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Category: News (Page 16 of 30)

Return of the Extreme Bench

December 21, 2011 / / 1 Comment

Back where it belongs. The Extreme Bench at Squaw.


Remember the Extreme Bench at Squaw Valley? You know, the one in front of Dave’s Deli? The bench where Squaw Valley’s raddest rad dogs would saddle up with a mediocre beer of the week and tell everyone how rad they got that day? Under the Cushing Regime, the Extreme Bench was removed to prevent riff raff from hanging out at the base of the mountain. Paradoxically, many of the apres dwellers they were trying to eliminate are now legends of skiing and guess what? The Extreme Bench is back! Although most of it’s former occupants have migrated to the sanctuary of the Chammy, it’s nice to know this artifact of ski culture is back where it belongs. Next time you’ve slayed every line on KT in a far radder fashion then everyone else at Squaw, maybe you should grab a tall boy from Dave’s, saddle up and let the spraying begin on the good old Extreme Bench.

Ground level of Olympic House now open

December 17, 2011 / / 0 Comments

The new and improved Wild Flour Bakery.


The remodeled ground level of Olympic House is open for business. Wild Flour bakery has tripled in size and has added heartier breakfast items to its lineup of tasty baked goods. The elevated section in front of Wild Flour that looked like a cheesy carnival room has been removed and wooden picnic tables have been added in front of the fireplace. The wall on the west side of the room has been blown out and replaced with comfy lounge furniture, a fireplace, and windows facing Cushing Pond and KT. For parents, the lounge is strategically located between the video arcade and a new kids play zone. More importantly, it’s just downstairs from Bar One and a short skip to the Chammy. Lockers and remodeled bathrooms occupy the hallway where the arcade used to be. Basically KSL has taken a disgusting, outdated space and turned it into a contemporary ski lodge that has something for everyone.

Troy Caldwell confirms Squaw and Alpine to connect via White Wolf

December 13, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Unofficial Squaw reporter Miles Clark met with Troy Caldwell recently to discuss the connection of Squaw and Alpine through Troy’s White Wolf property. Apparently, Troy has no intention of selling the property to Squaw outright but intends to partner with KSL to fulfill his vision for White Wolf resort and ski area. Check out the interview courtesy of Unofficial Networks:
Miles Clark Interview with Troy Caldwell

Forecast Question from a SBDC Reader

December 9, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Paige wrote us to ask:

“Only get one good week a year skiing out west…have you heard anything about late Jan. predictions for 2012? Don’t really want to go to CO, as we were there last year, but they’ve got some snow, so we’re giving it some consideration, but would rather try Tahoe if there’s some improvement in the coming conditions.”

SBDC responds:

We usually turn to TahoeWeatherDiscussion.com with questions about the weather and the forecast. TWD author, BA, is predicting another La Nina pattern with slightly above average snowfall (105%) this winter. The snow hasn’t started falling yet, so there is a chance that we will be catching up and getting good snowfall later in the winter. Check out this post for some more info: https://tahoeweatherdiscussion.com/some-good-signs-for-the-second-half-of-december

Squaw base facilities look dope! Ski conditions don’t!

December 7, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Not much doing in the way of quality skiing and I don’t care to relive my East Coast days filled with loose and frozen granular on one run. Squaw plans to open the Resort Chair this weekend but nothing significant is going to happen until we get about 2 to 3 feet of snow. That said, the new base improvements at Squaw Valley are starting to come online and they look great. Here’s a closer look around the base of Squaw.

Slick new season pass and ticket office.


The prehistoric benches have been removed from Bar Six and replaced with contemporary furniture. The space is now called The Pocket.


The bar remains the same at The Pocket.


Bar One was completely remodeled last season with new furniture, bar and flat panel televisions.


KT Sundeck rocking new deck furniture and firepits.


New tables in the KT Kitchen, formerly the burger and burrito spot between Plaza Bar and Bar One.


Plaza Bar still sporting barfy, 1980's (no disrespect to Hot Dog) furniture. Rumor has it the furniture may be replaced prior to Christmas. Let's hope Squaw buttons up the segment and gets this done.

Dead Calm

November 30, 2011 / / 0 Comments

A lonely strip of manmade snow visible on Diamond Peak Ski Area near Incline Village on November 29.

November 29 was dead calm on Lake Tahoe. It was a great day for paddleboarding or boating. Conditions will change radically today and tomorrow as a cold front moves in with very high winds but little or no precipitation. Thursday should be a nice day for surfing on the Lake. Long range forecasts look promising for the storm door to open around the middle of December. The beauty of living in Tahoe is that when the going gets good, we are right here to get it. The 1995-96 ski season had virtually no snow until mid January at which time a two week storm cycle rolled in and paved the way for an abundant and fruitful winter.

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