By Eddy Ancinas
As a visiting skier from the ’50s to the ’60s and an Alpine Meadows and Olympic Valley resident from the ’60s to the present, I’ve observed Sierra and Rocky Mountain ski areas struggle with the transition from basic ski areas with lifts and limited lodging to full blown mountain resorts as more and more people choose to live, work, recreate, and own property at or close to major ski areas.
Sun Valley has Ketchum. Aspen has Aspen. Vail didn’t exist when I was at Colorado University in the ’50s. When it suddenly appeared alongside the highway, I scoffed at the “instant pre-planned pedestrian-only resort town.” However, Vail has become a viable mountain village that embraces local needs and values as much as those of visitors. It’s not all ski shops and restaurants. There are bookstores, art galleries, and handcraft shops.
Having been in the ski retail business for over 30 years in both Alpine and Olympic Valley, I dreaded summers when our experienced and loyal employees had to search for summer jobs, many of them never to return. The financial implications for them and for us are obvious.
After 75 years of being predominantly a day ski area as opposed to a destination area, I believe the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan is the best plan to transition from its present state to a destination that encourages visitors to stay and play in the valley, guaranteeing year-round employment and minimizing traffic on Highway 89 in both directions.
I applaud prioritizing workforce housing and parking in the East Village, and I hope the new market will be adequate to serve Alpine Meadows, Olympic Valley, and riverfront residents. A small hardware store and a pharmacy would eliminate emergency trips to Tahoe City and Truckee in peak traffic times.
As for the 90,000-square-foot Mountain Adventure Camp, I wish it could shrink, but I’m relieved that it will be less of a water park and more of a community recreation center, like the facilities in U.S. and European ski resorts, where swimming, tennis, or pickleball are popular forms of recreation all year for all ages and abilities in all kinds of weather.
I suspect that the number of bedrooms will also shrink from the 1,493 planned. For perspective, Northstar was approved for 2,400 bedrooms in 2002. They’ve only built 800. “Nothing will get built if the market doesn’t support it,” former Palisades Tahoe CEO Dee Byrne observed.
I’ve watched, worried, and written about development plans for this valley for over 60 years, and while I understand the concerns about development in Olympic Valley, I believe this plan addresses many of the issues we’ve been grappling with for years.
Over the past 5 years, Alterra has invested more than $100 million in infrastructure improvements. With their current plans to improve hiking and bike trails, to fund transit, housing, and environmental initiatives, this plan offers economic sustainability while tackling the complex challenges our community faces. Rather than simply opposing change, I believe this plan offers a thoughtful path forward while preserving what makes Olympic Valley special.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors will vote on the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan in a public meeting on Nov. 19, 9 a.m., at the North Tahoe Event Center.
~ Eddy Starr Ancinas was a guide for the International Olympic Committee at the 1960 Olympics, where she met her husband, a member of the Argentine Olympic Team. In the ’70s and ’80s, they owned and operated ski shops in both Alpine Meadows and Olympic Valley. Eddy is the author of the book Tales from Two Valleys – Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows.
