J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Ah that's a shame no train tickets only and no Ashford stop. I did keep asking them and no reply so I was getting worried :(

One of the world's most famous ski resorts is changing its name after more than 60 years.

Squaw Valley by Lake Tahoe in California was established a few years before hosting the 1960 Winter Olympics.

However the word "squaw" has been contentious for decades and is now widely considered to be a racist and sexist slur, with increased awareness thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement, and the resort announced a year ago that it would be changing its name.

After a year of planning and consultations the new name has been announced today: Palisades Tahoe.

The new name also gets around a second problem that has developed in recent years – the fact that Squaw Valley is now half of a two-resort combination with its neighbour Alpine Meadows and was labouring under the laborious named: Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. The new name covers both resorts.

There has been a joint lift ticket for some years and a long-planned gondola to connect the two is now under construction with Palisades Tahoe claiming to be the largest ski area at Tahoe, with 6,000 acres, and one of the five largest in North America. However the two ski areas will not be linked by ski slopes, just the lift.

With the new name comes a new website of course.

"It is inspiring that after seven decades in operation, a company as storied and established as this resort can still reflect and adjust when it is the necessary and right thing to do," said recently appointed Palisades Tahoe President and COO Dee Byrne. "This name change reflects who we are as a ski resort and community—we have a reputation for being progressive and boundary-breaking when it comes to feats of skiing and snowboarding. We have proven that those values go beyond the snow for us."

https://www.palisadestahoe.com/new-name

Reports from the French media appear to indicate that the direct ski train service which connects London St Pancras with the French Alps appears to be back for the coming ski season.

The Eurostar service was axed last winter, before the ski season itself was largely cancelled, causing uproar at the irony that hopes of a more environmentally-friendly world post-pandemic was actually resulting in fewer rail options.

However for the coming winter it has been announced that Europe's largest ski resort operator, the Compagnie des Alpes, which runs many of the leading French ski areas and in recent years has been very strong moves towards making their resorts ever more green-energy powered, is to fund the returning service.

The service, which takes 8-9 hours and stops at stations like Moutiers below the 3 Valleys and Bourg Saint-Maurice for Les Arcs, La Plagne, La Rosiere, Tignes and Val d'Isere will run for 18 weekends through the season.

The Compagnie des Alpes say Brits made up about 20% of their business before Brexit and the pandemic. The proportion of Brits in French ski resorts is also generally higher in low season periods when beds need to be filled.

The world's largest ski area, the 3 Valleys, will have one less gondola this coming winter as it switches the former Plattières 3 gondola to a chairlift.

The new Bouquetin chairlift, high-speed six-seat lift has replaced the gondola. It whisks skiers up to the slopes of Saint-Martin and Les Menuires in just two and a half minutes.

The 3 Valleys operate the most gondolas of any ski area in the world with 34 – or now 33, many of them in the Meribel Valley. The next biggest gondolas count is over in Austria where the Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn region has 29. Kronplatz in Italy has 22.

Another Meribel gondola, the Olympe, isn't going anywhere but has seen its old cabins replaced with higher ones which each hold six people and which can now be accessed without steps.

The old cabins were auctioned off in less than 10 minute last summer.

Another upgrade has been made to the old Roc de Fer tunnel. It has now been replaced by a new 8.50m (28 feet) wide, 5m (17 feet) high and (167 feet) long m long tunnel.

"This improves skier flow in the area and avoids having to make a detour around the competition piste during events," a resort statement explains.

Solden has now announced they opening on the 10th - this Friday.

Austria's highest ski slopes at the Pitztal Glacier in Tirol region have announced they're to open a week earlier than planned – on the 17th rather than 25th September.

The centre said it was due to "really good conditions" there after several late August and early September snowfalls up high. They published pictures of groomers out preparing the slopes already.

Currently only four glaciers are open in the Alps at Hintertux, also in the Austrian Tirol; above Zermatt (currently also accessible from Cervinia in Italy), and at another Italian resort, Passo Stelvio and another Swiss one, Saas Fee.

Pitztal will now open on the same day that Italian centre Val Senales announced it will be opening.
Austria's Kaunertal glacier says it plans to open on the 25th.

Other Austrian glaciers that may open in September but have not yet named the date include the Molltal, Solden and Stubai.

Up in Scandinavia the Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway hopes to re-open in mid-September too, either on the 11th or the 18th, if snow conditions allow.

More Austrian, Italian and Swiss areas are due to open in October, as well as the first French centres for 21-22.

Good news - a local news report appears to show the ski area has been saved: https://www.fb.watch/7IUAH5W4s2/

In less good news the fire is spreading towards a second ski area, Homewood, top left of image.

A wildfire that has been burning and growing for several weeks in California has reached Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort.

The Caldor fire began on August 14th, has now destroyed 170,000 acres and Sierra-at-Tahoe has been known to be in its likely path for some time.

Late last week the resort community was told to be prepared to evacuate and on Sunday a mandatory evacuation was ordered.

"We are prepared to fight the good fight with fire crews + apparatus on-site," the ski area posted on social media on Sunday morning, along with images of teams preparing to protect the site as best they could.

"No fire as of this morning, but as the #caldorfire creeps closer to Sierra, please send your prayers for protection for all fire personnel as they continue the battle to protect your playground."

Since the post however, local media has reported the fire reaching large parts of the ski area overnight. Sierra-at-Tahoe covers 2,000 acres and operates nine chairlifts.

There are now concerns for other properties in the area with strong winds forecast over the next few days in the direction of South Lake Tahoe.

Early last year Selwyn Snowfields in Victoria, Australia, was destroyed by bush fires. It is currently being re-built.