Tahoe vs The Corporate Ski Industry
“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords. That picture is an international treasure. An escape from an artificial and urbanized world, where a remarkable natural playground lures, seduces, and provides for fun lovers of all kinds. Tahoe is nothing less than a recreational and spiritual utopia.”
-Mark Twain
1982, Scott Schmidt embodying the heart of Palisades Tahoe. Photo by Tom Lippert
In the northern Sierra Nevada mountain range lies a spirited ski community begging to be left alone. For years, the Lake Tahoe area has been known for its pristine blue lake, high snow levels, extreme terrain and tight-knit outdoor community. The mountains there have a specific magnetism. They raised me and so many people I love, teaching us how to appreciate earth in its purest form. Palisades Tahoe, one of the best known ski resorts in the country, is experiencing a long lasting battle against corporate development. Since the big developers have inserted themselves into the scene, the integrity of my home has been compromised.
Now for some background, Previously known as “Squaw Valley,” the ski resort was renamed Palisades Tahoe in 2021 due to its derogatory meaning toward Indigenous women. In 2011, Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows merged together to create the joint ski resort that is now Palisades Tahoe. This area was the birthplace of a unique ski culture, solely built by risk-taking, free-spirited mountain people. The Olympics came to Palisades in 1960, putting it on the map in a big way. This was the first public showcase of a ski area that has since become a legendary space in the outdoor community. Since then, generations of extreme skiers and funky characters alike have grown up playing in the mountains, contributing to the vibrant culture that exists in the Sierra Nevadas.
The Tram Face at Palisades Tahoe
In November of 2010, KSL Capital Partners, an out of state private equity firm, bought Palisades Tahoe. Within days, their CEO, Andy Wirth, promised $50 million dollars in capital improvements in the Olympic Valley. It was clear from the beginning what KSL's intentions were. They were there to make as much money as possible, and they didn’t care who’s feelings they were going to hurt.
In 2017, KSL joined up with Aspen to purchase Intrawest, which eventually led to the formation of Alterra Mountain Company. Essentially, KSL owns Alterra, and Alterra is the conglomerate of 17 IKON ski resorts, including Palisades Tahoe. They work with KSL to call the shots on development proposals.
The first major proposal in 2016 consisted of this: 850 units, 1500 high rise hotel rooms, condos and timeshare units (the lodging buildings much taller than anything that currently exists in the valley), a 90,000 square foot, 96 foot tall indoor water and “adventure” park, hundreds of luxury homes built at the mouth of Shirley Canyon, a roller coaster, as well as 297,733 square feet of commercial spaces. So in short, KSL & Alterra are mirroring Whistler Village, with the hopes of creating an entire mini city in the middle of the Valley. This development plan would lead to approximately 25 years of extreme construction in the area.
For years after the 2016 proposal, the Tahoe community came together to protest and prevent this development in any way possible. Leading the movement is a group called Sierra Watch. They formed with the sole purpose of protecting the Northern Sierra Nevadas from destructive corporate development. In reaction to KSL/Alterra’s proposal, Sierra Watch created a grassroots movement originally called “Keep Squ*w True,” now called Keep Tahoe Truckee True. Thousands of locals volunteer and speak up in front of public officials to protect our home. It From the age of 14, I’d go to town halls and street protests put on by Sierra Watch. I didn’t fully grasp the scale of the situation at that age, but I did know one thing: my community was unified. And with that unity came power.
Truckee locals fighting for their home, rain or shine.
There are a few concrete threats to the Tahoe Basin that Sierra Watch uses as their rationale for denying development. Traffic is one of those threats. Palisades Tahoe is already known for its extensive weekend and holiday traffic. There is a single two lane road in and out of the area. This development would add approximately 3,000 additional daily car trips to an already gridlocked traffic scene. The area simply cannot handle that many vehicles. It also creates an extremely dangerous situation if there were to be a fire, which unfortunately, isn’t an unlikely situation. In the Caldor fire that came close to running through South Tahoe in August of 2021, citizens under evacuation orders were caught in hours of stand still traffic out of the area. Luckily, the city gave a timely enough warning, but that’s not always going to be the case. California is the state with the highest fire danger in US, and the dry, dense forests in the Northern Sierra Nevadas make for unpredictable, often lethal fire hazards. If Palisades were to be in one of those situations, this development could put thousands of people in an inescapable, life threatening situation. Additionally, the increase in Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) would substantlially increase nitrogen emissions, as stated by local newspaper, Moonshine Inc. (Siig 2023). Nitrogen causes algal growth in Lakes, which would severely effect one of the main attractions of the area, Lake Tahoe’s clear water. There is also a very limited water supply in the Tahoe basin. According to a Sierra Watch Release, this project “would draw 78,263,299 gallons of water annually from the local watershed.” (Mooers 2023) In a very drought prone area, there is no situation in which these numbers can be sustainable. In a more general sense, the carbon emissions that would result from this project would effect the air quality, water quality, and overall life span of the area. These are just the core reasons why this development would be detrimental to the Tahoe Basin. The list surely continues.
In 2021, the Placer County Board of Supervisors rescinded the 2016 development proposal. The locals were smiling big that day, for many of us naively thought it was over. Three weeks later, Alterra put the same exact proposal with a few minor tweaks back in front of the supervisors. They were not going to stop. They are not going to stop.
The last proposal was rescinded because the appellate court and county deemed that the Environmental Impact Report in the plan was faulty in 4 areas: the protection and preservation of Lake Tahoe itself, fire danger, noise impacts during construction, and traffic (Mooers 2022). The court requested a much clearer solution to all of those issues, though they did not order for the project to be changed. Alterra’s addressal was nothing short of disappointing. The 2021 “Village at Palisades Tahoe” plan is a 184 page document that is almost exactly the same as the 2016 one. Although Sierra Watch was demanding a revisal of the whole Environmental Impact Report, Alterra only addressed the four issues raised in the court ruling. Their responses were painstakingly vague, and quite confusing. Their rationale to the lake clarity concern is that “because of modern vehicle emission controls,VMT is no longer thought to have substantial adverse effects on Lake Tahoe clarity.” (Siig 2023) There is no real data to back that statement up, and no further explanation. Their solution to the fire danger concern is to build another fire station in the area. Their solution to excessive traffic is to fund the small local shuttle business. Again, explanations were brief and solutions were broad.
At the end of January of 2023, the public comment period officially closed. After months of petitions, townhalls, and protests, there’s nothing to do now but wait for the Placer County Board of Supervisors to make a decision. We have no choice but to cross our fingers and hope that Alterra can see why 90% of people, local or otherwise, are against this development. In a world where human greed is taking up natural spaces, I try to hold on to the chance that they open their eyes.
There’s a great deal of juxtaposition that comes with a corporation like Alterra being in charge. The largest Alpine Lake in North America is 10 minutes from Palisades Tahoe, but that’s not enough. They must build a massive waterpark in the untouched valley because according to the Vice President of Development, “there’s nothing to do here in the summer.” Similar to many of the other ski industry leaders right now, Alterra portrays themselves as an organization that strives to protect and sustain the mountains, when they are actually doing the opposite. This is a quote directly from their website: “The mountains are our lives and our livelihoods… We have a shared responsibility in taking climate action seriously, and Alterra is committed to making the highest impact, while leaving the smallest footprint”. Their “eco-friendly” representation can be deceiving to newcomers, or any person who hasn’t done extensive research on their background. This makes for massive support of these big ski industry corporations, which keeps them in a high position of power.
In Andrew Denning’s book, Skiing into Modernity, he talks about the history of skiing and its transition into the commercial tourist industry it is today. Skiing originated as a means for humans to connect with the mountains and find transcendence through sport. After World War II, the French came up with this concept of “White Gold” in reference to snow. Essentially, tourist advocates started viewing the mountains as something to be “exploited, managed, and developed, not as an object of spiritual devotion.” (Denning 2015) Once these organizations realized how much they could profit off commercializing natural spaces, it’s been a madman’s race ever since. It’s been taken to the extreme, and I think many people have lost touch of the essence of skiing.
Alterra and Vail Resorts are the parent companies of IKON and EPIC. Many refer to the two as the “duopoly of the ski industry.” For the past 10 years, they have built a machine out of themselves. Their efforts to commercialize small, local ski resorts have been, and continue to have success. Palisades Tahoe is one of hundreds of ski resorts in North America that are battling against the modernization of skiing. Local mountain communities are coming together nationwide to combat the commercial development of natural spaces. One one hand, it’s been beautiful to witness the unity that exists in these mountain communities as they fight to defend the integrity of their homes. On the other hand, it’s tragic to see the ways in which Alterra and Vail Resorts are abusing their power, and stripping the soul out of ski towns.
In Mark Stoddart’s piece, Making Meaning Out of Mountains, he claims that “For many people, the sport (skiing) offers escape from industrial modernity and the opportunity to interact with wild nature.” (Stoddart 2012) He goes on to discuss how contradictory the modernization of skiing is, considering most people go to the mountains to escape that aspect of life. The Movie to Keep Tahoe True was released in 2020 about the Alterra development conflict in Tahoe. It’s a film that highlights the perspectives of locals. After diving into the details of the ongoing conflict, they hit home with this concept: Tahoe is a wild, pristine, spiritual space that shouldn’t be tamed. In a place that already has an overwhelming natural beauty, they ask, what’s the point? And I think that’s the age old question for many of these mountain communities: What is the point? From personal experience and unadorned human observation, I think the answer is simple: money, greed, and power; three themes that most of us, as citizens of the US and humans on earth, know all too well.
The corporate ski industry is growing rapidly. It’s frustrating, it’s scary, and oftentimes, it feels out of our control. But not all hope is lost. The Keep Tahoe Truckee True movement is a illustrious example of how we can stand up for our mountains. How we can preserve what makes skiing the natural, transcendent experience that it is. There is power in community, and I believe passionate humans can achieve a whole lot.
Works Cited
“Alterra Mountain Company.” Www.alterramtn.co, www.alterramtn.co/.
Denning, Andrew. Skiing into Modernity : A Cultural and Environmental History. Oakland, Calif., University Of California Press, Cop, 2015.
Mooers, Tom. “Release: Placer County Rescinds All Approvals for Massive Development in Tahoe’s Olympic Valley.” Sierra Watch, 9 Nov. 2022, www.sierrawatch.org/placer-county-rescinds-all-approvals-for-massive-development-in-tahoes-olympic-valley/.
“Release: Sierra Watch Report on Palisades Tahoe Public Comments: 99% Oppose Alterra Proposal.” Sierra Watch, 4 May 2023, www.sierrawatch.org/release-sierra-watch-report-on-palisades-tahoe-public-comments-99-oppose-alterra-proposal/#:~:text=And%20it%20would%20draw%2078%2C263%2C299.
SFGATE, Andrew Pridgen. ““We Will Stop Them”: Palisades Revives Rejected Development Plan.” SFGATE, 27 Jan. 2023, www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/article/palisades-tahoe-revives-development-plan-17744126.php.
Siig, Melissa. “What’s Old Is New: The Palisades Village Development Project Is Back - Moonshine Ink.” Www.moonshineink.com, 18 Jan. 2023, www.moonshineink.com/tahoe-news/whats-old-is-new-the-palisades-village-development-project-is-back/.
Stoddart, Mark C J. Making Meaning out of Mountains : The Political Ecology of Skiing. Vancouver, Ubc Press, 2012.
“Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan | Placer County, CA.” Www.placer.ca.gov, www.placer.ca.gov/8213/Village-at-Palisades-Tahoe-Specific-Plan#:~:text=The%20specific%20plan%20would%20implement.
