Never-ending ski season? Squaw Valley CEO says, ‘We’re taking a hard look at that’
Squaw Valley CEO Andy Wirth is giving hope to Northern California skiers and snowboarders who don’t want to see this historic season end.
Having already stated his plans to have the slopes open on the Fourth of July, Wirth upped the ante during an interview Saturday with Truckee Tahoe Radio KTKE (101.5 FM).
“I’m actually considering staying open through the summer and fall so it becomes the 16-17-18 season,” Wirth told KTKE. “We’re taking a hard look at that. Maybe we spin Shirley (chairlift) through the summer. There’s so much snow up there.”
As of Monday, the Sierra snowpack is 85 percent above average. With 705 inches (58 feet, 9 inches) of total snowfall, including 20 inches over the last seven days, Squaw Valley is one of several Lake Tahoe ski resorts to cross the 700-inch thresh hold this season, joining Sugar Bowl (782), Mt. Rose (761), Boreal (742) and Northstar (708).
This season has brought the second-most snowfall ever recorded at Squaw Valley, ranking behind the 2010-11 season that saw 810 inches, according to a news release from the resort.
“It’s been an incredible winter,” Wirth said. “Unprecedented.”
So, what would hitting the slopes throughout the summer and fall potentially look like? It might take a little hiking.
“We think it would be a cool thing if people uploaded on the tram, maybe likely hike across the ridge there a couple hundred meters, and dropped Shirley,” Wirth said.
That might be easier than buying a plane ticket to the Southern Hemisphere to get some turns in.
This story was originally published April 18, 2017 at 8:43 AM with the headline "Never-ending ski season? Squaw Valley CEO says, ‘We’re taking a hard look at that’."