam, 10 to 15 percent of the fish that are drawn through the turbines will die. With that much mortality at least possible at each dam, fish that pass multiple dams, such as fish from central Washington or the Snake River, have a statistically high probability of dying before they pass the last dam, Bonneville.” With even a minimum 10 percent death rate at each of the eight dams, only about 20 percent of the initial run could be expected to survive them. Once past the last dam, the fry still face the challenges of dam-created hurdles: slower water velocities, altered river temperatures, and increased exposure to predators.

Given the long odds, it is somewhat miraculous that the species hangs on, albeit tenuously. The perseverance of these fish reflects the bedrock qualities of the American West: toughness, daring, and spirit. Their survival depends on these qualities, as well as on the appreciation and support of outdoor enthusiasts, fly-fishing fanatics, visitors to the waterways, and vested parents or grandparents hoping that this biological marvel can be witnessed for many Idaho generations to come. 2

idaho steelhead harvest regulations One fish per day, three fish in possession.

Size limitations: No steelhead larger than 28 inches may be taken on the Clearwater or Snake rivers.

Visit the Idaho Fish and Game website (idfg.idaho.gov) for more information.

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inthearts UNBRIDLED ARTIST Jean Richardson’s intentional vagueries on canvas liberate the viewer’s soul

BY JENNIFER LIEBRUM

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“Tailwind” by Jean Richardson, at Kneeland Gallery, oil on canvas, 60 in. x 40 in.

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Most women artists in our art history books were lovers of men artists,” Jean Richardson said of her crossing from 25-year-old Okie art teacher—and decidedly not a male artist’s shadow—to being declared a professional artist with her first show in 1965. In spite of holding a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Wesleyan College and having trained with the Arts Students League in New York, “I did not consider myself a professional painter until then,” she explained in a recent interview.

Proving once again that history belongs to the one holding the pen, an excerpt from Khan Academy’s “A Brief History of Women in Art” supports Richardson’s view of the construct: “According to a story by Pliny the Elder, a Roman writer from the first century C.E., the first drawing ever made was by a woman named Dibutades, who traced the silhouette of her lover on a wall. It is worth noting that although Western mythology tells us that a woman was the first artist, her female successors received little attention until the end of the 20th century. From antiquity onwards, only a small sample of women found their way into the tales of the greatest artists. Even then, they were often described as unusually talented women who overcame the limitations of their gender in order to excel in what was believed to be a masculine field.”

“I think the advantage and disadvantage of being a woman artist balance out in the long run,” noted Richardson, who shows

THE WONDER COMES INDOORS Sun Valley is known for its natural beauty.

Now there is an indoor playground as captivating as the one that surrounds it.

MUSIC | DANCE | THEATER | IDEAS | EVENTS

The new Argyros Performing Arts Center is a high tech performance and event facility designed to inspire and enrich artists, residents and visitors from around the world. Music and dance. Theater and film. Speakers and educational workshops. Proud presenter of performances from local partners to national and international guest artists. The Argyros has something for everyone.

For complete details and tickets, visit theargyros.org Argyros Performing Arts Center • 120 Main St S, Ketchum, ID • 208.726.7872 • EIN# 82-0531282

inthearts // jean richardson

“Black Flash” by Jean Richardson, at Kneeland Gallery, oil on canvas, 45 in. x 65 in.

her art at Kneeland Gallery in Ketchum, as well as at dozens of galleries nationally and internationally. “Most gallerists are women, and they seem to promote men in a more supportive way. On the other hand, women are freer to explore their vocation in the necessary formative years. A bigger problem for women artists is the lack of female role models. None seemed to be mothers or wives.

My generation were probably pioneers of ‘having it all’ ambitions.”

Today, the nationally-acclaimed painter with a fascination with the wide-open West and broad, expressive canvases continues honoring herself, elevating women and liberating souls with her abstract forms of horses and landscapes that dance in cloaks of precisely placed color and wind-swept strokes.

“My style has evolved but has some consistent aspects; transparent washes of color, textures overlaid, and gestural brushwork. My subjects have always been figures, horses and elements of landscape.

I painted a herd of stampeding horses (the abstract version) when I was a junior in college. Never painted the feet or the eyes— just the vague impression of movement and energy,” Richardson said.

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puts the rhythmic sounds of hoofbeats in one’s ears. They have a soothing, hallucinogenic effect on the eyes. The painting titles are as lyrical as the paintings themselves: “Sky Herder,” “Dauntless,” “Wind Chaser,” “Quiet Incantation.”

In her oft-cited artist statement, Richardson has explained the draw of the horse as a subject: “The horse as a real being is lovely in itself, and I enjoy the power, the speed, and the physical beauty of the animal. My paintings, however, take this real image and make it a symbol. The horse as a metaphor for the human spirit—unbridled, striving, sometimes heroic, often restless, full of energy, and calling us to other realms.”

She concedes that the horse is a mythical and recurring theme across cultures and generations, from cave walls to Broadway, but holds that “in the contemporary vocabulary of modern painting, I have tried to explore my subject and find therein my emotional response to it.”

Richardson’s response has resonated with critics and collectors. She has been recognized by “Who’s Who in American Art,” and “Who’s Who in the South and Southwest.”

Her work has been featured in “Southwest Art” and “American Art Collector,” and is in galleries, installations

and private collections nationwide. She has her own history books, including “Turning Toward Home, The Art of Jean Richardson,” a chronicle of her development as an artist

by Dr. Joan Carpenter Troccoli, former deputy director of the Denver Art Museum; “Voices from the Heartland”; and “Plains Myths and Other Tales,” a catalog of her paintings.

Having an authentic career has meant embracing all that she is passionate about: faith, family and friends, literature, art films, travel, politics.

She explained three pieces that will be on exhibit at Kneeland Gallery this fall. “‘Wraith,’ or, visible spirit describes the ‘there-not-there’ image in this painting. The almost disappearing line lets my iconic horse emerge from the background; ‘Cool Night,’ a very recent experiment in midnight colors; ‘May Matters,’ painted in May, in upbeat colors with lots of white.”

Kneeland Gallery Director Carey Molter said one doesn’t have to connect with a horse to appreciate Richardson’s work.

“Jean’s paintings have a universal appeal, which transcends the subject matter. Her work is more a study in motion and energy and the spiritual connection she feels with the animal.” 2

Deborah Butterfield

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inthearts // michael ames

A TELLING TALE Former Valley writer and editor explores the Bowe Bergdahl story

BY K AREN BOSSICK

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Co-authors Michael Ames and Matt Farwell spent 10 years investigating the mystery of the Bowe Bergdahl case.

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wo weeks after Americans learned a young Army private had been captured in Afghanistan, writer Michael Ames learned that the naïve young man who thought he could fix things by walking off his base was the son of a UPS driver who, every day, delivered packages to the Sun Valley Magazine offices where Ames worked.

Furthermore, he realized, he had previously met Bowe Bergdahl while working at Friesen Gallery near a teahouse where Bergdahl lived and worked.

Over the next 10 years, Ames became intimately acquainted with Bowe Bergdahl as he and Matt Farwell, a former Army infantryman, investigated why Bergdahl left his post, why the Army suppressed intelligence pinpointing Bergdahl’s location, and why it bungled multiple opportunities to bring him home sooner.

Their book, “American Cipher: Bowe Bergdahl and the U.S. Tragedy in Afghanistan,” is an easy read that contains interesting tidbits for Sun Valley residents, such as the fact that Bowe Bergdahl’s dad, Bob, likely would have competed as a cyclist in the 1980 Olympics had President Jimmy Carter not pulled the United States out following Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan.

And it paints Bowe Bergdahl as an excellent marksman who held himself to a warrior’s code, was appalled that sexual assaults and rapes were rampant at Fort Richardson, in Alaska, where he trained, and was beside himself that his commander would order him to dig bunkers in an Afghan cemetery.

He was a gentle soul, unfit for combat duty, said one man who knew him.

Ames couldn’t resist the call to write Bowe Bergdahl’s story. He had watched as Bob Bergdahl grew his beard in solidarity. He had seen the pain in the father’s eyes grow, even as he remained polite when asked how it was going. He had seen stickers in support of Bowe placed in nearly every store window and many of the cars in the Wood River Valley. He had watched as yellow ribbons paid for by Blaine County Republicans were tied around the trees on Hailey’s Main Street. And he had seen children muster yellow ribbon performances at the Hailey rodeo.

Ames left his editor job at Sun Valley Magazine, for Brooklyn N.Y., while Bergdahl was yet in captivity. But upon Bowe’s release from captivity, he was spurred to revisit his notes from 2010 when Bob Bergdahl, flanked by Idaho’s Republican leaders, gave his first public speech at River Run Lodge.

The subsequent story, which he wrote for The Daily Beast, was widely read. And Ames soon found himself writing other stories, including a cover story for Newsweek titled “Searching for Bowe Bergdahl.”

“The Army had intelligence that Bowe was in Pakistan within days of his disappearance, but the search went on for months because it allowed them to conduct raids,” said Ames in an interview during a recent book tour visit to Ketchum. “When the first video of Bowe came out, the Army refused to listen to the Pentagon analyst, even though she had been in the military for 16 years.”

It didn’t help that the media turned the story into a political football, he said.

“Having lived here, I was outraged that the media—journalism, my career—could have botched things so badly that innocent people were receiving death threats for doing nothing but supporting a family in the community.

The whole thing traumatized the Wood River Valley, making the community less trusting, less open, less welcoming.”

When he asked a reporter at Fox News about it, he was told, “Don’t you get it? No one takes Fox News seriously.”

“Well, the people who produce Fox News may know it’s a show, but the people on the other end of the TV don’t,” Ames said.

Ames jumped at the chance to write a book with Farwell, who had written a 2012 story for Rolling Stone magazine that quoted military sources saying that the investigation was false. “He knew the Army inside out, having worked in Training and Doctrines.

And I knew Ketchum,” Ames recounted.

The two interviewed congressmen on Capitol Hill, and they went to Ft. Bragg for Bergdahl’s hearings. They were the only reporters to interview an Afghan translator involved with the Bowe Bergdahl case.

And they interviewed Bergdahl’s former platoon mates—the ones, Ames said, who didn’t appear on Fox News with politically motivated opinions.

“We set out to tell the definitive story, leaving no stone untold. We have 900 endnotes in our book, and we’re proud of that. That meant we did our homework,” he said.

The most difficult challenge was getting the Army to release Bergdahl’s sworn statements—something a serial podcast curiously got before everyone else.

“Everyone in the Army wanted to talk with us except for the three generals: McChrystal, Petraeus and Flynn. They wanted to protect the institution.”

Wood River Valley residents were helpful and supportive. Bob and Jani Bergdahl finally agreed to talk with Ames in July 2018 on the eve of the book’s deadline.

“I wanted an extension and the publishers wouldn’t give it. So, I became like a man possessed. It was not a healthy time for me. I was stressed out, I didn’t sleep much, I gained weight. But I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with them. The book is much better, a truer story, because of it.”

Ames said that the degree to which the government collaborated with Bob Bergdahl showed that they respected his understanding of the war. But Ames was discouraged by how quickly the government kicked Bob Bergdahl to the curb when the politics went bad.

While he found 90 percent of the individuals that he interviewed in the military “impressive,” Ames was discouraged at how the bureaucracy of the military allowed itself to be manipulated by politics and the “political infotainment” that Fox News provided.

Bergdahl was a test run for the Russians’ social media memes to spread disinformation to divide the country. And Republican operatives also saw Bob Bergdahl’s anti-war protests as an easy target to sway public opinion during mid-term elections, Ames said.

“They knew if you tell a lie enough times, people will believe it. It was the foreshadowing of the Trump era. Trump was the first person to call Bowe a traitor after he was rescued. And you know where he got that notion of traitor? From Taliban propaganda.”

Ames wouldn’t go so far as to call Bowe Bergdahl a hero. But he is impressed by how Bowe withstood the torture his captors administered. “He endured the worst captivity of anyone in Vietnam and he never broke,” he said. “He withstood abuse that would’ve killed others. His dad said he just wouldn’t die.” 2

what’s next Michael Ames plans to spend this fall writing about the Afghanistan peace talks.

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inthearts // andrew sheppard

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REDHEADED AMBITION The roots of this country soul singer started with a rock ’n’ roll mom

BY JENNIFER LIEBRUM P H O T O S B Y K I R S T E N S H U LT Z

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ith the recent release of his sophomore album, “Steady Your Aim,” Hailey-bred country singer-songwriter Andrew Sheppard was branded a “heartland rocker with an outlaw country soul,” and tapped as an artist to watch by industry monitor “Wide Open Country.”

The middle child of a popular, local, ’90s rock ‘n’ roll singer, Sheppard was weaned on the blues. His sponge baths were heavy on honky tonk. His play dates were largely with his older sister, Mayson, dinking around their mother’s band practices, where she would sometimes join her mom at what was then Bruce Willis’ The Mint Bar, belting out “Wild Thing,” where Sheppard tinkered with the bass and a skateboard, and mingled with the talent.

The hub of this wheel of fame is a spunky redhead hairdresser named Lisa Anderson, 56, who dragged her toddlers to concerts of all ilk when not singing with her own bands, The Distractors and The Beauty Operators.

Anderson had a third and, ultimately, musical child, Celeste, for whom she set aside her own music ambitions to raise.

Mayson likewise became a stylist and continued singing, eventually forming New Wave-rockabilly bands with her husband Brad Williams in Salt Lake City and now Boise.

But so far it has only been Andrew who took the leap into the music business without a net.

“Andy was always an old soul from day one,” said Anderson, taking a break between clients at Tula’s Salon in Bellevue to talk about her talented children— mostly, this day, her son, 31. “He always had the extra drive, the extra passion to take it all the way.”

Sheppard started his own punk rock band while at Wood River High School, graduated early, and headed to L.A. at 17 to join a skateboard demo team with the Vans Warped Tour, one of the annual family pilgrimages.

Sidelined by a knee injury at 19, Sheppard wasn’t ready to let the touring lifestyle go, so he put on his big boy jeans,

tuned into his genes, pulled out the guitar and founded Gypsy River Haunts.

He spent nearly 10 years in L.A. before “I knew I wanted to be my own boss and not be obligated to someone else’s schedule.” He packed up his dog, quit his day job and began a life on his own road, “ … regardless of life’s curve balls. I was determined to learn how to hit them and stay true to my course.”

He lingered back in Idaho long enough to “land a band of my good friends,” and produce his first solo album, “Far From Here,” which he performed at music festivals like Stagecoach in Indio, Calif., and Treefort in Boise, gaining followers who liken him to his own influencers: Tom Petty, John Prine, and CCR. If the sound became too familiar, or the experience too far from what he was singing about, he hit the road again, collecting stories. “I never stay anywhere too long as far as creativity goes. I think it just comes from life experience no matter where I am.”

Sheppard now lives in Nashville, where he sits on his porch and writes. He then retreats to his home studio to cobble it together. When he comes to town, little sister Celeste Cortum, now 16, who cut her own album, “The Void,” as part of her high school personal project, often opens for him, and Mayson and Mom have been known to join in.

“There isn’t any rivalry. Mayson’s pretty busy with my nephew, and Celeste has a couple more years of high school left. I’m curious to see if she will pursue music.

Someday, we’ll do the family band thing.”

Sister Mayson is putting out feelers for a new band in Boise and baby Felix is already auditioning to be a drummer.

Mama is just waiting for Celeste to grow up and choose her creative path before reinventing herself and doing something with all the songs she’s written over the years.

“They each took a little of me and made it their own,” Anderson said. “I feel that if this is my legacy, I have done a wonderful job. If that’s what I can leave for these kids, and they can carry it through the next generations ... Music makes the world go ’round.” 2

Andrew’s family, from left: Celeste, mom (Lisa), Andrew and Mayson with Felix

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inthearts // gallery buzz

From left: “Edythe And Andrew Kissing On Top Of Taxis” by Rodney Smith, at Gilman Contemporary, archival pigment print, various sizes; and “Young Muhammad Ali” by Russell Young, at Broschofsky Galleries, acrylic paint, enamel and diamond dust screen print on linen, 48 in. x 36 in.

AUTUMN GALLERY BUZZ FALL EXHIBITIONS

BROSCHOFSKY GALLERIES Sept. – Nov.

From 19th and early 20th century photographs by Edward Curtis to contemporary pop works by Andy Warhol, fall showings explore works in a variety of subject and media.

Throughout the fall, Broschofsky Galleries features a group show of artists with an array of subjects and interpretations of the American West, historical through contemporary.

Included are the poetic tonalist landscape paintings by Russell Chatham, Theodore Villa’s colorful

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and playful watercolors of Native American artifacts, and the dynamic portraits of iconic figures encrusted with “diamond dust” by Russell Young. Showing a selection of works by: RUSSELL CHATHAM, BILL BARRETT, MICHAEL COLEMAN, EDWARD CURTIS, RUDI BROSCHOFSKY, EWOUD DE GROOT, RUSSELL YOUNG, BILLY SCHENCK, KEN PELOKE, THEODORE VILLA, ANDY WARHOL and more.

FREDERIC BOLOIX FINE ARTS

charcoal drawing by EDOUARD VUILLARD and paintings by Ecole de Paris artist EMILE LAHNER to works by contemporary Austrian artist MARTIN C. HERBST, German/American sculptor JULIAN VOSS-ANDREAE and Cologne-born artist RAINER GROSS. The show is an exploration of traditional and non-traditional media including mirrors, concave shapes, as well as crumpled metal with a hidden figure.

FRIESEN GALLERY Staff Curated Group Exhibition—Opening

Sept. – Nov.

Reception: Aug. 30, 5 p.m.

Frederic Boloix will be showing new acquisitions spanning over 100 years, ranging from a major

Friesen Gallery will present a Staff Curated Group Exhibition, including new works by LESLIE STONER.

Living and working on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest,

Stoner balances her studio time

between encaustic painting and drawing painstakingly intricate

large-scale mazes. Engaging the

imagery of the natural world, often playing with notions of scale, the

artist’s paintings bear clear marks of the fire in which they were created, revealing the unsettling beauty of scarred textures, gradient mists, scattered pockmarks, and sooty webbed lines. Her abstracted

landscapes and mazes resist a

single narrative, instead creating a space for discovery, revelation

and renewal. “My subject matter is the natural world, abstracted,

with a balance between dreamlike

From left: “High Preserve” by Victoria Adams, at Gail Severn Gallery, oil on panel, 6 in. x 12 in.: and “Veiled Winds” by Leslie Stoner, at Friesen Gallery, archival ink on panel, 48 in. x 48 in. x 2 in.

light and inky dark,” says Stoner.

“Each work is infused with scarred texture, scattered pockmarks, sharp incisions, and misty gradients. I think of my paintings as windows into a world not quite ours but still shrouded with familiarity so the viewer can imagine them self, wandering through it, with places for the soul to shine and places for the soul to hide.”

GAIL SEVERN GALLERY Aug. 26 – Oct. 2 Victoria Adams

VICTORIA ADAMS’ large-scale landscapes and small, intimate, jewel-like oil paintings on linen features her signature skies and watery reflections. Adams’ focal point is the inherent radiance of light found in nature. She often highlights the transforming effects of light filtered through clouds falling on the land and water below. Adams creates images that connect us with our own past experiences of place and more often than not evoke personal moments of stillness and meaning.

Robb Putnam-Part II

ROBB PUTNAM sculpts animal forms with cast-off blankets, shirts, fake fur, rags, thread, plastic bags, leather scraps, glue and thread.

These sculptures evoke playful, whimsical characters found in children’s books, but his characters also offer something different: they are physically and psychologically vulnerable and seem like overgrown

stuffed toys or imaginary friends— misfits whose demeanors both invite and may also possess a sense of sadness.

RANA ROCHAT’s works are pictorial metaphors of a fragile balance using marks, forms, colors, as well as the luminosity and visual depth afforded by the encaustic medium.

chronicling visual stories about time, both geologic and human.

This exhibition is composed of paintings and works on paper that are concerned with form and color as a metaphor and the power that a color and/or a rather basic, minimal form or text can exert on a viewer.

PAMELA DETUNCQ turns taxidermy into a playful and lively version of itself by using vintage tapestries.

and Photography

LUIS GONZÁLEZ PALMA photographs are often intended to inspire psychological and cultural issues in the viewer, by incorporating distant gazes and mystical costumes that objectify and explain the pain of the indigenous Mayas and the Mestizo people of Guatemala.

GARY KOMARIN, a master of PostPainterly Abstraction, has been at the forefront of contemporary art with a bold and colorful style recognized by art collectors worldwide, and museum curators alike.

Contemporary painting and photography that uses the subtilties of vision to create visual activity that stimulates and encourages a deeper exploration. Seven renowned artists offer a personal language for the viewers’ consideration.

Through stunning black and white portraits of ranchers, and the Hutterites of Montana, LAURA WILSON dramatically explores border issues, isolation, poverty and other symbolic images of the American West.

DANIEL DIAZ-TAI abstract paintings are layered with stories, emotion and texture. In these paintings, you can feel competing emotions stemming from the artist’s international journeys.

THEODORE WADDELL’s lifelong career as a rancher inspires his painting of livestock in the Montana and Idaho plains and mountains.

His paintings are a combination of rough marks; thick paint; transparent elegant strokes; and, on a few occasions, a slow, hard line scratched into the canvas.

Color & Form as Metaphor II

PEGAN BROOKE’s painting are inspired by the experiences of sustained reflection upon certain places and circumstances, and an undeniable impulse to make art inspired by them in order to understand what they might mean.

SQUEAK CARNWATH combines text and images on abstract fields of color to express sociopolitical and spiritual concerns.

MARCIA MYERS utilized natural pigments to capture the essence of her Italian experiences.

Inspired by the redwoods of his childhood, DELOS VAN EARL likens his work to a pinecone. While you may see a pinecone as a single solitary perfect shape, it is actually many parts that are all different and irregular to form something unique together.

Light & Shadow — Contemporary Painting

RAPHAËLLE GOETHALS’ encaustic paintings include many layers of translucent wax to explore underlying references to ancient script and marks.

KATHY MOSS is drawn to botanicals for their emotive and symbolic potential, for their mysteriousness and suggestiveness.

LAURA MCPHEE is noted for her stunning large-scale landscapes and portraits of the people who live and work in them. She is currently working in the desert West of the United States where she is

GILMAN CONTEMPORARY September

Idaho-based photographer WENDEL WIRTH’s newest series, “This is the Place,” explores the minimal lines of agricultural buildings throughout rural Idaho. These sun-soaked and wind-ravaged buildings are interrupted by sharp slices of sky and land. Each image is framed on the paper with a Polaroid-like border, FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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inthearts // gallery buzz

From left: “Infinite Kicks” by Brendan O’Connell, at Sun Valley Center for the Arts, acrylic on canvas, 54 in. x 66 in.; “Distant Rooster” by Rives Granade, at Ochi Gallery, acrylic gouache, acrylic, and oil on canvas, 60 in. x 48 in.; and “Mane of Wind, Neck of Thunder” by George Carlson, at Wood River Fine Arts, bronze, 55 in. x 80 in. x 20 in.

bringing to mind the fleeting and disposable landscapes inhabited by agriculture.

November – Giving Walk

Gilman Contemporary continues to celebrate 12 years of visual art with a dramatic group exhibition.

From the beginning, we have made it our mission to introduce artists with an “innovative vision of their craft” to the Valley and we continue to embody this philosophy.

This exhibition celebrates our success and brings fresh work from our current gallery artists.

From emerging artists TUCK FAUNTLEROY, ISABELLE MENIN and KELLY ORDING to established favorites HUNT SLONEM, RODNEY SMITH and GREG MILLER, this exhibition explores the art that makes our gallery unique.

KNEELAND GALLERY Jean Richardson

When asked about her fascination with the horse as subject matter, Jean Richardson often describes how, on many levels, the image is ideal for her true subjects; namely, motion and energy. Her large-scale acrylic-on-canvas paintings take the image of a horse and use it as metaphor for the human spirit as she sees it—unbridled, striving, restless and sometimes heroic. Her use of paint reflects this spiritual connection with her subject through movement, form and vivid color.

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Neal Philpott

Realist painter NEAL PHILPOTT seeks to capture the ephemeral nature of the Northwest, seeing himself as a recordkeeper of a specific place and time. His paintings might feature a meandering road, a distant fence line or a farmhouse nestled in trees. Light play animates his work, creating the lines, forms and structure that give his interesting compositions their charge. The juxtaposition of shadow and areas of illumination characterizes these transient moments.

Douglas Aagard

Douglas Aagard draws on the Utah landscape as his source of inspiration. His subjects vary from the mountain pines and cedars to the farmland in between and all are linked by his intriguing use of texture and light combined with a vibrant color palette.

OCHI GALLERY “Dream Bird Beyond Sound, Beyond Time” Aug. 24 – Oct. 19

Ochi Gallery is pleased to present “Dream Bird Beyond Sound, Beyond Time,” a solo exhibition featuring works by Los Angelesbased artist RIVES GRANADE. This body of work continues Granade’s exploration into the mutability of forms with color being a dominating interest. Setting the mood and radiating energy from the canvas,

“Mane of Wind - Neck of Thunder” by George Carlson, at Wood River Fine Arts

Granade achieves his saturated hues by using primarily acrylic gouache. The gouache allows for an immediate mark making, and the colors are matte and intense, leaving a surface that seems almost fragile in its sheen. While all of the paintings contain snippets of recognizable forms, they are for the most part done in an automatic way. Employing the basic formula for ab ex painting whereby one makes a mark and then responds to it, Granade’s gestures might be more of a shape or a drawing than a mere brushstroke, but they do acknowledge a consistent desire to combine hard-edged abstraction with gestural existentialism.

SUN VALLEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS “Marketplaces” – Opening Celebration: Aug. 30, 5-7 p.m. Artists Chad Erpelding and Mark R. Smith will speak about their work at 6 p.m.

CONRAD BAKKER collected nearly 100 Idaho rocks that he then recreated as small sculptures. Each rock will be offered for sale as part of a larger installation, “Untitled Project: Mountain Rock Shop.”

CHAD ERPELDING marries data visualization and geometric abstraction in paintings that investigate global institutions.

“Marketplaces” includes work

from two projects that use color and pattern to represent trends in stock indices.

Through most of the 1990s, American painter BRENDAN O’CONNELL lived and worked in Europe. Upon his return to the U.S., he was struck by how significantly American society had changed— particularly the way Americans now shopped. O’Connell began visiting Walmart stores across the country, capturing the architecture, shoppers and brands he encountered along the way and creating a portrait of American consumption in the 21st century.

BRITTANY POWELL PARICH’s project “Checkout” includes approximately life-size sculptures of every item in one checkout lane of her local Fred Meyer store on one day in the summer of 2018.

The sculptures’ bright colors and eye-catching logos are testament to the temptations of the grocery store checkout line, where carefully arranged displays of everything from candy and cough drops to beef jerky and Bic lighters beckon to shoppers.

The works in MARK R. SMITH’s project “The Silk Road” investigate the history of commerce and trade along the historic Silk Road, which linked Asia to the Mediterranean, and on the online black market of the same name, which was a notorious site for the sale of illicit goods from 2011 to 2013. Smith’s large geometric

Severn Art ServiceS since 1974

works recall both textile patterns and computer circuitry. Smaller works feature images of real items he found for sale on the Silk Road website, from antiquities to construction equipment and drug paraphernalia.

Master Framing & Installation

“Behind the Sagebrush Curtain: Women Modernists in Montana and Idaho” Nov. 15, 2019 – Jan. 10, 2020

Behind the Sagebrush Curtain includes prints, drawings, paintings and ceramics by seven 20th-century artists who were active in Montana (GENNIE DEWEESE, EDITH FREEMAN, ISABELLE JOHNSON, HELEN MCAUSLAN, FRANCES SENSKA and JESSIE WILBER) and Idaho (SARA JOYCE).

Working in a wide range of materials and styles, these artists were unified in their desire to marry the landscapes and subject matter of the American West with ideas and techniques that reflected their engagement with international modernism.

WOOD RIVER FINE ARTS The Artists of the Prix de West

Wood River Fine Arts is pleased to feature new works to the gallery from the prestigious Prix de West Show in Oklahoma City. The show is held at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and celebrated its 46th year in 2019. Wood River Fine Arts is proud to represent six past Prix de West Purchase Award winners in our gallery. Our most notable addition to our artist list is Idaho sculptor and painter GEORGE CARLSON. George is a two-time recipient of the Prix de West Award and is recognized by many in the museum world as the finest nature painter in America. His career has explored a broad array of mediums, from pastel to sculpture and painting. His work has been exhibited in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Denver Art Museum, and the Woolaroc Museum.

Severn Art Services has been the principal framer to collectors and galleries for over 43 years. Specialized in quality custom and archival framing, featuring exquisite copies of vintage and contemporary frames for fine art, mirrors, and three-dimensional objects of all sizes. We provide experienced installation and curatorial services for homes, offices, collectors, and corporations. We also provide cost effective framing and care for prints, posters, personal mementos, and family photos.

Severn Art Services offers professional conservation and restoration services.

When your needs include rearranging or hanging new acquisitions we can provide cost effective professional services for both indoor and outdoor installations.

Please visit us in our showroom, next to Gail Severn Gallery in the Severn Building at 400 First Avenue North, Ketchum, ID.

Other featured artists include CHRISTOPHER BLOSSOM, KENNETH BUNN, LEN CHMIEL, G. RUSSELL CASE, JEREMY LIPKING, ANDREW PETERS, JOHN AND TERRI MOYERS, JIM MORGAN, RICHARD LOFFLER, DAN OSTERMILLER, RALPH OBERG, SKIP WHITCOMB, DANIEL W. PINKHAM, MATT SMITH and R.S. RIDDICK. FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

Art Hanging & Installation Hardwood • Leather • Speciality Mats • Plexiboxes Gold Leaf • Custom Metals • Period Frames Conservation & Restoration

Severn Art ServiceS 400 First Avenue North • PO Box 1679 • Ketchum, ID 83340 208.726.5088 • artservices@gailseverngallery.com

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food&drink

STEP INTO ANOTHER WORLD The Boho Lounge brings a taste of a Balinese Cafe to the Wood River Valley B Y H AY D E N S E D E R P H O T O S B Y K I R S T E N S H U LT Z

Hannah McNees, owner and interior designer, with event planner Brenna Cavanaugh

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Wake up and Live

W

alk into Ketchum’s new Boho Lounge and one is immediately transported. From the Moroccan-style poufs on the floor, to the 1970s macramé swings hanging from the ceiling, to the Turkish pendant lights hanging over the bar, it’s clear that this is no typical Ketchum establishment. Designed to resemble a Balinese café that served as its inspiration, the Boho Lounge is the creation of 30-year-old owner Hannah McNees and her friend, interior designer and event planner, 31-year-old Brenna Cavanaugh.

Boho opened in early April in the space that previously housed the restaurant Globus, a two story oasis of space that has already allowed McNees to start a bar, restaurant, and event space complete with upstairs roof lounging. The young restaurateur—McNees owns Jersey Girl in Hailey—was approached by the owner of the building last fall about utilizing the space somehow rather than let it sit empty.

McNees proposed a New Year’s Eve party.

After an extremely successful party in the space that included drinks, apps, and fun, jungle-themed design, the building’s owner asked about getting the bar open and using the space’s liquor license.

“I said, ‘If I’m going to do it, I want to do it and make it special,” offered McNees.

“So after the New Year’s party, I committed to the space.”

McNees already had many ideas swimming in her head from a previous three-week trip to Bali where she often relaxed at beach clubs where shoes were removed at the entrance and customers sat lounging on the floor. McNees enjoyed the experience so much, she wondered why there couldn’t be a space like this in Ketchum. She was met with typical responses (both from others and herself ) that both the tourists and many residents wouldn’t want anything to do with a space so out of the cultural norm.

“I knew it would be tough to make it work, but I said ‘Screw it, let’s do it.’”

While McNees had a vision for the space, she needed someone to help bring FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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Home of the Bowl of Soul

two convenient valley locations JAVA HAILEY

JAVA ON FOURTH KETCHUM

111 1st avenue north 208.788.2399

191 4th street west 208.726.2882

OF SUN VALLEY

The Valley’s premier dining magazine & menu guide Pick up a copy on stands

throughout the Wood River Valley, or read the digital edition at sunvalleymag.com/dining.

food&drink // boho lounge

From groovy hangout, to hosting classes and events, to music and dancing, the Boho Lounge aspires to be a place for everybody.

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it to fruition. McNees had seen much of Cavanaugh’s design handiwork at her brother, Luke McNees’s, event Lost River Disco for which Cavanaugh did the design and visuals.

He had also done the decor and design for the annual Feastival held at Idaho BaseCamp, owned by McNees’ sister, Whitney, and her husband, Matt Gershater. Cavanaugh also owns the Movable Boutique (Mobo), a renovated vintage mobile home that sells clothing and jewelry. After only two days back in Ketchum after a winter in Amsterdam, Cavanaugh sat down with McNees to hear about her idea.

“We met at the Warfield, and we talked for about three hours,” said Cavanaugh. “She asked if I would design, and I said, ‘Yes,’ and the next day we were at work on it, getting the proposal done, getting funding, and breaking down walls the next week.”

The booths previously used for dining were ripped out and a mix of tall café tables and floor seating and short tables were put in to give a mellower vibe. The upstairs area offers more of the same, as well as a second bar and several hammocks. The attention to detail in the space is spot-on, with jungle plants and cushy rugs encouraging you to remove your shoes but not to the point that the place is too hip or “crunchy” for a nicer crowd.

“We’ve definitely harnessed the younger age group, but Brenna has done such an incredible job designing it and giving it a sophisticated feel,” explained McNees. “She brought the playful vibe together with the classier, most sophisticated vibe so much so that customers looking for Globus walk in and end up staying and leaving blown away.”

Already locals have flocked to the space, which is currently open Tuesday through Sunday at 2 p.m. for cocktails, dinner, occasional indoor and rooftop aerial yoga classes, DJs and other music events, and more.

“I want it to be a place where people feel like they can melt in—stay for an hour or stay for four hours,” said McNees. “The point of the space is not to have a conventional way of dining where you come in, have a reservation, sit down, do an appetizer, salad, main course, dessert and go home.”

Boho inherited a liquor license, and McNees immediately thought to bring in Christina Giordani from ROADBARS to

design the cocktail menu. Everything on the cocktail menu is delicious and made with fresh ingredients like their Coconut Milk Margarita or the Carrot-Ginger Highball, which features one of Giordani’s signature shrubs.

For food, McNees got a recommendation to reach out to local chef and private caterer Lindsey Czech who has worked at Limelight and NourishMe. Czech designed the majority of the menu, and Mario Wilson from the Hot Water Inn has brought over his Jamaican cooking since the Inn’s recent closing. The menu is divided between “friendly eats,” aka foods to share, and “for me” foods for a main course. For “friendly eats,” there’s a grazing board of charcuterie, pita, mushrooms and more, several versions of crostini, chips and dip, and fries. For main courses, there are Jamaican delights like Jamaican jerk chicken and other eclectic meals like vegan pho, Bahn Mi, gazpacho or a booty bowl filled with veggies, quinoa, chickpeas and other yummy additions.

Going forward, there are numerous plans for changes to the space itself, extending the hours to include the morning for coffee and possible weekend brunches, more events, starting a floral shop inside, and adding a mobile coffee cart featuring local Jens Peterson’s Maps coffee. McNees also wants to start doing weekend brunches with a DJ, movie nights on the roof using a projector, and possibly Jamaican nights. There’s truly no end to the ideas these women have for the future.

Also a major priority for both McNees and Cavanaugh is to make the space a onestop-shop for events and event planning.

With an in-shop florist and event planner (Cavanaugh), as well as a full kitchen and bar, Boho is suited for wedding events like rehearsal dinners, birthday parties and more.

In the few months since it opened, Boho has made a major splash on the cultural and culinary scene of Ketchum. McNees and Cavanaugh have truly combined their resources and skills to create a space that everyone can enjoy.

“Part of our mission was to create a space where locals can come together with tourists—there’s no separation of it being a locals-only spot or somewhere that only tourists can afford,” said McNees. “This is a place for everybody.” 2 FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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food&drink // dining guide S P E C I A L

PROMOTIONAL SECTION

DINING AROUND TOWN

INTERNATIONAL COWBOY COCINA International Cowboy Cocina is a cornerstone in the Hailey community and has been recognized for its outstanding American cuisine, excellent service and friendly staff. Our American restaurant is known for its modern interpretation of classic dishes and its insistence on only using high-quality fresh ingredients. 111 N. 1st Ave. Suite 1C, Hailey.

208.928.7009.

A fast guide to the Valley’s best eateries

JAVA COFFEE AND CAFÉ

The culinary scene in the Wood River

Truly a great coffeehouse! Baking from scratch daily. Serving the finest Fair Trade and organic coffees. Sound like a local and order the “Dirty Hippie Burrito” and a “Bowl of Soul.” Wake up and live! 191 4th St. W., Ketchum 726.2882, 111 N. 1st Ave., Hailey, 208.788.2297.

Valley continues to evolve and expand, offering new and exciting takes on everything from Pacific Northwest fare, to fine Continental, Mediterranean, French, Austrian, Asian, and traditional American offerings. Here we’ve provided a guide to some of the finest dining

JERSEY GIRL

spots around town.

Best sandwiches in town!

14 E. Croy St., Hailey. 208.788.8844.

BREAKFAST & CAFES

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cozy up by our fire and enjoy lunch, fresh baked goods, espresso drinks or a

BIG BELLY DELI Homemade soups, salads, and a variety of great sandwiches. Serving the Valley for over 15 years and rated #1 Best Sandwich Deli. Let us prove it, and your belly will thank you. 171 N. Main St., Hailey. 208.788.2411.

house made cocktail. Lunch served daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 15187 State Hwy 75, Ketchum. 208.726.4010.

GLOW LIVE FOOD CAFÉ Glow is a plant-based and organic cafe and health food store. Glow specializes in delicious, plant-

BIGWOOD BREAD

based foods, emphasizing locally grown produce.

Visit us at one of our spectacular locations, both featuring beautiful outdoor views, fantastic food and outstanding service. Our bakery café offers the customer a chance to see our bakers in action at our new 12,000-square-foot bakery. Our downtown location offers you the chance to be in the heart of the city’s bustle on the corner of East Street and Fourth Avenue. Fresh and homemade is how we do it! Downtown Café – 380 N. East Ave., Ketchum 208.928.7868; Bakery Café – 271 Northwood Way, Ketchum 208.726.2035.

Indian curry and Southwest bowls, baked pizzas,

BLACK OWL CAFE Locally roasted, custom blended coffee brewed to perfection. Large selection of loose leaf tea. Home baked scones, muffins and breads. Breakfast and lunch. 208 N. River St., Hailey. 208.928.6200.

CAFE DELLA Cafe, bakery, and markete located in the heart of Hailey. 103 S. Main St., Hailey. 208.913.0263

GALENA LODGE The perfect place for a winter or summer outing.

During the winter months Galena is open daily

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KONDITOREI Lunch dishes range from pumpkin spatzle with sausage and apples to roasted chicken crepes with spinach and spicy Liptauer cheese. To satisfy sweet-tooth cravings or just to warm up on a chilly day, the café offers a full complement of artisanal coffee and hot chocolate drinks, plus housebaked European pastries. Sun Valley Resort, 208.622.2235.

Our winter menu includes three hot soups daily,

PERRY’S

superfood smoothies, pressed juices, and

Voted “Best of the Valley” by the Idaho Mountain Express readers numerous times for breakfast, lunch, and sandwiches, Perry’s Restaurant has been a Ketchum fixture for 26 years. 131 West 4th St., Ketchum. 208.726.7703.

desserts. 380 Washington Ave. #105, Ketchum.

208.725.0314.

GRETCHEN’S Adjacent to the Sun Valley Lodge lobby, Gretchen’s Restaurant welcomes you with a relaxing indoor/ outdoor feel with easy access for Terrace dining

all day long. Enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner and

full bar service. Sun Valley’s own Gretchen Fraser is the restaurant’s namesake, the first American

to win an alpine Olympic gold medal. Sun Valley Lodge. 208.622.2144.

HAILEY COFFEE COMPANY Our café serves delicious gourmet espresso drinks and fresh baked goods from our on-site bakery.

All of our coffees are fresh roasted in Hailey and

our baked goods are served fresh from the oven.

Fresh roasted beans, superior roasting techniques, a demand for quality, and a well-trained staff are some of the components that we believe truly

create “The Cup of the Valley.” 219 S. Main St., Hailey. 208.788.8482.

POOLSIDE CAFÉ Enjoy summer-fresh salads, sandwiches and flatbreads, as well as a full range of cocktails and beverages. Choose from light fare such as watermelon salad or spa Caesar to heartier fare like the Lodge burger or wild shrimp tacos and flatbread pizzas. Sun Valley Lodge. 208.622.2833.

RASBERRYS Whether you are seeking a quiet getaway place for lunch or want to host an elegant gathering for friends, Rasberrys will meet and exceed your expectations. Callie and Maeme Rasberry believe all the senses must be involved in meal preparation; therefore, the menu is eclectic, just like the chefs, with dishes prepared with fresh local ingredients when available and their own take on comfort and ethnic food. 411 Building, 5th St., Ketchum. 208.726.0606.

THE KNEADERY

BOHO LOUNGE

Established in 1974, The Kneadery combines

The Boho Lounge is everyone and anyone’s home away from home. It’s a sanctuary for you to kick off your shoes, take a deep breath, stay awhile.

Looking for a refreshing happy hour with craft cocktails? We’re the spot. 131 Washington Ave..

208.726-6843.

wholesome fresh food with a rustic Idaho

atmosphere. All meals start with the freshest ingredients: locally baked organic breads,

farm-fresh, cage-free eggs, seasonal fruit and

top-quality meats. From the huge omelets and

pancakes, to the fresh salads and burgers, there’s something for everyone. 260 Leadville Ave. North, Ketchum. 208.726.9462.

TUNDRA RESTAURANT A new addition to the thriving Hailey community.

Tundra features a modern, stylish, and hip setting.

Tundra serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday.

516 N Main St., Hailey. 208.928.4121.

DELIS

ATKINSONS’ MARKETS Atkinsons’ Markets, serving you and your family at our three locations in the Wood River Valley.

451 E. 4th St., Ketchum, 208.726.2681; 93 E.

Croy St., Hailey, 208.788.2294. 757 N. Main St., Bellevue, 208.788.7788.

WRAPCITY Wrapcity is fast, fresh, and fun food! Located

next to the Kentwood Lodge on Main Street in

Ketchum, Wrapcity serves up creative wraps and

salads, homemade soups, and unique quesadillas.

Wrapcity also serves breakfast wraps all day with special breakfast creations on Saturdays and

Sundays. Voted “Valley’s Best Lunch” in 2011. 180 Main St. S., Ketchum, 208.727.6766.

PUBS, GRILLS, & LOUNGES

APPLE’S BAR AND GRILL Established over two decades ago, Apple’s Bar

and Grill is still the best spot to fuel your body after a long day ripping turns on Baldy! Let Hank and Heather take care of all your needs. Kick back, enjoy a great meal and a pint of beer at one of

the most spectacular mountain bar locations! 205 Picabo St. Ketchum 208.726.7067

BIGWOOD GRILL The Bigwood Grill is an outdoor restaurant with amazing views of Baldy, Warm Springs, Adams Gulch, The Boulders, and Boulder Peak. It’s

open for lunch and dinner from June through late September. The Bigwood Grill features a full-

service bar with daily Happy Hour drink and food specials from 3 – 5 p.m. 115 Thunder Spring Rd., Ketchum. 208.726.7067.

ELKHORN CLUBHOUSE GRILL When summer hits, hit up the Elkhorn Clubhouse for lunch or early dinner, and recharge with a little Valley R&R. Dine inside for a touch of classic clubhouse ambience, or grab a table on the patio and breathe in the pristine Dollar Mountain view surrounded by the Elkhorn golf course. 100 Badeyana Dr., Sun Valley. 208.622.2820.

GRUMPY’S

style BBQ grill located in the “historic” bank building in Bellevue. We specialize in slow-cooked tri-tip steak and various seafood items. Our name 7 Fuego is a reference to the way we use fire seven different ways to cook. Our unique blend of mesquite smoke, roasted peppers, and fresh citrus exemplifies the “Baja” flavor. 200 S. Main St., Bellevue. 208.788.1034.

SAWTOOTH BREWERY 25 taps with beer, wine, cider, and kombucha on tap! Join us for the game on one of our big screen TV’s. We fill growlers, crowlers, and have kegs, bottles, and cans to go! NFL Sunday Ticket and NHL Center Ice for your viewing pleasure.110 N. River St., Hailey; 631 Warm Springs Rd., Ketchum.

208.726.6803.

THE CELLAR PUB

It started as a place where the workingman and local could come, have a beer and burger and not be bothered. Today, Grumpy’s is a favorite of locals and visitors alike. We are a little hard to find, but not hard to find out about. Grumpy’s hosted Rachel Ray for a lunch segment on “40 Dollars a Day in Sun Valley” in 2004 and was most recently mentioned in USA Today’s “LIFE” section.. 860 Warm Springs Rd., Ketchum, no phone.

The Cellar Pub serves the best pub food in the Sun Valley-Ketchum area. From traditional pub fare such as buffalo burgers or fish & chips to original dishes such as our flat iron steak salad, we have something for everyone in your party. We have a full bar and feature a great selection of draft beer and fine wines. Whether you live in the area or are visiting for the first time, come on down to The Cellar Pub; we’d love to serve you. 400 Sun Valley Rd., Ketchum, 208.622.3832.

LEFTY’S BAR & GRILL

THE LIMELIGHT LOUNGE

Lefty’s has been a local and visitor favorite for more than 20 years, and for good reason. Lefty’s has a great casual dining menu, including killer burgers served on fresh-baked bread, monster hot sandwiches, wings, salads and our specialty, fresh-cut French fries. For families, Lefty’s has all the foods kids love, at a price you’ll love. There is no better place to watch sports than Lefty’s, whose motto is “All the games, all the time.” Live music.

Great outdoor deck! 231 6th St. East, Ketchum, 208.726.2744.

When late afternoon hits, we swing our doors wide open for guests and locals to dig into our friendly après food and drink specials. Our full dinner menu is available evenings in the Lounge, for in-room dining, or take-out. Enjoy a kid and dog friendly hotel with casual seating and live music. 151 South Main St., Ketchum. 208.726.0888.

MAHONEY’S The South Valley’s favorite spot for family-friendly food, Mahoney’s offers a full bar, a terrific deck that’s just a short stroll from Bellevue’s Howard Preserve and a tasty menu featuring their famous “Juicy Lucy” cheese-filled, grilled-oniontopped hamburger. 104 S. Main St. Bellevue.

208.788.4449.

POWER HOUSE Serving locally-raised Waygu beef burgers, blackened Ahi sandwiches and tacos, hand-cut fries, and organic salads with a wealth of beers on tap. 502 N. Main St., Hailey. 208.788.9184.

7 FUEGO 7 Fuego is a family-owned and operated “Baja” FALL 2019 | sunvalleymag.com

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PROMOTIONAL SECTION

THE MINT

IL NASO

A warm inviting atmosphere with a comfortable approachable menu that embodies downhome cooking with an uptown feel and flavor. A gathering place for our community that brings vitality to the heart of our small town fostering a culture that becomes the go-to spot for locals and a destination for visitors. 116 Main St., Hailey.

208.788.6468.

Owner Sam Turner invites you to enjoy his warm, inviting restaurant with Italian-influence cuisine.

Il Naso is special whether you drop by to have a burger and beer at the wine bar, or to relax in the candlelit dining room. The extensive wine list and knowledgeable staff will help you choose just the right bottle to enhance your dining experience.

Large parties welcome. 480 Washington Ave., Ketchum. 208.726.7776.

THE RED SHOE

RICO’S

Enjoy the neighborhood tavern feel of The Red Shoe while dining on local favorites that include a meatloaf sandwich, wild Alaskan sockeye salmon and braised pork ribs, not to mention the Idaho potato skins or pulled-pork nachos. 107 SH 75, Hailey. 208.788.5048.

Founded in 1982 by Rico and Amy Albright, RICO’S features starters, soups, salads, over 20 signature pastas, handpicked nightly specials, calzones and 11 specialty hand-tossed brick-oven pizzas. 200 Main St., Ketchum. 208.726.7426.

VILLAGE STATION Road-weary travelers of every age will find something to enjoy at Village Station. The train station-inspired décor pays tribute to Sun Valley’s history as an early destination on the Union Pacific railroad line. Enjoy a wide selection of cocktails and craft beer on tap, as well as a crowd-pleasing menu of classic American favorites: hearty cheeseburgers, chicken wings, pizza and family-style salads. Sun Valley Village.

208.622.2143.

WARFIELD DISTILLERY & BREWERY Our chef keeps things simple and seasonal, letting the ingredients shine. The ever-changing menu brings you the best provisions from across the Northwest in our comfortable neighborhood pub setting. The best summer deck in town with fire pits and rocking chairs for comfort and conversation. 280 N. Main St., Ketchum.

208.726.2739.

ROMINNA’S KB’S The New York Times named KB’s as a must-stop in its article of top 10 things to do in 36 hours in Sun Valley. This cheerful, laid-back burrito joint serves delicious fish tacos and offers a make-your-own burrito, with a choice of 27 fillings. 260 N. Main St., Ketchum. 208.928.6955; 121 N. Main St., Hailey.

208.788.7217.

LA CABANITA Only one way to put it… best authentic Mexican food in town. The town’s hidden gem that is truly a favorite. 160 W. 5th St., Ketchum. 208.725.5001; 745 N. Main St., Bellevue, 208.928.7550.

LAGO AZUL Enjoy true Mexican food in downtown Hailey. Pollo rancherito, carne asada saran and “Sandy” tacos are house specialties not to be missed. 14 W. Croy St., Hailey. 208.578.1700.

MEXICAN ITALIAN & PIZZA

CHAPALITAS GRILL A family Mexican restaurant serving authentic dishes, including specialties such as pollo a la chapala, chicken carnitas, and huevos con chorizo.

200 S. Main St., Hailey. 208.928.7306.

DESPO’S A local favorite for over 25 years. Founder and owner Jim Funk is committed to authentic, delicious Mexican dishes that respect your desire for a healthy meal without compromising flavor.

Offering fresh ingredients, high-quality, regionally0sourced meats, daily specials, vegetarian selections, and three kinds of salsa made daily.

211 4th St. E., Ketchum. 208.726.3068.

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DIVINE FOOD & WINE Voted the best wine bar in the Wood River Valley for the last three years, diVine offers wines by the glass, soups, salads, panini and gourmet pizzas.

They also sell wines by the bottle to enjoy at home or in our restaurant or outdoor patio. And don’t miss the delicious fondue or gluten-free options.

111 N. 1st Ave., Hailey. 208.788.4422.

ENOTECA Ketchum’s newest gastronomic addition, with its upscale pizzeria and wine bar. Enoteca has a plethora of small plates to choose from. 300 N. Main St., Ketchum. 208.928.6280.

Rominna’s is the place for casual dining in Ketchum with spectacular views and a glorious deck. Since 2013, we have been offering contemporary Italian cuisine prepared to the highest standards. Our premium wine selection includes more than 150 wines to pair with any course. Reservations are highly recommended.

580 Washington St., Ketchum. 208.726.6961.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN PIZZERIA & GRILL From just humble beginnings in Ketchum back in 1992, Smoky Mountain Pizzeria & Grill has grown— and for good reason. Our fresh, handcrafted food is what brings people in, and our service is what keeps them coming back for more. We pride ourselves on creating a “nourishing and memorable neighborhood experience that people love!” 200 Sun Valley Rd., Ketchum. 208.622.5625.

ASIAN/SUSHI

DANG’S THAI CUISINE Also known as “Dang Good,” Dang’s Thai Cuisine is a favorite among the locals! Dang’s offers a wide selection of popular dishes ranging from sushi, green papaya salad, pad thai, and their famous green curry with chicken! If you like spicy food, don’t forget to ask for the little jars of sambal and Thai chili sauce! Highly recommend as an affordable, flavorful and fun experience in Hailey!

310 N. Main St., Hailey. 208.928.7111.

RICKSHAW Serving “ethnic street foods,” as chef Andreas Heaphy likes to say, Rickshaw has been well received by locals, visitors and critics alike.

Creative, fresh, small plates are inspired by the flavors and foods in locales such as Thailand,

Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. 460 N. Washington Ave., Ketchum, 208.726.8481.

SUSHI ON SECOND Established in 1994, Sushi on Second is the Valley’s oldest sushi restaurant. But don’t let age fool you. Head sushi chefs John Rust and Ross Bird are at the center of a talented crew of sushi chefs that delight in creating dishes that are as appetizing to look at as they are to eat. Nightly food, wine and sake specials, 20-seat sushi bar, cozy booths and two private tatami rooms. 260 Second St., Ketchum. 208.726.5181.

ZOU 75 Rediscover this Main Street gem in downtown Hailey! Zou 75 is your destination for more than great Asian fusion, sushi and seafood selections.

With fresh fish flown in several times a week straight from Honolulu, Hawaii, you can always count on the best in quality and freshness. With a martini/wine bar, two private rooms and take-out party platters of all sizes, Zou 75 is the perfect choice for your next dining event. 416 N. Main St., Hailey. 208.788.3310.

MEDITERRANEAN

TOWN SQUARE TAVERN Town Square Tavern, established in June 2015, is a gathering place in the center of Ketchum, serving fresh and inspired world cuisine. With flavors inspired by the Mediterranean regions stretching from the Middle East, to North Africa, to Spain, Italy and France, there is something sure to please everyone’s palate. 360 East Ave. N., Ketchum. 208.726.6969.

REGIONAL NORTHWEST

DUCHIN LOUNGE All new and inviting, this legendary lounge serves up cocktails, imported beer and an extensive wine list. Now you can also duck in for a quick bite from our lounge menu. Sun Valley Lodge, 208.622.2145.

GRILL AT KNOB HILL The environment at the Knob Hill Inn is casual and comfortable, yet sophisticated, with distinctively Northwest cuisine, and a variety of American and European classics. A top local favorite! 960 N. Main St., Ketchum. 208.726.8004.

IDAHO ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANCH Our menu is driven by the food we love: casual, honest, and with a bit of surprise while using

the best local Idaho and Northwest bounty and seasonal specialties. Reservations are required.

Located 9 miles south of Stanley on SH 75.

208.774.3544.

KETCHUM GRILL For nearly 22 years, Ketchum Grill has brought your dining experience to the highest gastronomical level, and the best Idaho has to offer. 520 East Ave., Ketchum. 208.726.4660.

ROUNDHOUSE Perched midway up Bald Mountain on the River Run side, the Roundhouse was built in 1939 by Sun Valley’s founding father, Union Pacific Railroad Chairman Averell Harriman. Today this restaurant is a culinary destination not to be missed. Serviced by the Roundhouse Gondola, the restaurant offers spectacular views of the Valley. Bald Mountain, Ketchum. 208.622.2012.

SUN VALLEY CLUB The Sun Valley Club has all the trappings of an exclusive golf club, without any of the barriers: Everyone is welcome at the table. Among the most popular places in Sun Valley to eat, drink and relax, the wraparound terrace offers stunning views of Bald Mountain, Dollar Mountain and the 18-hole Sawtooth Putting Course. The Sun Valley Club brings exciting, contemporary dishes that are focused on local ingredients and big flavors. 1 Trail Creek Rd., Sun Valley. 208.622.2919.

THE MINT A warm and inviting atmosphere with a comfortable and approachable menu that embodies down-home cooking with an uptown feel and flavor. 116 Main St., Hailey. 208.788.6468.

THE PIONEER SALOON If you haven’t been to the Pioneer Saloon, you haven’t been to Ketchum! The Pioneer Saloon, renowned for perfectly aged, tender and flavorful beef, is typical of an earlier Idaho where ore wagons rattled down Main Street and business was done with a handshake and a drink. 320 N. Main St, Ketchum. 208.726.3139.

THE SAWTOOTH CLUB Always busy with a great mix of locals and visitors, The Sawtooth Club offers a unique blend of American steakhouse classics, fresh seafood, wild game, unique pasta dishes and much more.

The Sawtooth Club has been recognized in a local reader’s poll as “The Valley’s Best Overall Restaurant” in five different years. 231 North Main St., Ketchum. 208.726.5233.

TRAIL CREEK CABIN Trail Creek Cabin is Sun Valley’s destination for romantic dining in a rustic, early-Western atmosphere. . Accessible by sleigh or car, Trail Creek Cabin is the perfect winter backdrop for a delicious seasonal menu, which includes Hagerman Valley Idaho Ruby Trout, Buffalo Tenderloin and Trail Creek New York Strip. 300 Trail Creek Rd., Sun Valley. 208.622.2019.

VINTAGE A favorite of the locals, chef Rodrigo Herrera is tuned into the best of the season’s offerings. With a lovely ambiance, both inside and seasonally outside, Vintage offers a dining experience like one would have in France: leisurely, lively, and without pretension. 231 Leadville Ave., Ketchum.

208.726.9595.

WOOD RIVER SUSTAINABILITY CENTER The Wood River Sustainability Center stocks “beyond organic” grass-fed lamb and beef, along with pork, eggs, wild Alaskan salmon, sausages, local produce, and bakery and dairy products.

Serving fresh and delicious lunch options Monday through Saturday. 308 S. River St., Hailey.

208.721.3114.

For more details and menus, pick up a copy of TASTE of Sun Valley

THE RAM Sun Valley’s original restaurant, The Ram has been warming and welcoming diners since 1937.

This rustic-yet-elegant dinner house has been recently modernized, while still preserving its historic charm. Travel back in time with the nightly “Heritage Menu”—a series of historic dishes such as pork tenderloin schnitzel, Hungarian goulash, and the famous Ram fondue—resurrected from the restaurant’s long and storied culinary tradition.

Located in the Sun Valley Inn. 208.622.2225.

SUMMER 2019

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