Squaw Valley USA Brings Renewed
Joys of an Olympic Ski Setting

By George Medovoy, Editor
Contact George at
Tpostcard@aol.com

(Freshly-groomed snow at Squaw Valley USA, above, is ready for a new batch of skiers, as lake Tahoe looms in the distance)

If you're an Olympic ski star or secretly dream of being an Olympic competitor, Squaw Valley USA fits the bill -- and everything in between.

The third largest ski resort in the country, Squaw was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games and offers a smorgasbord of winter activities five miles north of Lake Tahoe along the Truckee River on Highway 89.

While over 40 years have passed since the Olympics, the resort continues to live up to its reputation with a mega-experience that is unique among Northern California ski resorts.

(A skier comes down the mountain at Squaw)

The resort operates with both natural and man-made powder, including 4,000 acres of lift-served terrain, two half pipes, three terrain parks, snow tubing, mountaintop swimming and ice skating, as well as shopping and dining. For skiers also looking for great views - and who isn't? - just about every lift at Squaw offers a beautiful view of Lake Tahoe itself, which to my way of thinking is always memorable.

Squaw Valley USA Has Come a Long Way

Squaw has come a long way since it was opened in 1949 with one chairlift, a rope tow and a lodge by the late Alex Cushing, who was visiting from the East Coast when he stumbled onto the area. Cushing passed away in 2006 at age 92, and the resort is now run by his wife, Nancy.

The way the mountain venues at Squaw are laid out, the resort offers a unique "natural amphitheater" phenomenon, where intermediate skiers and riders can catch a dramatic show by more experienced individuals without even stepping onto extreme terrain.

Squaw's KT-22, one of the most famous peaks in North America, has a wide variety of options ranging from open bowls, cliffs, chutes and couloirs. But one spends a relatively short time on the lift - about four to five minutes from the bottom - yet with exceptional vertical access.

Getting Married on KT-22

Jessica Sobolowski and her husband, Kevin Quinn, both members of Squaw Valley USA's Freeride Team of sponsored athletes, were actually married on KT-22 last September, when a huge rainbow appeared over the entire valley during the ceremony.

(The wedidng ceremony of Jessica Sobolowski and Kevin Quinn)

"Anywhere you go on it is just amazing," said Sobolowski. "There's not a bad choice, and the morning of a powder day is literally electric with energy."

The peak owes its name to 22 kick turns executed by the late Gladys "Sandy" Poulsen, otherwise known as the "First Lady of Squaw Valley," who moved into the area in the 1940's with her husband, Wayne, a member of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame. The couple purchased the valley from Southern Pacific.

The way the story goes, Poulsen urged his wife to come straight down the steep peak, but she was too overcome with fear and navigated it, instead, with kick turns from side to side - a total of 22 of them by Wayne's count.

If you have enough experience to try KT-22, you may want to recall the somewhat amusing origins of the peak's name as you ski down its powdery surface.

Another great area for experienced skiers, Moseley's Run on the west face of KT-22, is a land of monster bumps as big as VW bugs - covered by snow, of course - that stay cold, hard and gullied into massive mounds from storm to storm. If you're coming down the slopes in this area, you have to have all of your skills and wits about you as you face the challenge.

(In a dramatic scene, a skier comes off a cliff at Squaw)

For more average skiers, Squaw's Shirley Lake has a number of nice groomed trails with a consistent pitch and the option of also going into the trees and finding unpacked powder. This winter, skiers can get to Shirley Lake with the new Shirley Lake High-Speed six-person chairlift, which takes you to 375 acres of intermediate terrain.

Squaw's terrain parks will also see a number of improvements, including a new trenched Riviera Super-Pipe, which will be the only lighted, night super-pipe in the region.

Squaw Is For Beginner's, Too

And what do you do if you've never skied before? For this group, two beginner options are Papoose and High Camp. Papoose, at bottom of the mountain, is a non-intimidating area for adults and children new to skiing who don't want to run into experienced skiers coming down the mountain. It has its own ski rental shop, a lounge with hot chocolate, and a discovery center with sledding and kids' snow-play activities. From Papoose, beginning skiers graduate to High Camp, which is located on the top of the mountain with gentle beginner terrain.

The slopes at High Camp, at an elevation of 8,200 feet, are accessible by a cable car and offer a beautiful view of the lake - something unusual for beginners, who quite often can be stuck at the bottom of a mountain.

(Children learning to ski on a gentle slope)

And beginners can also get back down to the bottom by the same cable car, just in case they're not quite ready to make the journey to the bottom on skis!

Learn to Ski and Ride Days

Squaw's Learn to Ski and Ride Days, January 13, February 3, or March 30, will offer a $35 beginner pack, including lift tick, lesson, and equipment rental. Children can ski at Squaw for $10.

What I find so exciting about High Camp is its variety of activities for skiers and non-skiers alike, including ice skating at the Olympic Ice Pavilion, water sports at the Swimming Lagoon & Spa (opening in mid-March), in addition to the 1960 Olympic Museum and dining at one of four upper-mountain restaurants.

The free-form swimming lagoon is heated to about 80 degrees and contains two 20-meter lap lanes. The 25-foot-in-diameter spa is also heated, of course, and surrounded by expansive decks and a casual umbrella bar.

(The swimming lagoon and spa at High Camp allows swimming in a snowy setting from mid-march on)

Two other options are available at Squaw for those who prefer to move a bit more slowly: cross-country skiing on manicured trails and snowshoeing, both through the Resort at Squaw Creek.

For the first time this winter, Squaw is offering guided full-moon snowshoe tours around Squaw Valley's upper mountain peaks. The tours will set off from High Camp at 5 p.m. in December, January, February and March. Participants will trek to upper mountain vistas for spectacular views of the Sierras and Lake Tahoe.

If you've never emulated the Mounties of the Yukon with that traditional "Mush, you Huskies," you can try it out during a one-hour tour with a team of eight Alaskan huskies, offered by Wilderness Adventure Dog Sled Tours.

A Maritime Snow Pack Means Warmer Storms

Squaw's weather benefits from a maritime snow pack, which means warmer storms. As a result, the powdery stuff tends to stick, unlike Utah, for example, where the snow pack can end up "bony."
If winter isn't right for you, don't put your skis away! In spring, the snow pack is at its highest, and storms in April sometimes reach two feet.

Skiing and snowboarding on soft spring "corn" snow, which freezes at night and then softens gradually in the daytime as it's warmed by the sun, allows for easy, fun turning.

Here are some tips on how to find powder at Squaw in March and April:

Broken Arrow: From the top of the Broken Arrow lift, go slightly left and ski down on the boundary of Broken Arrow and Silverado.
Enchanted Forest: What's really neat about this area is that it often stays waist deep and untouched until later in the day. Take the groomer route from the Headwall Chair. Continue on the catwalk, and then veer left as it flattens and begins going nearly uphill toward KT.
North Bowl: Take the Headwall lift. At the bottom of the lift off-ramp, make a 180-degree, sharp left turn and start down the chair line. Take a left as soon as there's good coverage. Some of the best late-season skiing is found on North Bowl.
Poulsen's Gulley: Take the Red Dog chair. At the top, drop in directly under the Red Dog Chair.
Red Dog Ridge: This north-facing area is great for late-day "freshies." Ride the KT-22 chairlift. Take a left at the top of the chairlift and follow the ridge line as far as you want. Drop in where it's shady and fresh.

Three Lodging Options at Squaw Valley USA

Three noteworthy lodging options in the area are the Resort at Squaw Creek, the Village at Squaw Valley USA, and the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn.

(The PlumpJack bar-lounge is covered in a snowy blanket as an aerial car moves up the mountain overhead)

The wood-shingled PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, originally built in 1959 as a home for the 1960 Olympic delegation, includes a restaurant, a bar-lounge, a ski rental shop and a retail boutique. The inn has 61 guestrooms, including a penthouse suite. The PlumpJack Café, an offshoot of a San Francisco restaurant, has a French-Mediterranean menu with an accent on organics.

The Resort at Squaw Creek offers 405 rooms and suites, including kitchens, an on-site cross-country ski center, an ice-skating rink, and heated swimming pools. The resort also includes a shopping promenade and four restaurants. If you're a cross-country ski enthusiast, the resort offers more than 400 acres of cross-country ski terrain, with trails in the meadow.

(The chair lift near the Resort at Squaw Creek takes skiers up the mountain)

The Mountain Buddies program at the resort is for children 4-12 and includes snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, ice skating, sledding and snow play.

The Village at Squaw Valley USA specializes in condos of various sizes with kitchens and dining spaces. It also has a wide choice of dining and shopping options.

WHEN YOU GO…

For general information about Squaw Valley USA's lodging-lift ticket packages and lodging specials, call (866) 366-7261, or visit www.squawvacations.com. For general information, call (530) 583-6985 or visit www.squaw.com.

For information about the North Lake Tahoe area, call (877) 949-3296, or visit www.GoTahoeNorth.com.

The new 2008 Lake Tahoe Travel Planner is free and available by calling (888) 434-1262 or emailing info@gotahoenorth.com.

LODGING:
PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, www.PlumpJack.com, (800) 323-ROOM.

The Resort at Squaw Creek: www.squawcreek.com, (800) 327-3353.

The Village at Squaw Valley USA: www.thevillageatsquaw.com, (866) 818-6963.

TRANSPORTATION:
You can fly from Southern California to Reno-Tahoe International Airport, which is 42 miles away from Squaw by car via Interstate 80. United, Delta, US Airways, Alaska, Southwest and American all have flights from Burbank, while United and Alaska also fly out of Oxnard.

The North Lake Tahoe Express operates from Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Contact: (866) 216-5222 or visit www.northlaketahoeexpress.com.