What’s new at Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley ski resorts for the 2014-15 season? Quite a bit.
Alpine Meadows ski resort is in year four of a five-year, $70 million renaissance, which has brought new chairlifts, an iconic yoga studio and the world’s first ski-in/ski-out Starbucks to the mountains.
This ski season, both Squaw Valley ski resort and Alpine up the ante yet again with the first ski resort Google Glass App and guide programs that get skiers and snowboarders on more of the mountain than ever before, as well as new on-mountain dining experiences and world-class events.
Below are some of the new facets this season at the two Lake Tahoe resorts in Truckee.
On-Mountain Snowshoe Dinners at The Chalet at Alpine Meadows
Guests can experience a snowshoe hike under the stars to The Chalet at Alpine Meadows, where they can enjoy an intimate seated dinner at the Swiss-style mid-mountain lodge. Menu items will include Alps-inspired dishes such as Sierra Nevada porter potato cheese soup, prime rib, chicken cordon bleu and apple strudel.
The Snowshoe Dinners at The Chalet will be offered for up to 50 guests per seating on peak weekends and holidays throughout the 2014-15 winter season. Price: $69/person.
Google Glass App for Skiers and Snowboarders
Squaw Valley is launching the ski industry’s first app for Google Glass. Designed by Lumiplan, a tech company based in the French Alps and known for their solutions for electronic display systems, the Squaw Valley app will allow Google Glass wearers to view which trails and lifts are open and closed, without ever having to check a signage board or take their phone out of their pocket.
Squaw Valley is the first ski resort to develop an app for Google Glass. The Squaw Valley Google Glass app will be available prior to the 2014-15 winter season through the Google Glass app store. Additional capabilities are planned for the app in the future.
North Face Mountain Guides
Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows have guided tours, offering access to the resorts’ most coveted terrain and secret stashes for intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders. Offered in partnership with The North Face, the non-instructional tours will be led by the resort’s most experienced guides, whose extensive knowledge of the terrain rivals that of the resorts’ ski patrollers.
In addition to priority lift line access, participants will also receive a complimentary Thermo Ball Jacket from The North Face or other branded items, and great après ski discounts. The North Face Mountain Guides are open to adults and teens ages 13+, intermediate through expert. Guides are available daily beginning December 20 through the end of the season. Price: $699 (includes up to four guests). Reservations strongly recommended.
Stoked Oak: New Sierra-Style BBQ at Alpine Meadows
Stoked Oak, Alpine Meadows’ BBQ joint, celebrates a new barbecue style unique to the Sierra. Stoked Oak offers wood-fired open grilling served with a thick coating of the tangy house-made barbecue sauce.
Menu items include tri-tip, regionally-produced signature sausages, pulled pork, ribs, veggie kabobs, and cast iron trout. Sides include signature BBQ baked beans, house-made pickles, red cabbage slaw, and cheesy creamed corn, as well as Tahoe Toast (grilled bread with herbed butter) and a selection of BBQ sauces.
Audi FIS Skicross World Cup and FIS Snowboard World Cup
The fast-paced excitement of skicross and snowboardcross will come to Squaw Valley March 4-8, 2015, with the resort hosting an Audi FIS Skicross World Cup and FIS Snowboard World Cup.
This will be the first time the International Ski Federation has brought a World Cup event to Squaw Valley since the FIS Alpine World Cup in 1969. Cross racing pits four athletes against each other to race head-to-head down a course of jumps, bumps and berms. Snowboardcross made its Olympic debut in 2006, with skicross in 2010, and both events were among the top spectator events in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Sixth Lesson Free at Squaw Kids and Alpine Kids
New this season, children who take five group lessons at Squaw Kids or Alpine Kids get their 6th lesson for free. Squaw Kids and Alpine Kids offer full day lessons for young skiers (age 3-13) and snowboarders (age 5-13), as well as morning half-day lessons for kids age 3-4.
The five lessons can be taken at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows interchangeably to accrue to the 6th free lesson. Lesson accruals are not transferable between kids. Full day group lessons are $219, including rental equipment. Families can save $20 off lesson prices by booking online two or more days in advance. Reservations are highly recommended for all Squaw Kids and Alpine Kids lessons.
Pacific Crest Bowls at Alpine Meadows
This winter, skiers and snowboarders can experience the newly designated Pacific Crest Bowls at Alpine Meadows. To better identify what is arguably Alpine Meadows’ best terrain, the resort has designated the terrain accessed by High T and the Sherwood Lift the “Pacific Crest South Bowls,” which includes the legendary S.P, Big Bend and Sun Bowls. Similarly, the terrain accessed by the Estelle/Beaver Traverse, including Wolverine, Beaver and Estelle Bowls, while keeping their individual names, now comprise the “Pacific Crest North Bowls.”
