Yeah, we’re the last guys to report it.
Sacramento TV station KXTV interviewed Troy Caldwell recently about the latest deal between KSL and White Wolf. The initial “handshake” deal has been made that sets the wheels in motion for an interconnect on a faster track than some people expected. The report claims that ground could be broken in as soon as two years. Here’s the story from KXTV:
One would assume that a fast track plan will take advantage of Troy’s existing installation. The new twist is that the announced plan allows for Troy to develop a portion of the White Wolf property as a small private resort. While reports are that ground could be broken in “as little as two years”, the reality is that a real seamless connection is probably a bit farther out. White Wolf is not really at Alpine Meadows. It’s quite some distance from Alpine’s base facilities to White Wolf. It’s likely that some other lift would need to be built to make the connection truly marketable.
In related news, KSL announced this week that they are abandoning plans for the “Timberline Twister” roller coaster. The controversial plan would have resulted in a 3000′ long coaster to be built in the Red Dog area. Squaw Valley VP Mike Livak reported that the decision was based on capital priorities. With Caldwell reporting that he had received offers of 45 million dollars on the White Wolf property, it’s clear that KSL needed a chunk of capital to get things moving.
There’s sure to be a lot of varying opinions on whether this is good news or bad news. But it certainly should not be a surprise to anyone…
