Saturday, December 11, 2010

From Rain to Pow - Dec 6, 2010

December 6th 2010 {Squaw Valley, CA} from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

From RAIN to POW to McConkey's

The pouring rain last night didn't get me too fired up. Waking up to 2 inches of slop in the valley didn't make me wanna leave the house. Waiting inside Dave's Deli like a wimp (because I didn't wanna wait in the rain and whipping wind with 50 others in KT line) didn't exactly make my blood boil for sick pow. But, I gotta admit the snow was prettygoddamn good today.

Once I actually got on the mountain the snow was actually damn fun. The fresh stuff was sweet, the tracked up snow was hacky, and the beat up snow was set up like f#$king cement!

Some big sh#t went down today. Including McConkey's (it's only December 6th Humans)!!!!!!!!!!

Some dude hit McConkey's and I didn't see it but, I was able to interview a guy who saw.

"He came off the top, jumped, then a big jump, landed, but it wasn't tight. Maybe it was my angle but it looked like he missed the trees by this much(holding his hands out about 2 feet wide)."

So, yeah, I guess, that, it's, uh, ON!

Upper Mountain Wind buff

Upper Mountain Wind Buff from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Edit by: Daryn Edmunds

Words by: Miles Clark

There was a good sized line at the Funi at 9am. They ended up being the very first people to find out that the conditions weren't that rad. The sun had cooked the snow a bit yesterday and the wind pressed it way down.

I was only sinking in about 1 inch when skiing the fresh snow on Headwall. That said, it was fun skiing and some people were throwing down in Cornice 2. I saw some solid tracks in "No Way Out". Most skiers were milking the Reverse Traverse all day but there was also some good snow off Shirley in Lower Granite Chief.

Tomorrow's forecast........Rain. We'll update you tomorrow morning early on what is actually happening here in Squaw Valley USA.

Sleeper Squaw Valley Powder Day

Sleeper Squaw Valley Powder Day from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

I woke up in the PISSING RAIN today. Kinda bummed. I walked thru the rain for 20 minutes to the lift and arrived soaked. I was riding the chair over the fingers in the rain when the sun came out and BAM! It was an instant sick powder day with NO ONE OUT!!! This video was shot between 9:30am and 11:00am on Dec. 3rd, 2010.

Bluebird and Powder

Bluebird and Powder - Squaw Valley USA from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

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Squaw Valley went from looking like this.....

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To looking like this in six days.


Today it went bluebird. It was a funny kind of day where everyone seemed to be really... really Happy!

But how could you blame them, who would not be in a great mood when it's not even Thanksgiving and the mountain is almost compleatly filled in. People are Fired UP!

After the unbelivable day of skiing which saw the opening of Shirley Lake and Tower 16 it was off to the Chamois where Jt Holmes reiterated the mood of the day by saying, "Timy Dutton and I were hitting this little 4 footer and these guys were like 'Hell Yeah, get it!' in two weeks if I hit the same jump they will be calling me a Fag."

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Starting to look like the 1982 filming of Hot Dog....The Movie



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The Palisades.

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KT-22, which we are all still waiting on.

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Mountain Run and KT-22.

Nefarious November - Day 4 of the 2010/11 winter

Nefarious November. Day 4 - Ripping! from UnofficialSquaw on Vimeo.

Since Friday night we've gotten 64" on the lower mountain at Squaw. 'nuff said.

The past two days were so deep we renamed what we were doing out there from powder skiing to powder spelunking.

Last night's storm was different. The newest 16 inches were much wetter than the blower of the previous days and much more wind packed. Today, skiers were staying on top and ripping full-bore for the first time this season (this 4 day old season). It was the first day you were seeing flips, spins, technical lines, and as always at Squawllywood - ridiculous risks being taken. Once the mountain opens more terrain I guarantee you'll be seeing some ludicrous shit going down.

Today also marked a huge mental change at Squaw. Skier's switched from being completely blown away that it's this good this early to: all-systems-go, no friends on a powder day, lets f#@king rip it, get the hell outta my way!

Winds were insane at times today and I mildly soiled my pants (luckily they are brown) on a mid-day Red Dog ride. Red Dog is by far the scariest lift at Squaw. Add 80 mph gusts and me dangling over the gap to that, and yes, you get poo. Patrol actually closed the chair for about an hour right after that soiling.

Tomorrow's forecast is for a FULL-ON BLUEBIRD POWDER DAY. Patrol is talking about getting Shirley Lake and Siberia open. Kangaroo Kicker anyone? Heads up for the East winds tomorrow, tho. It looking like a classic Tonopah Low.

The Dirt on KSL - the new owners of squaw valley usa

Squaw Valley's credo has always been: "Hey, we got the best mountain, so you'll take what we give ya." I still remember, word for word, a statement from a season pass renewal letter mailed to every season pass holder, by Squaw, in 2003. The statement read: "Dear Alex, many consider you to be a slick scoundrel. I am one of them, but what can I do, you have the best mountain. Please take my $___ and send me my 2003/4 Squaw Valley season pass."

That credo is about to drastically change. Squaw Valley USA sold today to KSL Capital Partners based out of Colorado. Squaw's recent purchase of the Village and their getting rid of Nancy as CEO for Andy Wirth were obvious moves to make Squaw more marketable. We all knew it was gonna sell - we just didn't know to who.

KSL plans on changing Squaw's mantra and will start by throwing $5 million into improvements this season and $50 million in the next 3-5 years. They plan for that money to improve "culinary services, food and beverage, guest experiences - everything from the lift operations and ticket checkers to the staff in the parking lot." -Andy Wirth (Squaw's CEO)

Andy Wirth, Squaw's CEO, Eric Resnick, KSL's co-manager, and Mike Livak, Squaw's general manager, conference called UnofficialSquaw.com's founder Tim Konrad today for a chat. They talked for around 15 minutes in very general terms about what KSL's acquisition of Squaw means. Andy emphasized that they'll be spending part of that $50 million on improving Squaw's culinary arts, lift systems, and guest experiences. Eric said he and KSL are "really excited to be in Squaw Valley. It's one of the most unique mountains in the world." The call was basically a 'hi, how ya doin' call and somewhat of a respectful move. I think they know we've got some power with the people over here at this little website and they want us to know they recognize it.

Read Full Report





Tram Face

The people are already speaking out on KSL's acquisition of Squaw. Check out these quotes from our facebook page on the issue: "Bummer! we don't want to be vail" -- "Squaw has been one of the greener resorts so far and attempted to restrict development to its existing footprint. I fear that may change" -- "Where is the "dislike" button?" -- "it could be a net positive for skiers unless you really love the funky aspects... those will probably get polished off..." -- "Private Equity can't seem to get enough of capital-destroying ski lift operations!" -- "Balls..." Will KSL listen to the people and try to keep Squaw funky? Maybe.

So, who are these guys? KSL is run by Michael Shannon (who was president of Vail Associates, a predecessor of Vail Resorts, from 1985 to 1992), and Eric Resnick (who was also a Vail executive). KSL brands itself as a "private equity firm specializing in acquisition of under performing and under capitalized businesses and add-on acquisitions." So, okay, we all know that Squaw has not been living up to it's financial, economic, and service potential lately.....but I honestly think that's what so many of us love about this place. Squaw is grungy. Alex Cushing himself is quoted on numerous occasions saying "We're in the uphill transportation business", and that's all Squaw was. In the past Squaw was know as having the most technologically advanced lift system in the world......with absolutely no amenities. And besides the new Village (which is doing so-so, I mean, have you ever seen more than half the lights in the rooms lit up at night?) Squaw is still raw, grungy, and essentially just a bad-ass mountain with a couple funky places to grab beers and food. Bottomline: Squaw's got soul. The question is: will KSL rip the soul out of Squaw like that Shaman does to the guy's heart saying "Om namah shivaya" in "The Temple of Dome"? Obviously, it's yet to be seen.



KSL's plan is to completely change Squaw, because that's what they do. They buy businesses that aren't living up to their potential, heavily invest in them, and turn them into money-makers. What does this mean for Squaw? Another village, better restaurants, more restaurants, better service, more condos, more real estate, more lifts, ice-skating rinks, more parking structures, and a helluva lot more worldwide exposure are all things that are not out of the question. What does it mean for locals? Longer lift lines, more traffic, higher property values, higher prices in the valley in general, more chain stores, larger local revenue, more jobs, continued cheap season passes, more food and retail options, and potentially a chance to invest.

Squaw's potential is enormous. It's astronomical actually. Squaw is a world class mountain, in California, with more snow than anybody, terrain to fit every skiing genre, spectacular views, a nearby airport, it's only 3 hours from San Francisco, and only 4 from Silicon Valley (where there are roughly 5,774 residing millionaires and 45 billionaires). The sky's the limit.

I think what we all love about Squaw is that it's been 'ours', and in the near future it's going to be 'theirs'. But, Whistler has gone through this and the locals still love the mountain, albeit, they mostly have to live outside of town due to the high property value. The secret to life is to staying adaptable. If Squaw becomes somewhere you don't wanna be, then get the hell out, I suppose. But, I don't think everyone is gonna feel that way.