A first trip ‘round the world, part 37

One of the best ski hills, within the Blue Lift network was the one served by Bull Run, a south facing lift with good quality snow when there was enough of it, serving a large, funnel-shaped bowl with a vertical drop of about 787 ft with a variety of good and fun run like Wood, Funnel, Plug Hole, Sun Valley (my favorite) and the token Men’s and Women’s Downhill trails. 

Because it offered the greatest vertical drop among the Blue and Orange Lifts, it could accommodate Alpine FIS competition (both Slalom and Giant Slalom) and welcome a few European squads in quest of improving their FIS ranking while training during their summer break. 

Gérard recalls that he was involved with helping on the race course when these events happened in August. “The Slalom took place” he said, “but the GS was cancelled. It had rained and the base wasn’t there; the Austrian squad kept on training though…” 

When snow became harder after, a cold spell, skiing could be fun and fast there, particularly on Sun Valley! 

Gérard also fondly remember. a half-day spent training GS on Bull Run, with Malcolm Milne, the Australian downhill champion, just prior the 1972 Olympic season. Interestingly, In December 1969 at Val-d'Isère, Milne became the first Australian skier to win a World Cup event! 

Two months later, Milne won the bronze medal at the Val Gardena World Championships downhill… Not bad for an Aussie! 

Today, the original Dopplemayr T-bar that we rode back up in 1971 was replaced in 1984 by a fixed-grip, quad chair from the same supplier.