White Wolf Mountain

White Wolf Mountain is a 460-acre private ski area located in the Lake Tahoe area, California. The ski area is often discussed relating to the ongoing merger between Squaw Valley Ski Resort and Alpine Meadows (ski resort), and the interest in using White Wolf Mountain's interconnected property to create a mega resort. The property is named after a large white dog the owners rescued from a cliff of the property.[1]

Location

White Wolf Mountain is located between Squaw Valley, Placer County, California and Alpine Meadows, California.[2][3] The property runs from the parking lot at Alpine Meadows to Squaw Valley, and includes KT-22, which Squaw Valley leases from White Wolf Mountain.

Current Use

Currently the land is used as a private ski area with 1123 vertical feet, and ski areas are accessed via Snowcat.[2] A chairlift is also currently being installed, and its installation is the subject of litigation with Squaw Valley Ski Resort.[2]

Land Ownership

Troy Caldwell purchased the 460-acre section of property in 1989 from Southern Pacific Railroad for $450,000.[1] According to Troy Caldwell: "The section of land that I own borders Alpine Meadows and butts right up to their parking lot...and rolls over onto KT-22. It is my mountain. I own about 70 acres of Squaw. I bought it from Southern Pacific Land Co. in 1989."[2]

Future Development Plans

It is the stated goal of Troy Caldwell to use the land to interconnect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski areas.[2] There is also significant community interest in connecting the two resorts.[4][5]

In September 2011, Alpine Meadows 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. 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.[3] 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 large 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.[2] If connected via White Wolf, the combined ski area would be the second largest resort in North America, only slightly smaller than Whistler Blackcomb.

Caldwell's proposed vision[7] for White Wolf Mountain includes:

In 2015 Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC announced a proposal to build a gondola through the property to connect the resorts.[8]

Ongoing Litigation

Troy Caldwell is currently in litigation with Squaw Valley over his installation of chairlift towers that would interconnect the two resorts.[2] There have been many rounds of litigation, with the California Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that Caldwell was allowed to open his proposed chairlift, subject to limitations.

There is some indication that Squaw Valley's new ownership, KSL Partners, are seeking to work with Caldwell, and put aside their differences. In December 2011 KSL paid for Caldwell to study ski resort development in the American West. He visited Jackson, Vail, Aspen, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, Beaver Creek, Steamboat, Grand Targhee, & Big Sky. KSL footed the bill for that on-site research and Caldwell said of the trip, “(KSL) treated us like kings and queens.”[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Unofficial Network "Whitewolf: New Details Emerge | Most Read Story of 2010" By Seth Lightcap · October 18, 2011
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Troy Caldwell's dream of an Alpine-to-Squaw route lives on at his White Wolf Mountain, March 09, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. 1 2 "At Lake Tahoe's North Shore, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows come together" September 28, 2011|By Christopher Reynolds | Los Angeles Times staff writer
  4. ↑ Troy Caldwell Talks Squaw-Alpine Merger.Moonshine Ink, September 28, 2011
  5. ↑ Squaw Valley Purchases Alpine Meadows | Sierra Journal, Saturday, November 5th, 2011
  6. ↑ "State of the Lake Tahoe ski industry: ‘This is our time'", By Jason Shueh and Matthew Renda, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, Thursday, Nov 03
  7. 1 2 "Squaw & Alpine WILL Connect | Exclusive Interview with White Wolf’s Troy Caldwell", By Miles Clark, UnofficialSquaw, December 13, 2011
  8. ↑

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