There’s now plenty of details about the proposal for a new Hot Wheels high speed quad for the 2013-14 season. Indeed the route will make a right turn at the mid-station and end just west of Art’s Knob. Presumably the reason for this is to put the top terminal on private land, and outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin, which would require a whole new layer of approvals.
Will the new location increase traffic to other areas of the mountain? Of course, it will. Alpine Meadows estimates that 75% of riders will continue to exit the lift at the mid-station, getting there in half the time, reducing the Hot Wheels freeze out. That puts about 600 skiers more per hour at the Top of Sherwood. Clearly that will impact the longevity of powder in the area of Art’s Knob and Sherwood Cliffs, as well as the general Sherwood area.
Whether or not Alpine would continue to build out Ray’s Rut remains to be seen. It is the groomer access point for Sherwood and also provides good access from Scott and Lakeview, unless you are on a snowboard. It certainly is a good exit point for the hidden areas around The Bakery and John’s Run.
Complete details are available at the Placer County site (BW warning: nearly 11MB).
Great, more snowboarders on the backside.
There was a confirmation that the top station was indeed set just a bit on the downhill slope toward Art’s to keep it out of the TRPA supervised drainage. It makes sense. Alpine Meadows is a complicated blend of land that is publicly and privately held, with some under TRPA governance, and some not. You can’t blame TPTB for making a plan with less red tape.
Looks like Squaw got the Red Dog chair approved – http://www.placer.ca.gov/~/media/cdr/Planning/PC/2013/March28/SrF%20%20%203%2028%2013%20pch%20Red%20Dog%20Chair%20Lift.ashx
Totally speculating here but my thought is they will do the Hot Wheels HSQ and the Red Dog HSS this summer. Maybe Granite Chief HSQ but i doubt it. Anyone have any real info here?
Uhm…yeah. That is not what is going to happen…planning on doing a post on that as soon as I can get a confirmation from a second source.
That does not sound promising. SquawAlpine really needs to upgrade some of their lifts and soon, if for no other reason than to give KSL some positive momentum for the Village at Squaw proposal. Looking forward to hearing more when you can post.
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