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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Regional Focus: June 2006
No snow? No problem
Ski Mecca Squaw Valley gets its day in the sun
Story by Thomas Dodson
Breaking with a nearly 60-year-old tradition is never easy. You have to overcome obstacles, change mind-sets and smash stereotypes. Then you have to deliver on the new. Squaw Valley has accomplished this task, and in doing so, shed its reputation of being just a winter destination.
Since its first chair lift opened in 1949, Squaw Valley has branded itself as a snow ski mecca. Those 10 days in 1960 when 665 athletes competed in the Winter Olympics further embedded that impression into the minds of people around the world. And that’s about how it went for the next four decades.
But things started changing a couple of years ago with the opening of The Village at Squaw Valley. Now entering its third summer in operation, the village has hit its stride.
“We consider ourselves a four-season resort,” says Andy Mond, events manager for the Squaw Village Neighbourhood Co., a tenant-funded organization in charge of village operations.
Mond’s Neighbourhood Co. is charged with making sure there is always something to do around the village — and the group is living up to that task. There is now a fair, show or event virtually every weekend. The largest summer draws are June’s Celtic solstice celebration, the Independence Day celebration and August’s Brews, Jazz & Funk Fest.
“We have over 100 events. We have art and wine events, beer fests and on and on. And all the entertainment is free; everything we do is complimentary,” says Mond.
That’s a sure way to draw tourists and Tahoe-area residents. “The locals know this is the place to come. They know there is a lot to do here,” adds Mond. “We like to have a very local element to all of our events.”
Aside from the constant activities, the Intrawest-operated Village at Squaw Valley has firmly planted its flag in other ways. In many resorts, there are valleys and peaks when it comes to retail sales. Not here. With nearly 300 condominiums, six restaurants, 20 retail shops and a day spa, The Village is hopping day and night.
“More people come up here in the summer than in the winter,” says storeowner Lauren Hickey. Her shop, Waxen Moon, is a make-your-own candle studio. “One family came up here four out of the five days they were at the lake last summer. The dad said this was the only activity that everyone in the family could agree on and enjoy.”
Hickey’s involvement doesn’t end at her studio’s door. She says Squaw’s shops all support one another and The Village. “Every weekend there is an event, and we participate in a lot of them. For instance, every Wednesday is movie night, and we sponsor the costume contest.”
It’s that kind of coziness that’s helping drive Squaw’s new incarnation. While corporate America hasn’t been blind to all of this — Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s both have stores in the village — it’s the smaller, independent shops that make the village unique.
Gallery Keoki, a locally owned art gallery, is a perfect example. “A lot of people are surprised to see museum-quality art here,” says art consultant Hannah Scaife. “We have 60 or 70 artists on display. We have an incredible collection.”
The gallery features sculptures, photographs, glasswork and paintings from some of the best, including Picasso. Construction crews are already knocking down walls and doubling the size of the three-year-old gallery.
“We’ve turned a profit every month. This gallery brings in more revenue than any Intrawest property nationwide,” claims Scaife. Intrawest owns 15 similar playgrounds in North America.
If you need more proof that Squaw has become a true year-round destination, Waxen Moon and Gallery Keoki are just a couple of the shops that are open 365 days a year.
Besides candle making and art appreciation, one of the most popular activities in The Village is eating, especially outside — nearly every restaurant has patio seating. Squaw’s restaurants run the gambit from The Auld Dubliner, a pub built in Ireland, dismantled, shipped to Squaw and put back together again, to the Fireside Pizza Co., High Sierra Grille and Mamasake Sushi.
“We have six restaurants in an Alpine setting. No one else in the area has anything like that,” says Heath Bynum, commercial tenant-relations manager for Intrawest.
While it technically sits just outside The Village by about 20 feet, one of the best restaurants on site is the PlumpJack Café in Squaw Valley. It lives inside the stylish PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn, which also operates a separate restaurant and store inside the village. Condé Nast Traveler recently ranked the hotel the 18th best ski resort in North America.
The restaurant also recently received three stars from the San Francisco Chronicle, no small feat. Chef Mitchell Morgan makes international cuisine seem right at home in Squaw Valley; the restaurant also features a wine list with bottles from around the world.
“In the summer, we do great,” says Michael Murphy, PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn’s general manager. “We have corporate events and weddings almost every weekend. Squaw Valley is a great place for weddings. You can always count on the summer weather … and it’s not 115 degrees.”
Murphy says he’s seeing more and more people coming over from Lake Tahoe every summer. “It’s gorgeous here in the summer. There is so much to do. You deal with a lot of traffic around the lake, and you don’t have to deal with that here in the valley.”
