Two big construction projects underway at regional ski resorts will likely transform daily operations at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe and Palisades Tahoe.
Installation of the new Lakeview Express quad lift is part of the largest single-season capital improvement at Mt Rose Ski Tahoe, said Director of Marketing Mike Pierce. Meanwhile, in Olympic Valley, construction is underway on the decades-long dream of a base-to-base gondola to connect the two resorts that make up Palisades Tahoe — formerly Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. Once connected, Palisades Tahoe will be one of the largest ski resorts in North America with more than 6,000 skiable acres.
The Lakeview Express lift will be spinning and serving a new the new Lakeview Trail this ski and snowboard season, and the substantial improvements at Palisades Tahoe also are expected to be completed ahead of the 2022/2023 season.
Mt. Rose’s Pierce told NNBW that the $7.5 million in capital improvements for the Lakeview Express, Lakeside Trail and other improvements are the largest single-season investment in the resort’s history, which dates back to the early 1950s.
“We have had some big projects over the years,” Pierce said. “The new Lakeview Express lift replaces the old Lakeview lift, which had been in place since 1980. With Covid, we realized that we really needed another relief valve from the main lodge with some of the crowds we had, especially with the expanded seating we had to do on the main Summit Express lift. Covid just upped our priorities.”
Not only is the new Lakeview Express lift two full towers longer than the old lift, but it also opens up more skiable terrain while providing majestic views of Lake Tahoe. The new lift also is a high-speed quad that reduces ride time from roughly 10 minutes to about four, which should alleviate congestion around the base lodge, Pierce added.
“Traffic patterns should change,” he said. “A lot of lower -level skiers would take the Summit lift and get mixed in with upper-level traffic. This will spread guests out very well and make their experience on the mountain better.
“It really opens up an expansive lake view, and also creates a beginner’s trail,” Pierce added. “It is a very beautiful, big run, and you are looking right at the lake. Our guests will really enjoy it.”
Jake Brown, Mt. Rose’s lift maintenance and operations manager, told NNBW that Northern Nevada’s often unpredictable weather and the steepness of the terrain are the main challenges for his crew and contractor Leitner-Poma of Grand Junction, Colo. to overcome.
“In a lot of ways we have been blessed – things have worked out great,” Brown said. “The rest of the region is worried about smoke, but we are worried about lighting. And in no time at all we will be talking about wind and then snow.”
A late season snowstorm, followed by summer thunderstorms and the threat of early-season snow, constantly loom over the project, Brown added. Despite those factors, the project was ahead of schedule when NNBW interviewed Mt. Rose staff in July, Pierce said.
Work crews started removing the old Lakeview Lift when the 2021-22 season ended. Mt. Rose sold the old Lakeview lift to Dodge Ridge in Pinecrest, Calif., a small resort that primarily serves Modesto, Fresno and surrounding communities.
An access road serving the top of Mt. Rose provided easy access for workmen and the materials needed to construct footings for the three uppermost lift towers, but other parts of the mountain proved much more difficult to access and all construction materials had to be flown in by helicopter, Brown said.
The lift towers will be built in Grand Junction and assembled on site before being flown into place by helicopter, he added. Work on the new Lakeview Express is expected to be completed by the end of October or beginning of November ahead of the resort’s late fall opening.
The work is part of Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe’s master plan, Pierce noted. The pandemic hastened development for replacing the outdated Lakeview chair. The next big capital improvement project on the books is expansion into the Atoma area across State Route 431. The resort plans to add about 100 acres of low-level to intermediate terrain, though the development would require a ski bridge over the Mt. Rose Highway.
“It’s still in our plans, but the Lakeview chair proved to be a bit more meaty,” Pierce told NNBW. That next phase is still definitely in our wheelhouse, but this was a single-summer project that we knew we could complete while Atoma is a multi-year project.
Meanwhile, at Palisades Tahoe, the base-to-base gondola projects comprises four terminals, 33 lift towers and 96 cabins that can hold up to eight. The 2.4-mile ride between the two iconic resorts is expected to take 16 minutes. However, expert-level skiers and snowboarders can offload at mid station to access the famed KT-22 area.
Palisades Tahoe also is upgrading its dated Red Dog lift to a high-speed six-seat lift. The Red Dog lift was last upgraded in 1989 when it was converted into a three-seat lift. Crews began disassembling the old lift in April. The new lift ride is expected to take just three minutes, and the base terminal is being moved to provide direct access from the resort parking lot.
Palisades Tahoe plans on hosting a grand opening ceremony for the new gondola on Dec. 17.
“The Palisades Tahoe base-to-base gondola is an unparalleled dream over 70 years in the making,” said Dee Byrne, president and chief operating officer of Palisades Tahoe in a statement provided to NNBW. “Guests and team members can now explore these two legendary mountains together, making it one of the largest and most diverse resorts in North America. It's time to explore more this winter.”
