There used to be a ski resort at Echo Summit. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

By Lisa M. Krieger, Bay Area News Group

The rope tow is long gone. The parking lot is empty. Instead of the bustling chatter of a happy crowd of skiers, there’s just silence.

But the landscape of the abandoned Powder Bowl ski area still bears witness to its past, more than two decades after its closing.

Throughout the Sierra there are dozens of abandoned resorts that hark back to a different era, when snow was plentiful and skiing a favorite pastime. With increased competition from bigger resorts and a decline in skiers, many have closed and the scars they have left behind may have dramatic impact on our watershed.

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