| Squaw Valley | |
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The Village at Squaw Valley |
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| Location | Squaw Peak Placer County, California |
| Nearest city | Truckee, California |
| Vertical | 2,850 ft (870 m) |
| Top elevation | 9,050 ft (2,760 m) |
| Base elevation | 6,200 ft (1,900 m) |
| Skiable area | 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) |
| Runs | 177 - 25% easiest - 45% more difficult - 30% most difficult |
| Longest run | Mountain Run3.2 mi (5.1 km) |
| Lift system | 33 |
| Lift capacity | 49,000 passengers/hr |
| Terrain parks | 3 |
| Snowfall | 450 in (1,100 cm) |
| Snowmaking | yes |
| Night skiing | yes |
| Web site | www.squaw.com |
Squaw Valley Ski Resort in Olympic Valley, California, is one of the largest ski areas in the United States, and was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. It is the second-largest ski area at Lake Tahoe after Heavenly, with 33 chairlifts, and has the only funitel lift in the U.S. The resort attracts approximately 600,000 skiers a year.
Located in the Sierra Nevada, with a base of 6,200 ft (1,900 m) and spread across 6 peaks and 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) the resort tops out at 9,050 ft (2,760 m) above sea level at Granite Chief.[1] The area receives heavy maritime snowfall, frequently receiving 40 ft (12 m) or more in a winter.
A scenic aerial tramway carries visitors to 8,200 ft (2,500 m) to High Camp. The cars are attached to a fixed point on a cable loop. When one car is at the top of the mountain, the other car is at the bottom.
Squaw Valley is home to several annual summer events. The July Wanderlust Festival brings in accomplished yoga teachers as well as many well-known musical performers.[2] In August, the Squaw Valley writer's conference attracts authors from all over the world. Many summer camps operate out of the Valley.
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By 1942 Wayne Poulsen, a former star skier from the University of Nevada, had acquired 2,000 acres (810 ha) in present-day Olympic Valley, California, from the Southern Pacific Railroad. In 1946, Poulsen met Alex Cushing, a Harvard University-trained lawyer, with the political connections and access to capital that would make the resort a success. Shortly before opening in 1949, Poulsen and Cushing had a disagreement over the future of the resort. Cushing ended up controlling the Squaw Valley Ski Corporation that brought the 1960 Winter Olympics to Squaw Valley and transformed Lake Tahoe with his vision for the mountain and innovations in the ski industry. Until his death, Cushing was the founder and chairman of Ski Corporation, the parent company of the Squaw Valley resort.
Cushing modeled Squaw Valley after European resorts by putting pools and lodging on the mountain instead of at the base, and by bringing the latest lift technology to the United States.
Though the 1960 Olympics had practically been promised to Innsbruck, Austria, Cushing went to Paris in 1955 with a scale model of his proposed Olympic site and persuaded the International Olympic Committee to choose Squaw Valley. It was the first Winter Olympics to be televised live and attracted millions of viewers. The 1960 Winter Games provided a significant boost in visibility that signaled that American skiing had risen to the level expected of European resorts, hosting the alpine skiing events during those games.[3]
At the end of the decade, Squaw Valley hosted the World Cup 1969 tour with four alpine ski races, slalom and giant slalom for both men and women. Squaw Valley was purchased by KSL Capital Partners in November 2010.[4]
In September 2011, Alpine Meadows ski resort located at Alpine Meadows, California and Squaw Valley Ski Resort merged ownership. The two resorts will retain their distinct identities but unite under common management dominated by Squaw’s Valley’s parent company, KSL Capital Partners LLC. Alpine Meadow’s parent, JMA Ventures, will own a smaller part. The new umbrella entity over both resorts will be known as Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC.[5] It has been discussed in the media that the new company Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC, will seek to eventually combine the two resorts into one mega resort through an agreement with a ski resort located on the mountain connecting Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, called White Wolf Mountain.[6] This proposed combination is supported by White Wolf Mountain owner Troy Caldwell.[7] If connected via White Wolf, the combined ski area would be the second largest resort in North America, only slightly smaller than Whistler Blackcomb.
In November 2011 Squaw Valley announced that the merger was complete and that the combined resort would offer a free shuttle bus for guests that seek to travel between the two resorts.[8]
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