- Jackson Hole’s Tram Maintenance Manager explains why Big Red is closed this summer.
- Wildcat Mountain says scenic chairlift rides will resume on 7/31 following a lift upgrade project.
- A Salt Lake TV station devotes a half hour to exploring the gondola and bus options for Little Cottonwood Canyon.
- UDOT extends the public comment period for the LCC project to 70 days, ending September 3rd.
- The renaming of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is pushed back to early Fall.
- Okemo reports great progress on two new lifts.
- The Forest Service says at least two of Grand Targhee’s proposed expansion lifts will not be approved and a decision on others won’t come until late 2022.
- The new high speed quad on Peak 7 at Breckenridge will be called Freedom SuperChair.
- Four more mountains will join the Indy Pass next week.
- New Hampshire reports solid pandemic skier visits similar to pre-pandemic numbers.
- Local politicians oppose a direct route for the Burnaby Mountain Gondola.
- Pittsburgh considers an urban gondola to connect two downtown districts.
- Both Doppelmayr Canada and Leitner-Poma offer to finance the Cascade Skyline Gondola.
- Sun Peaks shutters mountain operations due to regional wildfires.
- Progress report from Leitner-Poma and Skytrac’s big project at Snow King Mountain:
Lift Blog 
Good to hear updates from Lil Doppy and Christian Leitner-Puma shoes
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I like how Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows referred to themselves in that article. Maybe that should be their new ski resort name! S Asterisk Asterisk Asterisk Asterisk Alpine Meadows. I think it has a good ring to it!
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Still not sure why they haven’t just gone with Olympic Valley and called it a day. Maybe they’re waiting for all the signs/website/etc. to be ready for a grand unveiling?
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I’m certain that’s what it is. With them wanting to change the name of Squaw Valley, as well as Squaw and Alpine truly becoming one ski resort with a connecting gondola, I think they’ll be shooting for a full on rebranding, from the name to the logo, and maybe a brand that appears more unified than “Squaw Alpine” which sounds like two separate areas, which was the case. I feel like they might come up with one overarching name to refer to the brand and both ski areas.
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There’s two problems with Olympic Valley. First is that it’s trademarked by the IOC. Second, is that the resort is actually in two valleys. They could call themselves Le Deux Vallees after the giant French resort. I think the best name is the simplest and the most descriptive. Tahoe.
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That is not true. Olympic Valley is currently not trademarked by any entity in the United States after having previously been owned by some individual or business in Washington state until the 90s. Perhaps no one can trademark it at this point due to its existing usage, but that is unknown. You are correct in that Olympic Valley is an unlikely candidate because of the two separate valleys. I have not talked to my friends at Alterra in a couple of months, but as of then, the leading idea was to brand the existing Squaw Valley half as Olympic Valley and keep the Alpine Meadows name for its respective half, with a separate name altogether providing a cohesive brand for the resort.
A key problem that has really challenged the rebrand team is the fact that Alterra got ahead of the curve with the name change. There was outside pressure, but it was relatively small, especially compared to other campaigns that have received national attention like the Washington Redskins or Cleveland Indians. However, Alterra knew that the calls would only grow louder over time and believed this was the right move to allow them to do it on their terms. The problem is that a lack of a widespread movement means the Squaw Valley name and brand still holds significant value, and any new name has to be liked and received to a level at least matching Squaw Valley. I do not envy the task of the team one bit and am not surprised they are requesting more time.
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Why not just use the Alpine Meadows name?
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That certainly simplifies things and solves the issue! But I feel with how long Squaw Valley has been around and how much of a legacy it has, a lot of people might get irritated about… Squaw Valley “erasure” I guess, if they just focused on making the whole area branded after Alpine Meadows.
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According to the Indy Pass’ Instagram page, the four new resorts they’re adding are in California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Alberta Canada.
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My predictions:
California: Homewood or Sugar Bowl
New York: Plattekill
Pennsylvania: Whitetail
Alberta: Marmot Basin
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Whitetail is owned by Vail Resorts.
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Definitely betting on Plattekill. I believe they were originally part of the Freedom pass, but that was very much overtaken by the Indy pass. Having to work incredibly hard to get people to drive 30 minutes more and competing with a state-run resort with a virtually unlimited budget, they could definitely benefit from putting their name out there and becoming a destination due to their laid-back, independent management style, not to mention incredible powder days for New York.
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I surprised they still haven’t added any Colorado areas. Sunlight, Powderhorn, Granby Ranch, Echo would fit in good .
.
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Granby is undergoing significant ownership and management transitions and it’s doubtful they want an additional thing to worry about. Echo is tiny and actually not a good fit, in my opinion. Powderhorn has some individual exchanges they negotiated on their own. Sunlight, maybe. With SkiCo already on the pass I doubt that will happen- they’re too close.
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There are no Colorado areas on the pass currently. Sunlight could use the boost. Could help get their expansion moving quicker. Echo is bigger then Hurricane Ridge. WA and most midwest areas on the pass currently. Plus has night skiing, close to Denver. Granby is on year 2 of new management, Most of those skiing there must drive past Winter Park to get there. Id think they’d like to get more people choosing to pick them over Winter Park for a day or vacation.
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I read (or assumed) ‘Ikon’ instead of Indy. I still stand by most of what I said, although I agree that Sunlight could use a boost. I think Granby will wait a few years before pursuing anything other than getting themselves out of the numerous messes Ms Cipriani got them into. Industry scuttlebutt, no more than that, but there’s usually a basis in fact there.
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It does not make a lot of sense for Indy to go after the Colorado market at the moment because season pass prices are already extremely competitive. A Keystone Plus pass is ~$30 more than an Indy Pass, and that gives you a season pass at Keystone, spring skiing at Breck, and 5 days at Crested Butte, whereas an Indy Pass would give skiers just 8 total days across those four mountains. For starters, people who only ski 8 times a year are already on the fringe of buying a season pass at all, and those who do would likely prefer to allocate their days at the better mountains of Keystone, Breck, and Crested Butte if prices are comparable. Plus, Keystone and Breck are closer to Denver than all of your Indy options with the exception of Echo, and the extra cost of gas for the longer drives alone may bridge the $30 price gap.
Compare this with the Northeast for a Boston skier. Indy has 9 resorts in VT/NH/ME for 18 total days, with an additional 2 in the Berkshires if you want to stretch to 22 total days, which should be enough access for the majority of season pass holders (11 weekends). Additionally, it comes in at $200 less than Vail’s rock-bottom Northeast Value Pass, which is a much larger gap, and the quality of the mountains is more comparable, with Jay, Cannon, Waterville, and Saddleback especially holding their own.
For Indy, it is much smarter to bulk in either regions where they have the ability to present a truly competitive alternative or regions that the two giants have largely ignored.
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I wonder if Breck will give the Freedom SuperChair’s lift line a trail name. (And for anyone wondering how you’ll lap it from Wirepatch, you’ll just need to use the cutoff that Peak 8 traffic uses to access the Zendo Chair to cross over to Lincoln Meadows)
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