Industry News
[Olympic Valley, Calif.] Nov. 10, 2021—Following a massive early-season storm that dropped three-and-a-half feet of snow at upper elevations, Palisades Tahoe kicked off the ski season by opening almost a month earlier than planned. It was only the third time in Palisades Tahoe’s 72-year history that the resort opened for the winter season in October. Now that the snow is flying, Palisades Tahoe will welcome new events, programs and promotions alongside its new name this season.
This season will be the first under the resort’s new name, Palisades Tahoe. In 2020, the resort committed to change its name due to overwhelming evidence that the word “squaw” is a racist and sexist slur against Indigenous women. In September 2021, after a year of careful deliberation, the new name was announced as Palisades Tahoe, which is a nod to two terrain areas on the mountains: the impressive cliffs that tower over the Siberia Chair, as well as the challenging steeps that run alongside the Alpine Bowl Chair. Our new name honors the rich ski history these mountains are known for and looks to a future where Palisades Tahoe will continue to push boundaries—on snow and off—and remain a progressive force in the ski industry.
As an extension of the renaming process, Palisades Tahoe has started a long-term partnership with the Washoe Tribe, with the goal of giving the tribe a platform to educate resort guests and the local community about their history and culture, as well as providing tribe members free and easy access to our resort activities. This partnership so far has included monthly Washoe Cultural Tours in the summer, a Washoe exhibit at High Camp, renaming the Squaw One chair with Washoe input, providing free tickets, rentals and snow tubing for tribe members and developing youth recreation programming at the resort.
New on Mountain:
A new surface lift called the High Camp Carpet has been installed at the High Camp beginner area, a vital resource that will create even more opportunity for beginner skiers and riders to excel. The High Camp beginner area is unique in that it’s located on the upper mountain, which means the newest skiers and riders get the full skier experience of riding the Aerial Tram and taking in the beauty of the famed peaks, all from the gentle beginner slopes.
Following the resort name change, Palisades Tahoe also renamed two chairlifts. The Squaw One chair was renamed with input from the Washoe Tribe, and will now be known as Wa She Shu. The Squaw Creek chair was renamed with input from the public and our partners at the Resort at Squaw Creek, and will now be known as Resort Chair.
New in Food & Beverage:
Our newest eatery, Sun Bowl, will open this season to provide guests with healthy, island-inspired fuel for active days on the slopes. The menu will focus on breakfast and lunch dishes like poke bowls, acai bowls, wraps and smoothies, also providing vegetarian and vegan options for Village guests.
Mobile ordering for dining outlets on-mountain and in the Village will be available again this year on the Palisades Tahoe app and online, with an expansion of the number of outlets offering mobile ordering. This service provided a great deal of convenience to guests and limited close contact between guests and employees.
New in Ski School:
The new All Mountain Expert Camp is for skiers who know how to rip, but want to explore more of the terrain that makes Palisades Tahoe the proving ground for so many pro skiers and riders. The all new, three-day camp will be held March 6-8, and is geared towards advanced and expert skiers that want to explore all 6,000 acres of Palisades Tahoe’s legendary peaks. Taught by ski school’s highest-level and most experienced instructors, participants will learn control, efficiency and how to read terrain and find the best conditions of the day. Reservations are required; the cost is $770 for the program with lunches and après events included, and $950 if you need lift tickets.
This season Palisades Tahoe Ski and Snowboard School has expanded its popular Learn to Ski and Ride programming to include kids, not just adults. Now children five and older can hit the beginner slopes at the Alpine Base Lodge every afternoon of the season for a discounted rate. The Afternoon Special includes a half-day lesson, rental equipment, and limited beginner lift ticket, and participants can choose to either ski or snowboard. This offer is only available at the Alpine Base Lodge location. Prices start at $130 for 8- to 13-year-olds and $160 for 5- to 7-year-olds.
New in Sustainability:
Palisades Tahoe will be utilizing renewable diesel fuel for the first time this season. This fuel, which is created from discarded materials like waste animal fat and used cooking oil, will be used in six trucks, to heat the building that houses employee lockers, internal office and Ski Patrol, to run the backup generators used in power outages, and in the lower mountain snowcats. This season will be the pilot program for this new fuel source, with plans to expand to the entire on-snow diesel fleet next season.
Events:
Welcome to Winter weekend will be held Nov. 26-27, with a multi-day schedule of fun events and Ikon Pass holder shopping deals to kick off the ski season under our new name, Palisades Tahoe.
Kid-O-Rama brings a week’s worth of family fun to the resort Feb. 19-26, with a full slate of kid-focused events and activities on and off the snow.
This season, Palisades Tahoe will host a “Double the Love, Double the Fun” group elopement and vow renewal event on Feb. 22 (2.22.22). Couples will ride the Funitel to Gold Coast and share in a collective wedding ceremony overlooking the snowcapped Sierra peaks. Afterwards, couples and attendees will have the option to strap into their skis and boards and join in on a wedding recession on snow, all the way down Mountain Run. A light reception in Plaza Bar for the couples and their guests (up to 4 guests per couple) will follow the ceremony and celebration snow run. Pre-registration is required and the event is limited to 50 couples. The cost for the ceremony, reception, commemorative gift bag and lift tickets is $222.22 per couple, a numeric reflection of the unique date. Couples who are getting married are required to obtain a valid California marriage license and bring it with them to the ceremony.
The U.S. Freestyle Mogul Championships will be held March 23-27 at Palisades Tahoe, the first year of a two-year partnership to host the elite national skiing event. Spectators will be able to watch the country’s best moguls athletes compete for national titles.
After a two-year hiatus, Winter Wondergrass Tahoe returns to Palisades Tahoe April 1-3. The best bluegrass bands in the country descend on the resort for a weekend of live music and local beer tasting.
We’re known as the Spring Skiing Capital not just for the awesome late-season skiing under sunny skies, but also because of our signature spring events, which we’re excited to welcome back this year. Cushing Crossing will be held in May, and Snow Golf will be held in late April.
New in the Palisades Tahoe App:
New this year, the Palisades Tahoe App now has an in-app social feed, the only ski resort app to have this feature. Guests can track their day and share their love of the mountains with the whole Palisades Tahoe community. The social feed celebrates a summary of each day you track, including any achievements you accomplish. Depending on whether you set your feed to private, friends only or community, your fellow skiers and riders can see your stats, “like” your posts and celebrate your day on snow with you. The Palisades Tahoe app has always been the best way to track your day on the mountain, but now users can also pursue resort-specific achievements, like Around the World or Weekday Warrior, earn medals that reflect their skiing and riding stats, or track their progress on the Chairlift Champion leaderboard to see who skied the most on the mountain each day.
New Promotions:
The more you learn the more you save this season, with Palisades Tahoe’s new “Take 4” lesson pack. Commit to taking four ski or snowboard lessons this season and you’ll save up to $240. Available for both kids and adult lessons, no blackout dates apply, tickets not included.
Ikon Pass holders can sample the newest skis and boards with our new midweek Ikon demo discount. Ikon Pass holders get 15% off demos Mon-Thurs (non-holidays) throughout the entire season.
Ikon Pass holders will want to head to the mountains on Thursdays this winter. New this season, Ikon Thursdays will kick off in December and feature a slew of deals and experiences only accessible to Ikon Pass holders. They can expect to see free snowtubing, free waxes, demo discounts, restaurant deals and a special Ikon Happy Hour every week, with live music and raffle prizes. Additional perks will be added throughout the season.
New in Transportation:
Mountaineer, the free, app-based ride share service that operates in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows, returns this season with extended hours and new service to Tahoe City. Based on feedback from users, service hours have been extended to 10:30 p.m. in Olympic Valley and will begin an hour
earlier at 7:00 a.m. in Alpine Meadows. This winter, Mountaineer will operate from December 10, 2021 through April 10, 2022, with daily service in Olympic Valley, and service on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in Alpine Meadows. SATCo, the nonprofit organization that manages Mountaineer, has also partnered with Placer County to offer free, on-demand service through TART Connect between Olympic Valley and Tahoe City on Friday and Saturday evenings from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. TART Connect is an app-based ride share service offered on the North and West Shores of Lake Tahoe. This new partnership will allow guests at the resort to travel to Tahoe City and other points along the lake without having to get in their cars and at no cost to them. Since it’s start in 2018, Mountaineer has provided more than 150,000 passengers with free on-demand shuttle service.
The popular POW Carpool parking program will return this season, incentivizing guests to carpool to the resort with three or more people in their car to access the best parking locations. This initiative is in partnership with Protect Our Winters to encourage guests to carpool to the mountain to combat traffic congestion issues and reduce our carbon footprint by removing cars from the road. There are 800 POW parking spots at the Village at Palisades Tahoe and 50 spots at the Alpine Base Lodge.
Base-to-Base Gondola Update:
Construction on the base-to-base gondola—which will connect the Olympic Valley Base Area and the Alpine Meadows Base Area with a 14-minute scenic ride—began this summer, but the gondola will not operate for the 2021-22 season.
Covid Policies:
Palisades Tahoe follows current CDC and Placer County guidelines for facial coverings/masks. Two or more layered facial coverings/masks worn over the nose and mouth are strongly recommended for everyone in public places regardless of vaccination status. Facial coverings/masks are required indoors and in our enclosed cabins, the Tram and the Funitel for unvaccinated guests. Facial coverings/masks are not required outdoors regardless of vaccination status. As federal, state, or local guidelines change, our policies will be updated accordingly.
We recognize that some of our guests may not be comfortable riding in an enclosed cabin at this time. As soon as conditions permit, we will run Wa She Shu (formerly the Squaw One chair) to provide open-air upper mountain access.
