Whats New For Winter 2014-15 at Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows

Photo by Hank deVre

Olympic Valley, Calif. October 2, 2014 - Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows 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 Squaw | Alpine ups 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.

New On-Mountain Snowshoe Dinners at The Chalet at Alpine Meadows
New this winter season, 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.

New 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.

The North Face Mountain Guides
New for the 2014-15 winter season, The North Face Mountain Guides are Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows’ ultimate guided tour, offering unrivaled access to the resort’s 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 ThermoBall™ 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.

WinterWonderGrass Tahoe – New Bluegrass and Craft Brew Festival
WinterWonderGrass Tahoe, a bluegrass music and craft brew festival, is coming to Squaw Valley March 20-22, 2015. WinterWonderGrass Tahoe is a world-class winter music and beer festival featuring three nights of national, regional and local bluegrass bands and acoustic roots artists, complemented by a variety of craft brews and local wines, spirits and foods. Squaw Valley and the Sierra Nevada stand as a glowing backdrop for families and friends to dance from midday into nightfall, mingling beside crackling fire pits in the heart of art and the spirit of true connection. The event is open to all ages, including a designated Kid Zone, and will focus on sustainability and the California lifestyle. WinterWonderGrass Tahoe is supportive of local nonprofits focused on environmental sustainability, The Tahoe Fund and the international disaster relief organization, All Hands Volunteers.

Mountain to Mat: ski/ride and yoga workshops
New this winter, Squaw Valley is hosting three ski/ride and yoga workshops in January, February and March on the third Saturday of each month. Dubbed “Mountain to Mat”, the new workshops will incorporate locally-sourced, organic breakfast and lunch, a half day on the mountain with a professional ski/snowboard guide, an afternoon restorative yoga class at the Wanderlust Yoga Studio, and mini-spa treatments while sipping wine at Trilogy Spa in The Village at Squaw Valley. The January and March workshops will be offered for skiers, while the February class will be for snowboarders. Workshops are $169/person without a lift ticket, and $229/person lift ticket included. Mountain to Mat is offered to intermediate through expert skiers and riders.

Stoked Oak: New Sierra-Style BBQ at Alpine Meadows
Stoked Oak, Alpine Meadows’ new 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. All dishes will feature a recommended beer pairing from a selection of Northern California and Pacific Northwest microbrews. Stoked Oak will be open for the winter holiday season.

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.

New On-Mountain Spring Music Series
New this spring, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows are hosting a new on-mountain spring music series. As part of the series, bands will play at some of the most iconic locations on the mountains, including mid-mountain meadows and on top of some of the resort’s most legendary peaks. The free concerts will be held on Saturdays at Squaw Valley and on Sundays at Alpine Meadows March 14 - April 11.

Teaching Tykes 2.0
This winter, Squaw Valley is evolving Teaching Tykes, the resort’s innovative private lesson program that launched last winter to help parents teach their kids how to ski or snowboard. Originally designed for kids ages 3-4 and limited to the Squaw Kids’ backyard, Teaching Tykes 2.0 is now open to kids ages 3-6, with the opportunity to explore terrain anywhere on mountain (ability level permitting). Teaching Tykes 2.0 caters to parents who want to learn a few ‘tricks of the trade’ to use when teaching their own little ones to ski or snowboard, and covers topics like riding a chairlift safely, making turns, and using kid-friendly lingo to make skiing and riding fun and easy to learn. Teaching Tykes 2.0 lessons cost $339. Lift tickets and rentals are not included.

6th 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.”

The names were chosen to highlight the resorts location along the Pacific Crest. In the Tahoe region, resorts along the Pacific Crest often receive as much as twice the snowfall during storms, something longtime skiers and riders at Alpine Meadows are well aware of. The names also honor the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which runs along the Alpine Meadows ridgeline. One of the original National Scenic Trails established by Congress in 1968, the PCT is a treasured pathway through some of the most outstanding scenic terrain in the United States. Beginning in southern California at the Mexican border, the PCT travels a total distance of 2,650 miles through California, Oregon, and Washington until reaching the Canadian border.

Those looking for the best way to experience the Pacific Crest Bowls and sign up with The North Face Mountain Guides (info above).


Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows is an internationally renowned ski resort in North Lake Tahoe that spans over 6,000 skiable acres. The resort features 42 lifts and 270 trails, as well as the European-inspired Village at Squaw Valley featuring nearly 60 bars, restaurants, boutiques and art galleries. Snowfall averages 450 inches, providing one of the longest ski and snowboard seasons in Lake Tahoe, and establishing Squaw | Alpine as a top destination for spring skiing and boarding. Squaw | Alpine also boasts one of the region’s only mountain-top beginner areas and several intermediate skier havens.

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