In the 1980s my family and I were fortunate to be guests of Madam Raymonde I. Paul at the late President John F. Kennedy's Winter White House at 401 North County Road in Palm Beach, Fla. The Kennedy Family's enormous compound was just down the road and was bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The President was advised that his family's property was too open and difficult to provide for the security necessary to protect him and his family. However, the Secret Service felt that the oceanfront, gated estate of Michael Capton Paul would be ideally located to serve as a more secure Winter White House. Thus, Palm Beach became the site of a Presidential Winter White House and a wonderful place to visit to escape the cold blasts of winter.But if you are a skiing aficionado like Presidential candidate, Senator John Kerry, and if he should win the Presidential election, the odds are that Sun Valley, Idaho will be the locale of the Winter White House for the next four or eight years. True there are many "ifs" to overcome but Sun Valley's treeless groomed slopes of Dollar Mountain offer excellent conditions for beginning skiers and snowboarders.A former governor of New York, Averell Harriman, when he was Board Chair of the Union Pacific Railroad, decided to turn the snow of the western United States into an asset for his company by building the Sun Valley Resort in the 1930s. The snow had been an obstacle to the railroad's winter operations until Harriman decided to have the Union Pacific Railroad bring the skiers to a destination resort at the end of the line. I understand that America's first destination ski resort built a mile down the road from the old mining town of Ketchum, Idaho, opened America's first chairlift in 1936. Now, over 68 years later, Sun Valley remains a world-class resort.Actually, Sun Valley is located in South Central Idaho, just a five-hour scenic drive from Salt Lake City, Utah and Jackson Hole, Wyo. and a three-hour drive from Boise, Idaho. I met quite a few families on a recent flight to Salt Lake City who were on their way to Sun Valley to catch a non-stop flight to Sun Valley. They extolled the virtues of Bald Mountain (known familiarly by locals as Baldy), which is part of the Northern Rockies' Smoky Mountain Range and told me that the expert mountain provides a consistent 3,400 vertical drop and spans 2,067 acres. It offers 36 runs, 17 chairlifts and is considered the best single ski mountain in the United States.I am intrigued by the Trailing of the Sheep event planned for Oct. 8-10. I learned that this is in keeping with the century-old tradition when sheepherders moved their flocks from summer pastures in the mountains north of the resort towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley, south through the Wood River Valley and right through downtown Ketchum. Trailing of the Sheep Festival events include a myriad of cultural activities and programs relating to the history of sheep ranching in Idaho and the Wood River Valley and the Basque and Scottish heritage of the region. Possibly this three-day event can coincide with the Columbus Day school holiday and give Long Island families the opportunity to visit Sun Valley and trail or walk with local herders and their sheep through downtown Ketchum.(This seems a lot safer to me than running with the bulls in Spain). Aside from world-class mountain skiing, Sun Valley also has many off-slope activities due to the vast wilderness that envelops the region and the small town amenities of Ketchum and Sun Valley. The back country hut skiing in the Sawtooth Mountains is not universally known. But the Sawtooths high Alpine reaches are laced with granite spires and inviting cirques. The shoulders of these and other surrounding mountain ranges offer superb back country slope skiing and the pine and aspen forests are made for Nordic ski touring. At the end of the day, a Mongolian style yurt welcomes you for dinner or a restful evening before another great day's tour of the back country.If a yurt is not your cup of tea, perhaps you might want to ride up the mountain in a helicopter for the back country trip. You can choose from single lift helicopter rides to multi-night excursions. Skiers pay by the vertical foot, so prices do vary for this memorable experience.I think with the plethora of skiing possibilities, I might prefer a dog sled ride to bring back the days of the gold miners who used the dog sleds to bring in supplies or some sedentary winter trout fishing ala Those Grouchy Old Men, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemon. For reservation information you can call your travel professional or 1-800-634-3347.Copyright by Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com
