STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
It may be the most ambitious auction lot ever offered in Sun Valley.
It’s called “The Five Year Plan.” And the winning bidder gets the chance to climb five regional peaks over five years with Ketchum legendary mountain climber Ed Viesturs, who has climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks without supplemental oxygen, and Eric Leidecker, who heads up Sawtooth Mountain Guides.
If one of your friends wins, you may want to cozy up, as he or she gets to take three friends along.
The lot will be auctioned off during the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s 41st annual Wild West Game Dinner on Friday, Nov. 17, at Sun Valley Inn’s Limelight Room.
The western-themed evening starts at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails and a silent auction followed by a wild game dinner prepared by Sun Valley’s executive chef Ken Pratt. The Sammy Steele Band of Seattle will provide a blend of alternative and traditional country music to cap the evening on the dance floor.
Tickets are $125 through today, available at www.svsef.org or by calling 208-726-4129. The price goes up to $150 afterwards.
The Wild Game Dinner was founded in 1966, with families of skiers donating the game they’d bagged during fall. It’s one of the main fundraisers for a program which saw a record enrollment of 675 youthful skiers and boarders last year.
The program provided $340,000 in financial aid to qualified athletes this year.
Early enrollment for the upcoming winter season is ahead of last year’s, according to the organization’s executive director Sam Adicoff.
Some of the other unique auction packages this year include trips to Oahu’s North Shore; a Hood River, Ore., getaway; a wine tasting and supper at Red Star and the always-popular lobster dinner for 20.