Rotarun Ski Area
Celebrating 65 years of value to the community at the Art Richards mountain, the Rotarun Ski Area continues to serve as a great place for the young, and young at heart to discover a lifetime's enjoyment of snow sports in the Wood River Valley.
Area Fun Facts and Stats
- The poma lift runs a little over 400 vertical feet and 1400 lineal feet to the top of Art Richards Mountain.
- Both of Rotarun's lifts are electrically powered surface lifts, a handle tow lift and a poma lift.
- Night skiing available.
- 2 snow cats and 2 snow mobiles are used in area operations.
- Rotarun's Board of Directors operates as a non membership board.
- Primarily run by Volunteers, the Lifties, Area Manager and administrative support are paid positions.
Rotarun History
The Rotarun Ski Area is located out Croy Canyon, west of Hailey, Idaho. Shortly after the Second World War, the "hill" began to be used by people walking up and skiing down. Ann Janet Winn-1948 Winter Olympics-Switzerland participant-began teaching local children the skill of skiing. She started at the small hill at the Hailey Elementary School and later took students to locations west of Hailey to teach lessons. Then, in 1948 a group of local residents constructed a tractor-and-pulley rope tow out of used farm equipment, and the local Hailey ski area was born.
Burt Cross, a Sun Valley ski instructor taught local adults how to teach skiing at the Kinderhorn Ski Hill north of Ketchum. These same instructors taught at the ski hill west of Hailey.
Later Idaho Power, Forest Service, Rotary and many other community members joined together and placed poles and provided electricity which created a rope tow.
The first Ski School was established in 1962 with John Davies as the first Ski School Director.
Later in 1964 a J-Bar Lift was created. The Rotarun Ski Club, Inc. was formed as a non-profit corporation to operate the Ski Area under a 99- years Lease from the Arkoosh family, which lease encompassing approximately 148 acres. A lighting system was installed at a cost of $15,000, and financed by selling $100 no-interest bonds to local supporters and a FHA loan. The following year the original warming hut was built by local carpenters with lumber donated by the Ivy Sawmill and Wood River Building Supply. Later a well was drilled to provide the Warming Hut and ski area with water.
From those days, through the 1970's and 1980's, the area was operated by volunteers offering local skiing and ski instruction at very affordable prices. As with many such locally funded volunteer organizations, things have not always run smoothly for Rotarun. With the vagaries of weather and funding, there have been times when equipment was lacking or in need of repair and there were times the area was unable to open or remain open for an entire ski season. Still, the ski area grew.
After the original j-bar was worn out it was replaced by a Doppelmyr Poma Lift imported from Austria at a cost of $180,000 which was acquired through fund raisers initiated by a hard working volunteer Red Bloedel in 1998 and is now available to take skiers to mountain top experiences.
The ski facility has provided a space for many successful skiers to perfect their skills. In many cases skiing has become a lifetime sport that provides exercise and enjoyment for many people from cradle to grave. One of the most notable skiers of recent times to cut their teeth at Rotarun was Picabo Street. She won the Arkoosh Cup, a favorite local race, in 1984. She went on to the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway to win a Silver Medal and then a Gold Medal in 1998 at Nagano, Japan.
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