White Wolf Mountain is a 460-acre private ski area located in the Lake Tahoe area, California. The ski area is discussed relating to the owner of Palisades Tahoe and Alpine Meadows (ski resort) interest in using White Wolf Mountain's interconnected property to create a mega resort. The property is named after a large white dog the owners rescued from a cliff of the property.[1]
Currently the land is used as a private ski area with 1123 vertical feet, and ski areas are accessed via Snowcat.[2] A chairlift is also currently being installed, and its installation is the subject of litigation with Squaw Valley Ski Resort.[2]
History
In 1970 Troy Caldwell started working selling lift tickets at Alpine Meadows. He was an avid freestyle skier and later joined the US Freestyle team. He met his wife Susan who also worked at Alpine Meadows. Caldwell had studied architecture in college and also built houses in the summer months, building one to live in and another as a rental unit.[4]
Caldwell and his wife dreamed of opening a mountain ski lodge, and the land that he was interested in he found out was owned by Southern Pacific Railroad. Caldwell visited Brandon Mark of Southern Pacific in San Francisco who and Mark told him that SP was in the process of spinning of its land portfolio to Catellus Development Corporation, and was keen to sell the land for cash if possible. During the land negotiation SP called Squaw Valley to ask if they were still interested to buy the land, and the Squaw Valley employee said to S&P (by mistake) that they were not interested in buying it (despite Alexander Cushing's many attempts to buy it over the years).[4] He initially planned to ask Southern Pacific to sell him 5 acres, but the railroad refused and offered the entire 460 acre parcel.[5] Troy Caldwell purchased the 460-acre section of property in 1989 from Southern Pacific Railroad for $450,000.[1] According to Troy Caldwell: "The section of land that I own borders Alpine Meadows and butts right up to their parking lot...and rolls over onto KT-22. It is my mountain. I own about 70 acres of Squaw. I bought it from Southern Pacific Land Co. in 1989."[2] The land purchase angered Alexander Cushing the then owner of Palisades, who stated: “It was extraordinary that Southern Pacific sold the land directly out from under us, it doesn’t make any sense.”[6]
After buying the land the Caldwell's built a road in to the land and lived on it. Cushing of Squaw Valley was unhappy that Caldwell had bought the land and eventually sued Caldwell in 1996 for breach of contract (as Caldwell was now leaseholder of land leased to Squaw Valley). Caldwell and Cushing later agreed to trade 70 acres of land for ski lift equipment, and Caldwell later filed suit against Cushing for breach of contract, as Caldwell argued that Cushing had failed to delivery the ski lift towers as promised.[4]
Caldwell after beginning construction of his first chairlift was sued by the Bear Creek homeowners association. Caldwell eventually settled the suit and stopped construction of his ski lifts in 2007, and agreed that the land would only be utilized as a private ski area with up to 25 guests on the mountain at any given time.[4]
As of 2014 Andy Wirth of KSL Capital Partners and Troy Caldwell have been working on using the land to interconnect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.[4]
Caldwell stated in 2019 he has spent $1.4 million "on paperwork" and lives a modest life driving a 1987 Toyota pickup.[7] In 2019 Caldwell received a response from Placer County regarding his plans to build 38 single-family homes, 14 guest units, housing for employees, a lodge, and only two ski lifts.[7] Note that as of 2019 Alterra Mountain Company (the owner of Squaw and Alpine) still has plans to cross the property with a base to base gondola to connect Squaw and Alpine.[7]
In 2022 Palisades and Alpine Meadows opended the base-to-base gondola, with about half of the towers on White Wolf Mountain land.[8]
Early Development Plans
It is the stated goal of Troy Caldwell to use the land to interconnect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski areas.[2] There is also significant community interest in connecting the two resorts.[9][10]
In September 2011, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley Ski Resort merged ownership. The two resorts will retain their distinct identities but unite under common management dominated by Squaw's Valley's parent company, KSL Capital Partners. Alpine Meadow's parent, JMA Ventures, will own a smaller part. The new umbrella entity over both resorts will be known as Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC.[3] It has been discussed in the media that the new company Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC, will seek to eventually combine the two resorts into one large resort through an agreement with a ski resort located on the mountain connecting Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley, called White Wolf Mountain.[11] This proposed combination is supported by White Wolf Mountain owner Troy Caldwell.[2] If connected via White Wolf, the combined ski area would be the second largest resort in North America, only slightly smaller than Whistler Blackcomb.
Caldwell's 2011 proposed vision[12] for White Wolf Mountain includes:
A small high-end ski resort
Gondola & 3 ski lifts
Mid mountain hotel
Small village complete with ice skating rink
In 2015 Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC announced a proposal to build a gondola through the property to connect the resorts.[13]
Litigation
Troy Caldwell is currently in litigation with Squaw Valley over his installation of chairlift towers that would interconnect the two resorts.[2] There have been many rounds of litigation, with the California Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that Caldwell was allowed to open his proposed chairlift, subject to limitations.
There is some indication that Squaw Valley's new ownership, KSL Partners, are seeking to work with Caldwell, and put aside their differences. In December 2011 KSL paid for Caldwell to study ski resort development in the American West. He visited Jackson, Vail, Aspen, Snowmass, Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands, Beaver Creek, Steamboat, Grand Targhee, & Big Sky. KSL footed the bill for that on-site research and Caldwell said of the trip, “(KSL) treated us like kings and queens.”[12]
White Wolf Subdivision
In 2019 White Wolf Subdivision was proposed to Placer County planning department, and proposed 38 single family homes, 2 ski lifts and other amenities.[14] The current concept is a private ski area with its own lifts, lodges, etc.[14]
References
^ abUnofficial Network "Whitewolf: New Details Emerge | Most Read Story of 2010" By Seth Lightcap · October 18, 2011
^ abcdefgTroy Caldwell's dream of an Alpine-to-Squaw route lives on at his White Wolf Mountain, March 09, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle.
^ ab"At Lake Tahoe's North Shore, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows come together" September 28, 2011|By Christopher Reynolds | Los Angeles Times staff writer
^ abcThomas, Gregory (27 December 2019). "Could Tahoe's next ski resort be private?". SF Chronicle. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
^Pridgen, Andrew (4 November 2022). "'A zombie we've killed before': Palisades Tahoe gondola sparks development fears". SF Chronicle. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
^Troy Caldwell Talks Squaw-Alpine Merger.Moonshine Ink, September 28, 2011
^Squaw Valley Purchases Alpine Meadows | Sierra Journal, Saturday, November 5th, 2011
^"State of the Lake Tahoe ski industry: ‘This is our time'", By Jason Shueh and Matthew Renda, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, Thursday, Nov 03
^ ab"Squaw & Alpine WILL Connect | Exclusive Interview with White Wolf’s Troy Caldwell", By Miles Clark, UnofficialSquaw, December 13, 2011
^ abThomas, Gregory (27 December 2019). "Could Tahoe's next ski resort be private?". SF Chronicle. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
External links
Official website
Planning department subdivision application
March 04, 2023
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This article is about the California ski resort For the Three Kingdoms battle see Battle of White Wolf Mountain White Wolf Mountain is a 460 acre private ski area located in the Lake Tahoe area California The ski area is discussed relating to the owner of Palisades Tahoe and Alpine Meadows ski resort interest in using White Wolf Mountain s interconnected property to create a mega resort The property is named after a large white dog the owners rescued from a cliff of the property 1 Owner of White Wolf Tahoe Troy Caldwell 2016 Contents 1 Location 2 Current Use 3 History 4 Early Development Plans 5 Litigation 6 White Wolf Subdivision 7 References 8 External linksLocation Edit White Wolf Tahoe Full mountain 2017 White Wolf Mountain is located between Squaw Valley Placer County California and Alpine Meadows California 2 3 The property runs from the parking lot at Alpine Meadows to Squaw Valley and includes KT 22 which Squaw Valley leases from White Wolf Mountain Current Use EditCurrently the land is used as a private ski area with 1123 vertical feet and ski areas are accessed via Snowcat 2 A chairlift is also currently being installed and its installation is the subject of litigation with Squaw Valley Ski Resort 2 History EditIn 1970 Troy Caldwell started working selling lift tickets at Alpine Meadows He was an avid freestyle skier and later joined the US Freestyle team He met his wife Susan who also worked at Alpine Meadows Caldwell had studied architecture in college and also built houses in the summer months building one to live in and another as a rental unit 4 Caldwell and his wife dreamed of opening a mountain ski lodge and the land that he was interested in he found out was owned by Southern Pacific Railroad Caldwell visited Brandon Mark of Southern Pacific in San Francisco who and Mark told him that SP was in the process of spinning of its land portfolio to Catellus Development Corporation and was keen to sell the land for cash if possible During the land negotiation SP called Squaw Valley to ask if they were still interested to buy the land and the Squaw Valley employee said to S amp P by mistake that they were not interested in buying it despite Alexander Cushing s many attempts to buy it over the years 4 He initially planned to ask Southern Pacific to sell him 5 acres but the railroad refused and offered the entire 460 acre parcel 5 Troy Caldwell purchased the 460 acre section of property in 1989 from Southern Pacific Railroad for 450 000 1 According to Troy Caldwell The section of land that I own borders Alpine Meadows and butts right up to their parking lot and rolls over onto KT 22 It is my mountain I own about 70 acres of Squaw I bought it from Southern Pacific Land Co in 1989 2 The land purchase angered Alexander Cushing the then owner of Palisades who stated It was extraordinary that Southern Pacific sold the land directly out from under us it doesn t make any sense 6 After buying the land the Caldwell s built a road in to the land and lived on it Cushing of Squaw Valley was unhappy that Caldwell had bought the land and eventually sued Caldwell in 1996 for breach of contract as Caldwell was now leaseholder of land leased to Squaw Valley Caldwell and Cushing later agreed to trade 70 acres of land for ski lift equipment and Caldwell later filed suit against Cushing for breach of contract as Caldwell argued that Cushing had failed to delivery the ski lift towers as promised 4 Caldwell after beginning construction of his first chairlift was sued by the Bear Creek homeowners association Caldwell eventually settled the suit and stopped construction of his ski lifts in 2007 and agreed that the land would only be utilized as a private ski area with up to 25 guests on the mountain at any given time 4 As of 2014 Andy Wirth of KSL Capital Partners and Troy Caldwell have been working on using the land to interconnect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows 4 Caldwell stated in 2019 he has spent 1 4 million on paperwork and lives a modest life driving a 1987 Toyota pickup 7 In 2019 Caldwell received a response from Placer County regarding his plans to build 38 single family homes 14 guest units housing for employees a lodge and only two ski lifts 7 Note that as of 2019 Alterra Mountain Company the owner of Squaw and Alpine still has plans to cross the property with a base to base gondola to connect Squaw and Alpine 7 In 2022 Palisades and Alpine Meadows opended the base to base gondola with about half of the towers on White Wolf Mountain land 8 Early Development Plans EditIt is the stated goal of Troy Caldwell to use the land to interconnect Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows ski areas 2 There is also significant community interest in connecting the two resorts 9 10 In September 2011 Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley Ski Resort merged ownership The two resorts will retain their distinct identities but unite under common management dominated by Squaw s Valley s parent company KSL Capital Partners Alpine Meadow s parent JMA Ventures will own a smaller part The new umbrella entity over both resorts will be known as Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC 3 It has been discussed in the media that the new company Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC will seek to eventually combine the two resorts into one large resort through an agreement with a ski resort located on the mountain connecting Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley called White Wolf Mountain 11 This proposed combination is supported by White Wolf Mountain owner Troy Caldwell 2 If connected via White Wolf the combined ski area would be the second largest resort in North America only slightly smaller than Whistler Blackcomb Caldwell s 2011 proposed vision 12 for White Wolf Mountain includes A small high end ski resort Gondola amp 3 ski lifts Mid mountain hotel Small village complete with ice skating rinkIn 2015 Squaw Valley Ski Holdings LLC announced a proposal to build a gondola through the property to connect the resorts 13 Litigation EditTroy Caldwell is currently in litigation with Squaw Valley over his installation of chairlift towers that would interconnect the two resorts 2 There have been many rounds of litigation with the California Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that Caldwell was allowed to open his proposed chairlift subject to limitations There is some indication that Squaw Valley s new ownership KSL Partners are seeking to work with Caldwell and put aside their differences In December 2011 KSL paid for Caldwell to study ski resort development in the American West He visited Jackson Vail Aspen Snowmass Buttermilk Aspen Highlands Beaver Creek Steamboat Grand Targhee amp Big Sky KSL footed the bill for that on site research and Caldwell said of the trip KSL treated us like kings and queens 12 White Wolf Subdivision EditIn 2019 White Wolf Subdivision was proposed to Placer County planning department and proposed 38 single family homes 2 ski lifts and other amenities 14 The current concept is a private ski area with its own lifts lodges etc 14 References Edit a b Unofficial Network Whitewolf New Details Emerge Most Read Story of 2010 By Seth Lightcap October 18 2011 a b c d e f g Troy Caldwell s dream of an Alpine to Squaw route lives on at his White Wolf Mountain March 09 2008 San Francisco Chronicle a b At Lake Tahoe s North Shore Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows come together September 28 2011 By Christopher Reynolds Los Angeles Times staff writer a b c d e A WHITE WOLF S TALE Renda Matthew 27 December 2016 THE LEGEND OF WHITE WOLF Tahoe Quarterly Retrieved 30 January 2020 The Dream Comes True For Troy Caldwell a b c Thomas Gregory 27 December 2019 Could Tahoe s next ski resort be private SF Chronicle Retrieved 30 January 2020 Pridgen Andrew 4 November 2022 A zombie we ve killed before Palisades Tahoe gondola sparks development fears SF Chronicle Retrieved 5 November 2022 Troy Caldwell Talks Squaw Alpine Merger Moonshine Ink September 28 2011 Squaw Valley Purchases Alpine Meadows Sierra Journal Saturday November 5th 2011 State of the Lake Tahoe ski industry This is our time By Jason Shueh and Matthew Renda North Lake Tahoe Bonanza Thursday Nov 03 a b Squaw amp Alpine WILL Connect Exclusive Interview with White Wolf s Troy Caldwell By Miles Clark UnofficialSquaw December 13 2011 Gondola Construction Updates 13 October 2021 a b Thomas Gregory 27 December 2019 Could Tahoe s next ski resort be private SF Chronicle Retrieved 18 June 2020 External links EditOfficial website Planning department subdivision application Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title White Wolf Mountain amp oldid 1130977040, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
