Challenger (ski course)
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| Challenger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place: |  Sun Valley, Idaho |
| Mountain: | Bald Mountain |
| Opened: | 13 March 1975 (51 years ago) |
| Downhill | |
| Start: | 8,783 ft (2,677 m) AMSL |
| Finish: | 6,076 ft (1,852 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 2,707 ft (825 m) |
| Length: | 1.53 mi (2.459 km) |
| Max. incline: | 28.8 degrees (55%) |
| Avg. incline: | 18.5 degrees (33%) |
| Min. incline: | 5.7 degrees (10%) |
| Super-G | |
| Start: | 8,120 ft (2,475 m) AMSL |
| Finish: | 6,076 ft (1,852 m) |
| Vertical drop: | 2,044 ft (623 m) |
| Length: | 1.17 mi (1.876 km) |
| Max. incline: | 28.8 degrees (55%) |
| Avg. incline: | 18.3 degrees (33%) |
| Min. incline: | 5.7 degrees (10%) |
Challenger is a World Cup downhill ski course in the western United States, on the north slope of Bald Mountain in Sun Valley, Idaho. The course is part of Sun Valley Ski Resort, the most prestigious in Idaho.[1][2][3][4]
Tom Johnston, a very controversial character known as "Cowboy", designed the new or mostly renovated slope, starting on the original old course at Steilhang Traverse; in mid-section it runs left from the original slope, then returns for the finish on the same terrain as the old one. Challenger has the steepest average incline on the World Cup circuit at 36%, surpassing even the Streif course in Kitzbühel. With a vertical drop of 2,707 feet (825 m), the steepness provides a very demanding but relatively short course at 1.53 miles (2.46 km); lasting about 85 seconds,[5] the average vertical descent rate is approximately 32 feet (9.8 m) per second.
History
The Challenger was a steam locomotive introduced by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1936, the year it founded and opened Sun Valley ski resort with the first ski chairlift in the world.
This particular ski course hosted World Cup technical events in the 1970s, in March 1975 and 1977; Ingemar Stenmark, Hanni Wenzel, Gustav Thöni, and Phil Mahre won early events here. It also served as a training facility for alpine skiing during the 2002 Winter Olympics in northern Utah.
After 48 years, this course at Sun Valley returned to the World Cup circuit in March 2025, hosting the season finals. Located west of the Challenger chairlift, portions of several runs are used for the course, including International, Greyhawk, and Hemingway.
Sections
Valley
- Sawtooth Jump
- Durrance Dive
- The Legends
- Carol's Wagon Wheel
- Steilhang Traverse
- Frontier Jump
- The Sluice
- Rudi's Roll
- Cowboy's Corner
- The Redd
- Proctor Park
