Ketchum local Rudi Broschofsky grew up with art—after all, his parents opened Broschofsky Galleries in 1987 when he was just 5 years old. Spending days in the gallery after school and helping with Gallery Walks enmeshed him in Ketchum’s art scene and gave him an appreciation for art that would last a lifetime. After becoming partnered into the gallery in 2005, Rudi moved to Portland for several years where he started his own street art gallery, Flat Blak, before moving back to Ketchum almost two years ago to take over the majority of day-to-day operations at Broshofsky Galleries. An artist himself, Rudi’s street art approach to western art can be seen in various spots around town like his “Roper” sculpture on Main and Fourth in Ketchum. As a lifelong local, artist, and gallery owner, Rudi is the best man in town to give you the 411 on Ketchum’s art gallery scene. How would you describe the gallery scene in this town generally? Rudi: I’d say the gallery scene here is better than most cities actually. A lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of the art scene here in Ketchum, it’s world-class and conveniently stuffed within a few short blocks. …
What We’re Made Of: Swiftsure Ranch Therapeutic Equestrian Center
South of Bellevue lies a beautiful, sprawling property, home to Swiftsure Ranch, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to help those with physical, mental, and emotional needs through equine-assisted activities. The ranch helps many individuals, including veterans, children, the elderly, and others, throughout the Wood River Valley through its many programs. Currently, the organization employees eight staff (six full time, two part time), is assisted by roughly 150 volunteers, and helps about 385 clients a year with its 21 horses. Using these unique therapeutic equine connections, Swiftsure helps empower individuals of all abilities to gain strength and freedom. The Ranch Swiftsure Ranch moved to its current location on 191 acres just south of Bellevue in 2011, allowing for more facilities and more expansive grounds. The ranch is joined on the west by BLM lands and mountain and water views; one mile of the Big Wood River passes through the property. The centerpiece of the equine programs is the 32,000-square-foot, indoor, heated arena, which allows the organization to operate year-round. A 20-stall barn accommodates up to 40 horses, and there’s also outdoor paddocks, pastures, and a smaller 12-stall barn. Inside the main arena is a tack room, complete with adaptive saddles, …
Not to Miss Arts & Culture Events This Summer
When we travel, we all have our tried-and-true activities, but why not spice things up with a one-of-a-kind experience? Get ready for a Sun Valley summer like no other because we’ve got a whole lineup of arts & culture events that you won’t find anywhere else! From our signature summer extravaganzas to offbeat and extraordinary experiences, it’s time to create your ultimate Sun Valley summer bucket list. So, throw caution to the wind, embrace the unexpected, and let the adventure begin. Don’t miss out on the chance to make memories that will last a lifetime – start planning your Sun Valley summer today! StART Summer in Sun Valley The summer season is kicking off with a week of festivities from Sun Valley Culinary Institute, Sun Valley Museum of Art, and Ballet Sun Valley. Learn more about this week of celebrating the arts in various forms through these organizations and events that support the community arts all year long. The Welcome Party Celebrity Chef Art Smith and Food Network insider Bruce Seidel will be preparing cuisine for the evening and dance the night away with DJ SID3S! This kicks off the week on Saturday June 22nd, you can find more information …
24 Hours with a Local: Idarado’s Cory Smith
Though originally from Silverton, Colorado, Cory Smith has been living in the Wood River Valley for more than two decades, since he relocated to the area to work for Smith Optics. Prior to that, he was a sponsored snowboarder for K2 and working on Mt. Hood’s skate and snowboard camp Windell’s, which he helped start back in the early ’90s. After blowing out his knee and dashing any hopes of continuing a pro career, he moved to Ketchum, where the scene at the time was “full of skiers, and I was a punk rock snowboarder.” Luckily, he learned to love the town and its people, and when Smith (the company) packed up to move to Portland in 2015, he decided to stay behind and start his digital marketing company, Idarado. Now almost ten years in, Idarado has five full-time employees and works with clients like Traeger, First Lite, Decked, Dickies, and more. Cory lives in Ketchum in a live/work setup with his two teenage daughters and their dog. When he’s not on the clock, he’s a man of many hobbies, including snowboarding (obviously), mountain biking, running, dirt biking, yoga, skiing (which he dabbles in now), going up to his cabin …
What We’re Made Of: Sawtooth Mountain Guides and Sun Valley Mountain Huts
All manner of people have explored the Idaho wilderness, for as long as it’s been there, but two companies, Sawtooth Mountain Guides and Sun Valley Mountain Huts, are two of the longest-running backcountry businesses in the Wood River Valley. An accredited mountain guide service, Sawtooth Mountain Guides (SMG) has been around for over 30 years, providing summer and winter backcountry guiding services. Sun Valley Mountain Huts (SVMH), formerly known as Sun Valley Trekking, owns some of the country’s oldest and most diverse backcountry hut system, with six huts in five Idaho mountain ranges. Sawtooth Mountain Guides The History Founded in 1985, Sawtooth Mountain Guides is the brainchild of outdoor enthusiast Kirk Bachman, who began exploring local ski and climbing terrain in the area in the early ’70s. When Kirk started SMG in the mid-’80s, it was primarily as a climbing guide service, though he soon added ski guiding on to the company and also built and established some of the first North American yurts as backcountry ski huts in the Sawtooths. This included the Williams Peak Hut, which the company established in 1988 as a winter base for local at-risk youth programs and continues to operate today for both guided …
24 Hours with a Local: Hailey Councilman Juan Martinez
You may know Juan Martinez from his position on Hailey city council, but Juan wears many hats in the community, from his job coaching varsity basketball for Wood River High School to working as a ticket-checker for Sun Valley to working summers at the Valley Club. A lifelong local, Juan moved back to the area in 2013 initially just to help his dad recover from a surgery but found himself loving being involved in his community in so many ways. He immediately started coaching at his former alma mater (WRHS class of 2010) and from there began adding the many positions he holds throughout the Valley, all of which give him the opportunity to do what he likes best: interact with his community. Now in his second term on city council (he ran unopposed), Juan is in a position to continue to help the community he has always called home. He and his girlfriend (who he met in the soup line at River Run Lodge) live in Hailey through Valley Club employee housing, and when he’s not at one of his many jobs, Juan is skiing, golfing, or mentoring people. “I really enjoy being involved in a lot of things …
24 hours with a Local: Professional Skier Karl Fostvedt
Local ski legend Karl Fostvedt (often referred to as “Crazy Karl”) has been skiing Sun Valley’s local mountains practically since he was born at the local Moritz hospital. In his years as a professional skier, Karl has amassed many accolades, from being named King of Corbet’s in 2018 and 2021 to being featured in various free ski movies from Warren Miller Entertainment, Teton Gravity Research, Red Bull Media House, Matchstick Productions (to name a few) to competing in the Dew Tour and War of Rails. Karl’s focus of late is on his own production company, Native Earth Productions, and making his own ski films with his hometown crew in the mountains he grew up in. He and his long-time girlfriend, Sierra (who attends vet school in Logan, Utah for the time being) live in Warm Springs, but he also spends a good deal of time brapping and skiing in the winter, and preparing for brapping and skiing in the summer. “I do everything I can to take advantage of this awesome opportunity to live my dream as a pro skier and having such an awesome backyard to go out in.” Visit Sun Valley caught up with Karl to see how …
Best Fireplaces to Cozy-Up by in Ketchum & Sun Valley
After a day on the slopes, or a day at the spa, there’s nothing like lounging next to a roaring fireplace as the snow falls outside. Whether you’re in the company of friends and family, or a good book, the warmth of a well-built fire fills the heart. Here are our favorite places to sit by the fire in Ketchum and Sun Valley. Limelight Hotel Limelight Hotel’s expansive lobby—perfect for a cocktail, a game of cards, a couple hours of work, or hanging out with your favorite person—welcomes visitors with two glass-fronted fireplaces. Sip a drink, taste an appetizer, and let the flames melt away all your worries. Sun Valley Wine Company The Sun Valley Wine Company, in Ketchum’s Town Square, is a wine shop, bar and light fare restaurant. Browse the racks for a great bottle of wine to share, or order a single pour at the bar. A selection of chilled beer is also available. Settle into the couch in front of the stone fireplace and munch on a cheese plate as you warm your toes. Sawtooth Club Hemingway knew how to while away the hours at a beloved bar, telling a good yarn. And his favorite haunt in …
Boulder Mountain Tour: What Not to Miss
2023 marks the 50th year of the Annual Zions Bank Boulder Mountain Tour (BMT). This year the BMT will Honor Bob Rosso, one of the original founders of the race and a valued community member here in the Wood River Valley. This historic cross-country race is held on the historic Harriman Trail in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, north of Ketchum.
24 hours with a Local: Flourish Foundation’s Abby Mills
A local now of fourteen years, Abby Mills traded out one mountain town for another, having grown up in Park City, Utah. After graduating college, Abby moved to Ketchum for a job at Idaho Bioscience, where she worked for five years before going back to school for medical lab science while working simultaneously as a lab assistant. After graduating, she was a medical lab scientist for three years, but found herself searching for more purposeful work. She attended a yoga teacher training in Bali—and still continues to teach yoga, at Gather—but got involved with the Flourish Foundation when she was invited to a Compassionate Leaders Program (CLP) meeting, a weekly meeting that impart skills like attention, kindness, and compassion to students. After attending many CLP meetings and participating in environmental stewardship trips with CLP in the summers, Abby Mills was offered her current job at Flourish as Development Director and Compassionate Leaders Co-Leader. She has now been with Flourish for three years and feels so grateful to be part of a program that is describes as “such a gift to the community.” Her and her husband, Tate, and cattle dog, Ollie, live in Ketchum. In her free time, Abby loves …
24 hours with a Local: Johnny G’s Subshack Owners Sinjin and Trevor Thomas
If you’ve eaten at Johnny G’s Subshack in the past year, then you’ve been served by one or both of the Thomas brothers, who purchased the business in November of 2022. Sinjin and Trevor, both locals, were already enmeshed in the casual dining scene of the area before taking over Johnny G’s, with Sinjin already working at the Subshack as well as Grumpy’s and Trevor bringing about twenty combined years of working for Grumpy’s and Lefty’s. When not at the Subshack, you can find Trevor playing for the Suns hockey time, working out, and staying active. Sinjin lives with his girlfriend Hayley Hinojosa (of Hayleywood Salon) out Warm Springs with their cat and “chiweenie” (a dachshund-chihuahua). While Sinjin used to play on the Suns, he now devotes his time to pond hockey and A-league hockey, as well as golf and watching sports. Check out how each of these brothers would spend their ideal 24 hours on a December day in Sun Valley. How does your morning start? Trevor: I would wake up at 5, go to High Altitude Fitness and work out with Kevin. Afterward, I’d probably go to Java or Maude’s and get a coffee and a muffin. Then …