Alpine Meadows (ski resort)
{{Short description|Ski resort in Lake Tahoe, California}}
{{for|the unincorporated community|Alpine Meadows, California}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox ski area
| name = Alpine Meadows
| logo =
| picture =
| caption =
| location = Ward Peak
Tahoe National Forest, Placer County, California
| nearest_city = Tahoe City, Truckee
| pushpin_map = United States
| pushpin_relief = 1
| coordinates = {{coord|39.164|N|120.239|W|type:landmark_scale:50000|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_label_position = right
| map_caption = Location in the United States
| vertical = {{convert|1802|ft|abbr=on}}
| top_elevation = {{convert|8637|ft|abbr=on}}
| base_elevation = {{convert|6835|ft|abbr=on}}
| skiable_area = {{convert|2400|acre|km2}}
| number_trails = 100 total
13px - 25% beginner
13px - 40% intermediate
13px - 35% advanced
| longest_run = {{convert|3.4|mi}}
| liftsystem = 12 lifts
| lift_capacity =
| terrainparks = 1
| snowfall = {{convert|495|in|cm|abbr=on}}
| snowmaking = 11 of 13 lifts
| nightskiing =
| external_link = {{URL|https://www.palisadestahoe.com}}
}}
Alpine Meadows is a ski resort in the western United States, located in Alpine Meadows, California. Near the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe, it offers {{convert|2400|acre|km2}} of skiable terrain, 13 different lifts, and a vertical drop of {{convert|1,802|ft}}.{{cite web | url=http://www.alpinemeadows.com/lake-tahoe-skiing | title=Alpine Meadows Ski Resort | publisher=Alpine Meadows | accessdate=November 10, 2012}}{{cite web | url=http://tonopalo.net/activity3.php | title=Alpine Meadows is just minutes away! | publisher=Tonopalo Resort | accessdate=November 10, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207085229/http://tonopalo.net/activity3.php | archive-date=2013-12-07 | url-status=dead }}
In 2018 Alpine Meadows was merged into the Alterra Mountain Company. Today, the two resorts operate as one with a single-season pass as Palisades Tahoe with a gondola connecting the two base areas.{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-sep-28-la-trb-lake-tahoe-squaw-valley-alpine-meadows-20110928-story.html | title=At Lake Tahoe's North Shore, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows come together | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=September 28, 2011 | access-date=November 10, 2012 | author=Reynolds, Christopher}}
History
File:Peak of Summit Chair, Alpine Meadows, California.jpg
File:Alpine Bowl Chairlift, Alpine Meadows, California.jpg
Alpine Meadows opened {{Years or months ago|1961}} in 1961. John Reily developed it initially as the Ward Peak Ski Resort, and had a vision to develop the terrain into a ski resort as an alternative to Squaw Valley.{{cite web | url=http://www.gotahoenorth.com/resorts-and-towns/alpine-meadows | title=Alpine Meadows | publisher=Go Tahoe North | accessdate=November 10, 2012}}{{cite web | url=http://www.skilaketahoe.com/area/history | title=Lake Tahoe History | publisher=Ski Lake Tahoe | accessdate=November 10, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128103801/http://www.skilaketahoe.com/area/history | archive-date=2013-01-28 | url-status=dead }} With the help of Peter Klaussen and a number of families who pooled resources to develop the area, Alpine Meadows was founded in 1958 and opened in 1961. The idea for the resort was to focus more on the pleasure of skiing than business profit. It was thought that the idea for the resort came about after the resort's founders visited Squaw Valley during the 1960 Olympics and noticed the potential of the adjacent terrain. Alpine Meadows opened for the 1961–62 season with three lifts.
JMA Ventures, owner of the Homewood Mountain Resort on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, purchased Alpine Meadows from Powdr Corporation in July 2007.{{cite web | url=http://www.saminfo.com/news/homewood-buys-alpine-meadows | title=Homewood buys Alpine Meadows | publisher=Ski Area Management | date=April 4, 2007 | accessdate=November 10, 2012}} In 2011, Alpine Meadows merged with the well-known neighboring ski resort and 1960 Olympic site, Squaw Valley. Ownership transferred largely to the umbrella company Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC.
1982 Avalanche
A major avalanche occurred at the Alpine Meadows Resort in the early spring of 1982 after days of intense storms. The avalanche impacted the base area of the resort in the late afternoon of March 31 resulting in the deaths of seven individuals. One person, Alpine Meadows employee Anna Conrad, was successfully extracted from the debris by search and rescue teams after being trapped for five days inside a collapsed resort building. Conrad was found in part due to the use of search and rescue dogs, making her the first avalanche survivor to be rescued using search dogs in the United States.{{cite magazine
| url = https://www.si.com/vault/1982/04/19/624301/avalanche
| title = Avalanche!
| author = William Oscar Johnson
| date = 19 April 1982
| magazine = Sports Illustrated
| accessdate = 4 January 2019
}} (Original layout with photos: https://www.si.com/vault/issue/43582/79 )
| url = http://tahoetopia.com/news/tragic-alpine-meadows-avalanche-march-31-1982
| title = Tragic Alpine Meadows Avalanche - March 31, 1982
| publisher = Tahoetopia
| accessdate = 4 January 2019
| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FIdTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=roYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6237%2C3806907
| title=Killer avalanche buries ski resort
| newspaper=The Bulletin
| location=Bend, Oregon
| date=April 1, 1982
| page=A1
| accessdate = 4 January 2019
| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xPlLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oe4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6860%2C410701
| title=Alpine Meadows avalanche death toll climbs to six
| newspaper=Spokesman-Review
| location=Spokane, Washington
| agency=Associated Press
| date=April 2, 1982
| page=8
| accessdate = 4 January 2019
| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FYdTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=roYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4335%2C3948152
| title=Avalanche deaths now number six
| newspaper=The Bulletin
| location=Bend, Oregon
| agency=UPI
| date=April 2, 1982
| page=A1
| accessdate = 4 January 2019
}}
The resort and avalanche are featured in a documentary titled Buried: The 1982 Alpine Meadows Avalanche on Netflix.
Movie location
Alpine Meadows was featured as the location of the fictional "Alpine College" in the movie Wild Wild Winter. Portions of the movie, including all exterior sequences, were filmed at the resort.{{cite web | url=http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpine-Meadows/319168378111508?sk=info | title=Alpine Meadows | publisher=Facebook | accessdate=November 10, 2012}}
Jamaican ski team
Alpine Meadows is a partnership inspired by Errol Kerr, a resident of Truckee who has U.S. and Jamaican citizenship. Kerr represented Jamaica in the 2010 Winter Olympics.{{cite web | url=http://www.skialpine.com/jamaica-ski-team | title=The Jamaica Ski Team is at Lake Tahoe! | publisher=Alpine Meadows | accessdate=November 10, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504023754/http://skialpine.com/jamaica-ski-team | archive-date=May 4, 2012 | url-status=dead }}
Squaw Valley merger and gondola controversies
In September 2011, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley Ski Resort merged under common management led by Squaw Valley's parent company, KSL Capital Partners. Alpine Meadows’ parent, JMA Ventures, owns a smaller part. The new umbrella entity over both resorts will be known as Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, LLC. Squaw Valley Ski Holdings seeks to connect the two resorts with a “Base-to-Base” gondola.[http://squawalpine.com/gondola Gondola | Squaw Alpine]Moffit, Bob (April 15, 2015). [http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/04/13/gondola-project-progresses/ "Squaw Valley - Alpine Meadows Gondola Project Progresses"], Capitol Public Radio News.[https://www.squawalpinegondola-eis.com/ Environmental Impact Statement, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Base to Base Gondola Project]. It has been discussed in the media that the new company will seek to eventually combine the two resorts into one mega-resort through an agreement with a local property owner, Troy Caldwell, who owns the land connecting Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley - White Wolf Mountain.{{cite web|url=http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20111103/NEWS/111109973/1061&ParentProfile=1050 |title=State of the Lake Tahoe ski industry: ‘This is our time' |publisher=North Lake Tahoe Bonanza |date=November 3, 2011 |accessdate=November 10, 2012 |author1=Shueh, Jason |author2=Renda, Matthew |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428205812/http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20111103/NEWS/111109973/1061%26ParentProfile%3D1050 |archivedate=April 28, 2012 }} If connected via White Wolf, the combined ski area would be the second-largest resort in North America, behind Whistler Blackcomb.{{cite web | url=http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/mountain/maps/index.htm | title=Whistler Blackcomb - Trail Maps | publisher=Whistler Blackcomb | accessdate=November 10, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604114955/http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/mountain/maps/index.htm | archive-date=2012-06-04 | url-status=dead }} Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley offer visitors 6,000 skiable acres, eight peaks, 44 lifts, and over 270 trails. Resort owners need permission from local land managers, including both Placer County and the Tahoe National Forest which are currently studying the proposed project's environmental impacts.Fletcher, Ed (October 25, 2017). [http://www.sacbee.com/sports/ski/article180718306.html " Fast Squaw-to-Alpine gondola plan gains steam. Activists say it would mar ‘sacred ground’"], The Sacramento Bee. A number of conservation organizations, including Sierra Watch and the Sierra Club, consider the proposed gondola a threat to Granite Chief Wilderness.Moffitt, Mike (October 26, 2017). [http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Squaw-Valley-Alpine-Meadows-gondola-connection-12306522.php "Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows gondola connection by 2019?"], The San Franicsco ChronicleMartin, Hugo (April 16, 2015). [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ski-resort-gondola-opposed-20150416-story.html "Conservation group opposes Tahoe-area ski resort gondola plan"], The Los Angeles Times.Moffit, Bob (April 16, 2015). [http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/04/16/conservation-group-opposes-gondola-project-on-private-land/ "Conservation Group Opposes Gondola Project On Private Land"], Capitol Public Radio News.
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{official website|http://squawalpine.com}}
{{California Ski areas navbox}}
{{Sierra Nevada}}
Category:Alterra Mountain Company
Category:Sports venues in Placer County, California