Conservation group opposes Squaw-Alpine gondola
By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times
A conservation group has vowed to stop a gondola lift planned to connect two Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts, complaining that it would cut through a federally preserved wilderness.
Sierra Watch, a nonprofit group based in Nevada City, Calif., said a gondola lift connecting the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski resorts would slice through the federally protected Granite Chief Wilderness Area.
“That kind of development would be a nonstarter for us,” said Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch.
But the ski resort operators dispute the claim that the gondola will cut through wilderness area.
I’d bet this is just the beginning for gondolas and trams connecting ski areas. There has been talk for years that Homewood’s gigantic development will be connected via tram or gondola to Squaw & Alpine. If it reduces road traffic on the West Shore maybe it’s the better choice. We’ll find out.
Wilderness is what it is protected, they sometimes won’t even use certain equipment to fight forest fires in wilderness. The line has been drawn in the sand. It is wilderness take only pictures leave only footprints. Or we could give a hoot about what we are held accountable for, develope it make some money and sell it to China so one person can live in luxury off the profit. I am for the prior.
And it is pretty lame to spread a place out, it is hard to really ski all of a resort in a day wasting a lot of ski time commuting to the next resort, oh I forgot meeting kids back at squaw for lunch!!! You just wasted two hours loser. Resorts can make better offering combined passes for the basin.
Look at this, you are correct about the wilderness part of this proposal. If it is Wilderness, which I think it is (granite chief) than the project cannot go through the boundaries, and possibly the buffer zone area is protected as well. I hope that this project dosent go through. It will make a bad precident for other ski area growth near Wilderness areas. I prefer the Wilderness quality over development.
Haha ha nature bats last I don’t think anyone has every agreed with me on Lake Tahoe news.
Does it strike anyone else as odd, that we have to get news about Lake Tahoe from a L.A. news paper ?