[Olympic Valley Calif.] Press Release, November 12, 2012 – Squaw Valley is excited to announce that the resort will officially open for the 2012/13 season with skiing and riding this Friday, November 16 – six days earlier than expected. Squaw Valley received two feet of natural snow late last week, and continued cold temperatures have allowed the resort to make a substantial amount of additional snow thanks to the resort’s newly improved snowmaking system. Between the natural and machine-made snow, Squaw Valley is ready for skiing and riding, so much so that the Lake Tahoe resort is able to open almost a week earlier than planned.
“We are genuinely thrilled to welcome winter back to Lake Tahoe,” said Andy Wirth, president and CEO of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. “Thanks to last week’s two feet of snow and cold temperatures that have allowed us to optimize our new vast and fully automated snowmaking system, we’re pleased to announce that we will be opening this Friday, November 16 – nearly a week earlier than anticipated.”
Operating hours are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adult and child ski and snowboard lessons (age 5 and above) will be available. Half-day beginner packages will be offered in the morning and afternoon (starting at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.) for $129. Private lessons will also be offered at reduced rates of 40 percent off. The rental shop will also be open for equipment rentals.
Squaw Valley will be expanding operations for the Thanksgiving holiday to include additional terrain, Aerial Tram rides and SnoVentures operations – which includes snowtubing and mini snowmobile rides. For more information on ticket and activity pricing and the most up-to-date conditions and operations, please see www.squaw.com or call 1-800-403-0206.
“We will commence operations on Friday with Searchlight, Red Dog, Squaw Creek and FirstVentures lifts, and you will be seeing even more terrain opening before Thanksgiving,” continued Wirth. “I’ve asked our mountain operations teams to prepare the upper sections of the mountain including Gold Coast, Mountain Run, and with every effort possible, potentially down into the Shirley Lake area. Our snowmakers and snowguns have been absolutely going gangbusters and conditions continue to look great. We will also open Alpine Meadows earlier than our original planned date of December 7.”
The 2012-13 winter season brings $24 million in improvements to Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, including three new chairlifts at Squaw Valley, Tahoe’s only mile-long terrain park at Alpine Meadows and vastly improved snowmaking systems at both resorts. The investments are part of year two of The Renaissance, a five-year and $70 million capital improvement plan to enhance every aspect of the guest experience at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.
For those looking to take full advantage of the winter season, Squaw and Alpine just announced that the Tahoe Super Pass is now better than ever, as Gold and Silver passholders now have access to Sierra-at-Tahoe, an added value dubbed the Tahoe Super Pass Plus. There is still time to purchase a Squaw and Alpine season pass – the Tahoe Super Pass – before prices go up after December 7. Starting at $429 for adults, the Tahoe Super Pass offers season-long access to 6,000 acres, 43 lifts and over 270 trails at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The resorts’ first-ever unrestricted college pass starts at just $389, prices guaranteed through December 17. Both the Tahoe Super Pass and the College Tahoe Super Pass are available for purchase at www.TahoeSuperPass.com.
