I know, I wasn’t really planning on writing anything this week, but when the President and COO of Palisades Tahoe & Alpine Meadows announces their retirement, that is noteworthy. Byrne arrived at was then Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in 2011, initially serving as the Director of Snowsports Schools & Ski Teams. She eventually moved up to Vice President of Skier Services and was appointed President and COO of the company in 2021.
During her tenure at Palisades and Alpine Meadows, she has been a part of a lot of change at both mountains. There was a messy merger of two completely different mountains with unique cultures, a change in the name of the other side of the ridge, the completion of the Base To Base Gondola project, a worldwide pandemic that radically affected all ski areas, and she implemented a parking reservation system that is not always popular. Some of those things were well underway when she became COO, but seeing them through the process and dealing with the aftermath has landed squarely on her plate.
We certainly don’t agree on everything about how things should be, but we each have a passion for the sport of sliding on snow, and we have built some sort of rapport with each other because of that. It’s not every ski area manager that is willing to call a local ski blogger and invite them to take some laps and just chat about stuff. There has never been a time in her tenure that I felt like I could not have an open dialogue about our favorite mountain, even that one time when I butt dialed her while bike riding. I’ll miss that if her replacement is not such a willing communicator.
Byrne plans to stay in the Tahoe area and just enjoy skiing at the areas she has been managing. She also plans to be more active in community issues that don’t necessarily revolve around the ski areas. Just taking a guess, she would probably be a better fit skiing around in the morning at Alpine Meadows with what has been called “The Unofficial Crew” versus hanging out with Team Tye Dye or fighting Andy Hays for first chair at KT-22 next season. We would welcome her.
Congrats to you Dee!
No announcements has been made regarding a replacement for Byrne at Palisades Alpine Meadows. Byrne will stay in her position until a replacement is found. Alterra now has openings at three mountains: PalisadesTahoe Alpine Meadows, Mammoth Mountain and Steamboat. My fingers are crossed that a selection will be made locally, as there are a number of great choices. It would be great to have someone that totally gets that two mountains that offer different experiences are better than one big mountain.
Other Updates
I almost wrote something about that May snowstorm that dropped nearly two feet of snow at the base of Alpine Meadows last weekend. Yes, it was the biggest single storm snowfall of the season…a week after our favorite mountain closed. There was no way I was going to ski on the other side with the crush of powder panic and delayed openings. It’s no surprise that the lines looked like this:
Reading all sorts of reports on Reddit and other ski forums, there are people that will tell you it was the best day of the season. There’s an equal number that will tell you it was a complete 💩 show, with people that bailed out of the line or did one run and left because it was tracked out or cooked. There will be more opportunities for powder next season. You have to wonder how different that day would have turned out with both mountains open.
That said, I did ski Palisades last Friday in delightful corn conditions. No powder panic, no lift lines…that is more my scene. I plan to go tomorrow and again Sunday, hoping that the corn cycle has again completed. After that, temperatures get very warm. Next week highs are forecast into the 60’s on the mountain. Not ideal for skiing.
• The van remodeling project is underway and waiting on a part. Checking in with my mom on Saturday and my dad next week. I do miss my ski friends…
Dee will be missed. She really cares deeply about here team members (my son was one this winter). She is a great partner to Achieve Tahoe and as chairmen will miss her sage advice. Mjr
I think Dee was a huge improvement over her predecessor who, for example, turned skiers favorite groomers like Dance Floor and Kangaroo Ridge, into seldom used terrain parks fiascos.
Her predecessor was Ron Cohen, who did nothing of the sort. I think you’re thinking of Ron’s predecessor, Andy Wirth.
Ron Cohen was one of the best in the business…
You are correct. I called him Andy Wirthless.
dee was definitely more visible, not afraid to stand at a lift line fielding (ahem) comments from the crowd. sorry to lose her. fingers crossed for the successor.
Dee the 8:30 club at Mt Rose would enjoy you joining us some days of skiing next season as long as you don’t have any ideas of having Mt Rose joining the
Alterra family of ski resorts.
Ms Bynre was a huge improvement over her predecessor Mother Teresa
Can’t have that “empathy” thingy mucking up the new corp ski business model-
I’m sorry to see DEE go. She is a lovely person. I can’t help but think that the pressures of the job are just enormous and soul sucking at times. She had a tough role as the go-between the every day skiers and the corporate masters in Denver.
I didn’t ever meet Dee in person, but knew she had an enormous job on her hands the last several years dealing with a myriad of changes and the merger of two very diverse ski areas. This spring when I E-mailed her directly with a concern I had, to my surprise she responded back within a day with a kind and thoughtful solution to my problem.
She put me in direct contact with two people who could address my concern.
And so problem was solved.
I had heard from others she was a good communicator and accessible to her staff on every level. This certainly proved to be the case with the public as well.
Needless to say, I was enormously impressed that the CEO would respond personally to an email request.
Happy free skiing Dee and know that you have had a very positive positive impact on Palisades Tahoe
Evolution.