Changing Times

Once, we were skiers. Skiing on wooden skis with metal edges that were screwed into the base. The length of a person’s skis were measured by the length of a person’s arm reaching for the sky. Grooming was not an option. We skied on the snow that mother nature dropped from the sky. Sometimes rocks poked through a thin layer of snow and the bottoms of our skis sported deep gauges at the end of the day. Other times, the snow was wet and deep, and we fought our way down the slope on our long, thin, wooded skis. When moguls formed they often remained, growing in size, until the next storm buried them.

Many lifts were rope tow or a Poma style lifts. A few were single chair lifts. Only a few people could ride to the top at a time. This helped keep slopes from getting overcrowded. Of course, the lines at the base were often long, but I do not remember complaining.

I skied opening day at Alpine Meadows in Dec. 1961. I am not sure if it was opening day, or other days that season, but the line for the double chair known as Chair 1 (Summit Chair today) reached up the hill to the second or third tower. Of course, we never made as many trips to the top of the lift as we do today. I remember my father stating that we had to stay out until we had at least 10 runs completed for the day. Less than 10 runs would not count as a ski day, no matter the weather. It usually took all day to make 10 runs no matter the resort we were enjoying.

Our clothing was not anything close to the clothing we wear today. Today it is possible to ski in the rain for the entire day and not return to the locker room frozen or soaking wet. When I started skiing, waterproof clothing did not exist. I remember being so cold that I was not sure I would ever warm again.

When I think about my first days, or years, of skiing, I wonder if change is all that bad. I am on the side of the fence that thinks our overcrowded slopes will just become more overcrowded until it is too risky to even attempt to ski in a resort. I thought the development of a new ski area, and associated residential properties, was exciting when Alpine Meadows was first proposed. I did not fear the development would negatively effect the environment or overcrowd the mountain.

Perhaps now that I am older than I was when Alpine Meadows was just a drawing on a piece of paper, I fear further development in the area. Perhaps I am wrong, but it just seems as if further development, especially in the neighboring valley, will just further degrade my memories of skiing as it was years ago. Overcrowding of the slopes detracts from the spiritual experience of becoming one with the mountain.

I remember standing at the top of KT22 before the Alpine Meadows Ski area existed, on the deck of the old Cornice Restaurant, looking out over a beautiful scene where man had not put his hand yet. We were being educated about a proposed development John Reily was planning in the valley adjacent to Squaw Valley. This was to be a new ski area to be known as Alpine Meadows. Later, we were taken on a tour of the valley via snowcat. If I remember correctly only two small cabins existed at the time.

It was a beautiful pristine forested valley. At the end of the tour through the tree laden valley floor we arrived at the proposed base of the future ski area. Open bowls filled the site in front of us. We were told of a small development that would be available to those that purchased stock in the new company. My parents purchased a few shares of stock with the hope of eventually building a second home in the promised Bear Creek Subdivision. In addition to obtaining a leasehold lot where they could construct a second home (the property was owned by the Southern Pacific Co.), our family received season passes.

I remember my family being so excited to be part of this new ski area. A lodge, ski lifts, and subdivisions would be constructed allowing us to have a second home in the woods just a mile from the base of Alpine Meadows. I wonder how the locals reacted at the time. Were they also excited, or were they pulling their hair out because they did not want changes to their environment? I do not remember opposition to the development of this pristine valley, but I was only 12 at the time.

I do not remember complaining as new equipment was developed by ski manufacturing companies. Skis that made it easier to ski allowing us to ski faster in all types of snow. Clothing that actually kept us warm and dry in all types of weather.

I do not remember opposing new lift construction that opened more terrain. We did not complain when the Scott Chair or the Sherwood Chair opened areas previously only available to those that venture off the beaten path. Generally these equipment improvements and expansions of the skiable terrain were met with excitement. Now, we scratch our heads wondering when the tipping point will arrive. Many of us think it has already arrived.

I do remember that we were very upset when snowboarding arrived. We did not want snowboarding allowed on our mountain. Of course, time has moved along and it is now part of the sport of sliding on snow. A number of us still do not like have snowboarding on the mountain because the board is ridden differently than a ski. It uses the slope differently, and often is in conflict with the way a skier uses the mountain.

Change arrives and generally we embraced it. Changes at Alpine Meadows were embraced because they did not seem to change the fabric of the original dream. Alpine Meadows was a place for skiers who loved to ski. It was funded and developed by real skiers as place for a spiritual connection to the mountains we love. It was, and I hope it will be in the future, a place where people respect the environment and treat it as if it were family.

The hardest thing is to know when to fear change and when to embrace it. At times our mountain community feels overcrowded. I fear more development will only lead to further overcrowding of the outdoor environment we love so much, changing it from a spiritual moment in time, to a moment in time where experiencing the offerings of a village become more important than the mountain.

Andy