Haven’t We Already Passed The Apex?

Palisades Tahoe finally dropped the official announcement for the Apex Club at Palisades Tahoe, including the mountain we still call Alpine Meadows. Rumors about such clubs at most of the larger ski areas within the Alterra portfolio have been floating about this summer. I just kept pushing the little “I believe” button in my head, convincing my self that it could not happen here.

Members of the Apex Club can look forward to the following privileges:

• Preferred parking
• A slopeside members’ lounge with bites, coffee, bar and a space to relax
• A mid-mountain retreat with dining, drinks and panoramic views
• Concierge services including premium gear rentals, lessons and first tracks sessions
• Priority lift access at 12 lifts, including some at Alpine Meadows

The cost to join the Apex Club has not been stated. It’s one of those situations where if you have to ask, the Apex Club is probably not for you. Because the Apex Club is essentially modeled after Mammoth Mountain’s “Black Pass”, one would assume that pricing will be similar. Those prices are not published either, but because that pass has been around for years, the robots at Google AI have suggested the following prices as being recent:

• Individual $14,000
• Family $20,000
• Corporate $30,000

Given the concentration of wealth in the Tahoe, it seems more likely that the costs could be higher than Mammoth Mountain. From what I have seen at Mammoth, it’s the corporate passes that are used the most. It’s unlikely that Zuckerberg will become an instant ski bum just because he is in “the Club.” But since the corporate passes can be shared, they are often used as perks for employees, investors or other guests.

There is some solace at this point. I watched the invitation video this morning and much of the focus of the Apex Club will be at Palisades Tahoe. The preferred parking is there, the lounges are there, so one would assume the concierge services will be there too.

It’s funny that I even received an invitation for the club, as I certainly don’t have that sort of disposable income. Yes, it is true that I am writing this post from a hotel in Switzerland, but It’s a vacation being done on the cheap. I have identified the tiny Rochers De Naye as the place I would be most likely to ski on my return to Switzerland, only if my niece offers her kitchen floor for a sleeping bag.

So the largest impacts at Alpine Meadows will be due to the priority lanes for lift access. The 12 lifts for priority access have not been listed specifically yet, but I think we can make some good guesses, based on those that have the longer lines. Here are my original guesses: KT, Red Dog, Resort Chair, Gold Coast, Siberia, Shirley, The Tram, The Funitel, B2B, Summit, Roundhouse?, Sherwood? Scott? Granite Chief?

Here’s the now announced list as of 10/22/25:

· Funitel (first public cabin)
· Red Dog
· Gold Coast
· Big Blue
· Siberia
· Shirley Lake
· Granite Chief
· Summit
· Round House
· Treeline Cirque (TLC)
· Sherwood
· Base to Base at both Base Areas
· Resort Chair & Far East will be added on days when the upper mountain is closed

I got it pretty close. How much impact this really has will be determined by how many Apex Club memberships are sold. The largest issue will be on powder days those minutes between 9:00 and 9:20, when you can still find powder on the mountain. They smartly avoided starting a riot by not including KT-22.

We Are Past The Apex

While it’s difficult to pinpoint the actual apex for either Alpine Meadows or the resort formerly known as Squaw Valley, we can probably all agree the both resorts have already passed their apex. Whether Alpine Meadows reached its high point in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or during this century is up for much discussion. I don’t think many will argue that our years under Alterra or JMA have been the best.

Personally, I feel like the mid 00’s were a great time for Alpine Meadows. We had early openings and late season closures. We saw consistent operations of all lifts. Fantastic terrain parks were being built on Kangaroo, producing US Olympic Freestyle Team members Brita Sigourney and David Wise. Skiing was affordable for most families and reservations for anything but a motel were unheard of at the time. Powder days were actually powder days and not a powder 15 minutes.

Over the ridge, it would likely be a tossup. Younger people are likely to mention the “Squallywood” years, after Shane McConkey and the brothers Gaffney wrote the book documenting the glory of Squaw Valley. Older folk would be more likely to highlight the 1960 Olympics as the peak for Squaw Valley. Few will identify the peak as being the construction of a fake alpine village or the Andy Wirth years as being peak Squaw Valley.

It’s Not Just About Skiing

The divide between the haves and the have-nots continues to grow in this country. A few people have more money than any of us can ever dream about, and they are currently making all of the rules. I am feeling fortunate that none of our Tahoe ski areas has been privatized and that we will be allowed to ski at our mountain of choice for another season. I wish I could say the same for healthcare, as it looks like my health insurance may become prohibitively expensive on January 1st.

One wonders whether or not members of the Apex Club will be issued special jackets? I would never encourage you to throw snowballs or incite any sort of violence against the privileged few, but I might enjoy giving Zuck a little stinkeye. Truth be told, one of my favorite games at Mammoth has been to see how often I can go through a Black Pass line before being stopped. I have never been stopped. That said, people watch me a bit more closely at Alpine Meadows.

It’s Rumor Season

Another rumor flying around my socials this week is that there may be no terrain parks at Alpine Meadows during the upcoming season. This rumor has not been verified but I did see a petition gaining steam at Change.org. Not everyone agrees on the need for terrain parks. I have friends that say there should be none, and others that want more and more parks.

At the extremes: We had the mile long terrain park in 2013, stretching from Howard’s Hollow down through Red Ridge and down to Sandy’s Corner. That was just too much, disrupting the flow down the mountain. Last season, the only park features were only at Tiegel. It did not offer enough. Kangaroo has been co-opted by the race teams, and the chair rarely runs. The happy medium seems to be offering small features at Tiegel and a few larger features in one of the two parts of Howard’s Hollow. Hopefully the “no terrain parks at Alpine Meadows” will remain just a bad rumor.

Snow continues to fall in Tahoe, encouraging thoughts of earlier mountain openings.