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s t a n l e y • F a i r f i e l d • S h o sh o n e • P i c a b o
Festival of Trees Gala Preparations Begin
the weekly
Haven’s Delightful Food read about it on PaGe 17
Page 6
Gallery Walk: Kailey Wilt Endows Gallery With a Touch of India Page 11
Sun Valley to Sport Nation’s Biggest Superpipe Page 20
N o v e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 1 3 • Vo l . 6 • N o . 4 8 • w w w.T h e We e k l y S u n . c o m
A New Ski for the True Believer Caleb Baukol Introduces Custom-Built Ski Line
Sun Valley will crank up four high-speed quads on Thursday as it kicks off its 78th season of skiing and boarding with top-tobottom skiing on Bald Mountain and Dollar Mountain.
STORY & PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
C
aleb Baukol burns a brand into the varnished zebrawood. A few seconds later, the ski is sporting a custom-made brand suitable for a custom-made ski. It’s a ski that resembles the
Sun Valley Set to Open STORY & PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
D
espite a spate of dry weather, Sun Valley Resort will open Bald Mountain with top-to-bottom skiing on Thanksgiving Day. Even Lower College will be opened—a treat for skiers who prefer skiing the easier run to mid-River Run. About 200 young racers from Oregon and other Western states have been participating in a five-day race camp that started Saturday and ends today. They called early-season conditions “fabulous.” “We were glad to be able to provide them with top-to-bottom skiing—3,250 feet of vertical,” said Sun Valley’s General Manager Tim Silva. Silva noted that the racers only had access to the Lower River Run side of the mountain during previous camps. “Top to bottom—that’s unparalleled. No one has that much vertical. There’s no training like that anywhere in the country,” said Rob Clayton, the executive director of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. Four high-speed quads will service 11 runs and a Progressive Park on Baldy and Dollar Mountains on Thursday, according to Jack Sibbach, Sun Valley’s marketing director. Open runs on Baldy will include Upper College, Lower College, Sunset Strip, 42nd St., Roundhouse Lane, Roundhouse Slope, Lower Canyon, Mid River Run and Lower River Run. They will be serviced by River Run No. 1, Lookout Express No. 5 and Christmas Quad No. 3. The Kinderspielplatz will also be open. The Quarter Dollar lift on Dollar will service Poverty Flats, Quarter Dollar Bowl and a Progressive Park. There also will be two magic carpets running. Dollar will open daily through Dec. 1 and then close until Dec. 14 when it will open for the season. The River Run Lodge and Lookout Restaurant will have food service, as will Carol’s Dollar Mountain Lodge. Kindercare will be available 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For après-ski, Tracorum will entertain Thursday and Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at River Run. Jeff Crosby & The Refugees will play from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Free wagon rides will be offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, leaving from the Dollar Mountain bus circle outside Sun Valley Lodge. Guests may also indulge in bowling, shooting at the Sun Valley Gun Club, ice skating, virtual golf and the hotel spa when not bellying up to the Thanksgiving buffet in Sun Valley’s Limelight Room or the Thanksgiving Harvest Dinner at Trail Creek Cabin. For dinner reservations, call 208tws 622-2800.
rustic saloon-door look of the Wild West where it was birthed. It’s a ski befitting its designer, a cowboy at heart who grew up in Montana and has bucked the trend to offer skiers a handmade, custom-designed ski that fits their height, weight, skiing ability and ski preferences to a T. “Ski technology has evolved tremendously in recent years,” said Baukol. “Big Wood Ski is taking the process several steps further for a true ‘custom’ ski by layering in more flex options to create the best possible ride. I call them five-dimension skis.” The process also makes the ski more versatile, he says. “Drawing on my kayaking experience, for instance, I’ve designed them so that they move like a boat in deep powder—you don’t have to worry about skiing really fast so you can load and keep the tips up. You don’t have to get on heels to get your tips from diving.” Baukol launched his new line of alpine skis, customized children’s powder skis and classic Nordic skis with a party Sunday afternoon at his
Caleb Baukol finishes his skis off with the title “The Ski Shaper.”
shop behind Sun Valley Cleaners in Ketchum’s industrial district. The shop also houses 5B Garage, a members-only ski and bike tuning club that has been featured in “Powder” magazine and on SkiRacerMag.com. Big Wood Skis don’t sport the look of a shaped ski or a traditional straight ski. Built to order by Baukol, who brands himself “The Ski Shaper,” they sport a tapered tip and tail with a side-cut underfoot. The idea to put the right flex—longitudinally and torsionally—under each client’s foot, along with the perfect shape to suit that skier’s style.
“As soon as I made a ski with a bamboo core and hardwood veneer, I was hooked by the beauty. And the bamboo adds a dampening element to the ski at high speeds. We can also adapt the fiberglass core to suit the skier.”
Genuine, Handmade, Custom Ski
Born to design
Building custom-designed skis would seem to be something Baukol has been destined for since Jim Hasterlick hired him to work at the Ski Hut in Great Falls, Mont., 28 years ago. “I learned how to pick out the right ski for each skier. I learned how to fit a boot, adjust a binding just for that skier and then ask them how it’d gone when they came back. Jim taught me how to pick out and put together the perfect package for each skier. Now, not only can I build the perfect ski but I can build the perfect ski for you!” he said. Baukol, who maintained the skis for Team USA in the 50-kilometer challenge in Queenstown, N.Z., thought he was on the fast track to building custom skis when he began working with Brandon Jones, who started 5B Ski Factory. They were the first boutique manufacturers to make a race ski. But they ran up against the hard reality that making a race ski is difficult and expensive. And there isn’t much market for them since top racers get their skis for free. The company made another splash with the orange 75th Sun Valley anniversary skis that Baukol designed. But those became outdated—save for those who treasure anniversary keepsakes—when the 75th anniversary year rolled over into another year. Baukol retooled his passion and came up with an eco-friendly ski made with bamboo cores and African hardwoods such as African bubinga or zebrawood, along with cherry, maple and
continued, page 20
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