Bill Janss bid just under $3 million. During this
Janss era of ownership, the north-facing Warm Springs area was developed, as
well as Seattle Ridge, and condominium and home construction increased
significantly. Seven chairlifts were added, and the number of trails increased
from 33 to 62. The first two double chairs on Warm Springs were installed in
series in 1965; the upper "Limelight" had a 2,200-foot (670 m)
vertical rise, the greatest in the U.S. at the time for a chairlift. Bill Janss
bought out his brother's share of the resort and gained full control of Sun
Valley in 1968. The original Seattle Ridge double chairlift was installed in
1976, but due to a very poor snow year in 1976–77 it was not operated until
December 20, 1977, christened by local legend Gretchen Fraser. Janss also has a
ski run named after him, called "Janss Pass", to the skier's left of
the Frenchman's chairlift. Janss' wife Ann, age 54, died in 1973 while
helicopter skiing near Sun Valley. Later that year, Janss married Mrs. Glenn
Cooper, a widow, family friend, and mother of five, including World Cup racer
Christin Cooper, silver medalist in the women's giant slalom at the 1984 Winter
Olympics.
Earl Holding (1977–2013)
In 1977 Janss was running low on funds and had entered into negotiations to
sell the resort to the Walt Disney Company. While the negotiations were strung
out by Disney, Earl Holding, a Utah businessman, learned of the
situation through a small article in The Wall Street Journal and contacted
Janss and arranged for a meeting. For about $12 million, Holding purchased Sun
Valley through his company, Sinclair Oil, which operates the Little America
Hotels & Resorts. Holding was initially distrusted by many locals:
"Earl is a Four Letter Word" was a popular bumper sticker in the late
1970s in Blaine County. But time proved that
