One huge hurdle has been successfully cleared for shuttered Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort in South Lake Tahoe.
Through the hard work of its crews, Sierra was able to install the new 10,000-foot haul rope to the resort’s all-important Grandview Express lift this week. The five-day effort was completed Friday (Jan. 21).
“We still have a long way to go before we are making Grandview laps again,” Sierra-at-Tahoe GM John Rice said.
The Caldor fire damaged Grandview’s haul rope, literally melting it from the inside out, necessitating an entire replacement of the rope.
Sierra-at-Tahoe, located off Highway 50 heading into South Lake Tahoe, has not opened for the 2021-22 season. The ski resort was severely damaged by the fire that struck in late August.
The Caldor Fire reached extreme temperatures in some areas of the mountain, rising to an estimated 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hot enough to melt a snowcat.
“The reality is, our crews are starting from square one, as all of the maintenance that is typically performed on Sierra’s lifts in the summertime was completely undone from the fire, and can now begin again,” Rice said. “With the haul rope in place, the crew can now begin additional restoration projects on Grandview, to prepare this lift and others for operation.”
The Grandview Express haul rope suspends the ski lift’s chairs. The resort had to get a replacement cable from Switzerland, but due to global supply chain issues, delivery of the rope took longer than expected.
Getting Grandview back on-line has been one of the crew’s top priorities and also its most daunting task. Multiple pieces of heavy machinery were required to offload the massive rope and position it to be unspooled to perform a process known as a “construction splice.”
WILL SIERRA OPEN THIS SEASON? Hope remains that this season is salvageable. But some skeptical Tahoe locals have concern that the resort may never open again. Sierra operates its 200 acres under a lease with Eldorado National Forest.
The Colorado company that owns Sierra-at-Tahoe – Booth Creek Resort Properties – says it has no intention shutting down the venerable resort for good.
Rice, who has been the Sierra general manager for the past 29 years, says reopening the ski resort is still the goal. The hope is skiers and riders will be back on the hill sometime this spring and the resort is running at 100 percent by next ski season
SIERRA FACING UNPRECEDENTED TASK: There is no precedence for what Sierra is trying to overcome.
In November, Scot Rogers, district ranger with the Eldorado National Forest, told the San Francisco Chronicle that wildfires have grazed the edges of ski areas before. However, no ski resort has ever suffered this much damage.
“There’s really no playbook to follow, so we’re making it up as we go,” Rice told the Chronicle. “This isn’t the last fire that’s going to hit a ski area, so the whole world is watching us.”
That leaves Sierra-at-Tahoe forging ahead with no blueprint to follow. Assessments have determined that the resort has major damage to ski infrastructure and landscape. This may eventually alter which trails return and the possibility that new ones are created.
“Underneath this burnt landscape is a resort waiting to come out of the ground and be glorious again,” a Sierra-at-Tahoe Facebook post stated, quoting Rice. “It could be a whole bigger, better thing. When you start looking at it that way, it gives you hope.”
STATUS OF WEST BOWL EXPRESS: Based on initial assessments, it’s known that the trails and area accessed by the popular West Bowl Express will be inaccessible this winter.
In addition, many of the in-bound tree skiing areas, such as Jack’s and Avalanche Bowl, will likely be closed for the season.
