• 

At the May 30^th Placer County Planning Commission meeting, the Base to Base Gondola (aka California Express) was approved and will now move on to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

The aerial gondola would connect the base areas of Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. There would be a gondola terminal at each base area, two mid-stations and towers that cross the ridgeline between the two ski resorts. The gondola cars would carry eight-passengers and would carry approximately 1,400 persons per hour in each direction. The travel time between the two resorts would be approximately 16 minutes.

The gondola would operate in the winter/ski season only and would begin when both resorts are open for skiing or November 1st, whichever is later, with closing when one resort closes or May 31^st whichever is earlier.

The gondola would typically operate each day from just before Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley open until shortly after closing (approximately 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.), and the existing shuttle bus system between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows would not operate when the gondola is open.

Three alternative routes were presented in the Draft EIR, but the Forest Service (whose approval was required in order to move the project forward) approved Alternative 4.

Under this alternative, the Squaw Valley terminal would be located in the vicinity of the existing Red Dog ski lift.  The Squaw Valley mid-station would be located on the Olympic Ridge near the existing KT-22 lift.

The Alpine Meadows mid-station would be located within the private Caldwell property, and farther away from the Granite Chief Wilderness Area than the other alternatives.

Only owners and guests of the privately-owned Caldwell property would be allowed to both load and unload at the Alpine Meadows mid-station, and the Alpine Meadows terminal would be at the side of the base facility.

The diagram below shows the Alternative 4 route….

 

At the Planning Commission meeting, two groups, Sierra Watch and Granite Chief Protection League indicated that they are considering litigating the anticipated Board of Supervisors approval.

The grounds were (i) the Base to Base Gondola project should be considered together with the potential Caldwell housing development, and (ii) that the EIR did not adequately analyze the traffic and visitation impacts.