Alpine Meadows and Homewood Mountain Resort Bond
Posted on March 17, 2008
A mere 13 miles separates these two divergent Lake Tahoe ski resorts, where a southern route from popular Alpine Meadows has one driving along venerable Highway 89, past tiny Tahoe City and even smaller Sunnyside, and winding up on the doorstep of Homewood Mountain Resort.
There’s certainly no confusing the two. While Alpine has always resided in the shadow of its scene-stealing, Olympic-sized neighbor (Squaw Valley), yet still remained a favorite destination of locals skiers and boarders, Homewood is the small-time resort that happens to possess the big-time view.
Head down many of Homewood’s 59 trails and Tahoe’s stunningly blue lake gets closer and closer as one ascends toward the bottom of the run that at times feels like it may deposit you into the chilly shoreline waters.
Despite the obvious differences, this summer the two resorts became aligned. JMA Ventures pulled out its wallet and purchased Alpine in late July. One year earlier, the San Francisco-based company bought Homewood in its pursuit of developing a small handful of Tahoe-area properties.
While many Alpine devotees see mostly positive things coming from the JMA Ventures acquisition, there is a feeling of suspicion among some longtime Homewood residents due to the expansion proposals that will forever change this sleepy, little Tahoe enclave.
Should the development plans receive the thumbs up after surviving a thorough scrutiny from skeptical opponents, the result will be a lodging and retail project at the base of Homewood resort. Detractors are concerned about water and traffic implications and are probably justified in believing the expansion is more of a real estate venture than a skiing enterprise.
“I don’t have a huge opinion on the plans and I haven’t heard anything real negative about what they are talking about doing,” said Kathryn Potts, who lives in nearby Granlibakken and works as a marketing coordinator at popular Sunnyside Inn. “The only negative to expansion would be traffic; it would increase on Highway 89. But mostly positive things would happen if they build, like creating more jobs and giving people more things to do.”
JMA’s summertime acquisition gave longtime Alpine public relations spokeswoman Rachael Woods the added responsibility of taking on duties at Homewood as well. She is making no predictions about the expansion plans and understands not everyone is along for the ride.
“Any project like this is going to get mixed reviews,” Woods said. “Homewood has families that have owned the same house for four or five generations. Their roots run deep. We’ll have to wait and see on the plans. Hopefully they are going to move forward.”
Regardless of the controversy, what many people will agree upon is both Homewood and Alpine offer some wonderful ski experiences and for different reasons.
Potts, 25, describes herself as an expert snowboarder who likes a challenge. That means she will often take the extra drive time to experience a day at Squaw or Alpine. Yet she hardly ignores Homewood, especially on days following a big storm.
“I’ve had some great powder days at Homewood, and some of those times are even a few days after a storm where you can still find powder that hasn’t been skied on,” said Potts, an Alabama transplant who has lived in the Tahoe region for three years. “Homewood is more of a family resort, but there is a ton of different terrain and some great tree runs. And of course the views are gorgeous.”
Homewood expansion plans may draw criticism, but no one is complaining about the high speed quad chair that was added this year, replacing a 35-year-old relic that took 20 minutes from start to finish. It now requires just five minutes to dump off passengers along that same lift route.
“And some of our best tree runs are right off that new lift,” Woods said. “It accesses the largest amount of terrain at Homewood and can be skied by both novices and experts.”
A more expansive mountain, Alpine can certainly cater to experts looking for the ultimate challenge. Yet it also offers enough for the beginner crowd as well, which is one reason Chris Traina of Roseville and his brother Tony keep coming back year after year and renting a nearby cabin with their families during President’s Day weekend.
“Our kids went to ski school at Alpine and started out as beginners,” Chris Traina said. “The Meadow and the Subway lifts are great for teaching beginners. My brother and I will ski some of the steep double diamond runs in the morning, then ski some great intermediate runs with our families later in the day. There is something for everyone at Alpine.”
The union of Homewood and Alpine resulted in a shared season pass this season. Some other arrangements between the two will likely arrive in the future. However, one thing Art Chapman, President of JMA Ventures, stresses is keeping the same casual, homey environment Alpine has always enjoyed.
“My kids grew up skiing here, my family and I have skied here for decades.” he said. “A top priority for us will be to continue to offer the friendly, welcoming, ambiance that everyone - from destination visitors to locals - remembers about Alpine Meadows. The terrain is phenomenal, but it’s that character everyone loves.”
And it’s that same character 13 miles away in Homewood that regulars want to maintain as well.
Article by: Jeffrey Weidel - Sacramento-area free-lance writer
» Filed Under Skiing & Snowboarding Tags: Tags:Alpine Meadows, Homewood Mountain, resort, ski, Skiing & Snowboarding, Tahoe City
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