Long time readers know that I have been saying for years that Alterra desperately needed a third mountain in the Northern California market. Ideally that mountain would off the Highway 80 and 89 corridor, drawing people away from North Tahoe congestion and traffic. I caught this news between flights and I am writing this piece standing at a phone charging station at IAD.
My last big piece on this was in 2023. Here’s the link: https://unofficialalpine.com/?p=17563
I would love to write more today but they are about to call Group 4 for boarding. Read the article above for more thoughts for now. It is planes and boats for the coming week for me, so feel free to add comments knowing I will need a hotspot for moderation of comments 😎
Wednesday morning update: For this year it is just 7 days for unlimited Ikon passes and 5 days for base passes. That means we won’t see a huge difference in crowds at our mountain but hopefully some relief during the busiest periods.
This is not a mountain acquisition just yet, for now it’s described as a partnership. That means it may not be permanent. But Sierra At Tahoe could use a cash infusion and a little love after the Caldor fire. Unfortunately they may get a lot more loving than the locals like. Sound familiar?
When I saw this news I immediately thought of your unofficial alpine which has been saying this is one potential solution to the traffic/overcrowding issue for a while! Let’s hope it works and diverts some of the visitors.
Well, good news for Sierra so they can get needed revenue to rebuild the resort.
Bad news for skiers and snowboarders, as there’s a good chance Sierra will become as overcrowded as Palisades. Sierra was the place to get away from all that.
I too thought you would be pleased. I’m not sure how much impact it will have as the Ikon Full Pass gives you just 7 days access, and the Base Pass gets 5 days, but it’s a start.
Bad news for sierra skiers, ikon has become the worst thing about skiing, I pray they never come to my home mountain, used to have a squaw pass, would not get near those 2 mountains now