Alterra Capital Plan Confirms Squaw/Alpine Gondola and Major Steamboat Projects for 2021-22

A snapshot of the KT-22 lift line as it currently exists. This landscape is on track to radically change next winter when a new gondola passes over the lift.

UPDATE: The Steamboat investments detailed here have been pushed out to 2022-23.

Earlier this week, Alterra announced $207 million in major capital investments for its Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows, Steamboat, Deer Valley, and Mammoth resorts. Squaw/Alpine will receive the long-anticipated Base-to-Base gondola, which will combine the two Tahoe areas by lift. The 8-passenger gondola will be constructed with two terminal stations at each base, a mid-station at KT-22, and a turning station with no entry/exit at Alpine Meadows. Steamboat will benefit from the first leg of the Big Blue Gondola, which will extend from the base to the Bashor learning area. Steamboat will also receive an 655-acre expert terrain expansion and a base area remodel.

Deer Valley will receive a completely remodeled Snow Park Lodge and base area. This new development will include higher capacity, more skier services, and a new ski beach designed with aprés in mind. The development will also include a new mobility hub servicing transportation routes from newly created parking lots.

Finally, Mammoth will see a brand new Main Lodge. The redesigned base will bring major upgrades in amenities, dining, and lodging.

The new Squaw/Alpine gondola and Steamboat upgrades are slated for completion by the 21/22 season. The new Deer Valley lodge, still pending government approval, won’t break ground until at least 2022—while the Mammoth lodge won’t start construction until 2023.

Our Take

These projects come with major implications for Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows and Steamboat. As planned, the gondola between Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows will traverse between the two bases, with a mid-station at KT-22. The gondola seems to be intuitively placed, with no lifts from the base required to access it, and will likely relieve crowds on the popular KT-22 lift. However, its footprint will alter KT-22’s distinctive landscape, and the new connection will almost certainly drive more crowds to the previously less crowded Alpine Meadows side. No new terrain is planned as part of the expansion, but ultimately, the connection will join 4,030 skiable acres of terrain together.

Steamboat has long lacked expert terrain and sufficient out-of-base capacity. The outlined changes for next year will start to address these issues, but we don’t expect them to fully get the job done. The first stage of the Big Blue Gondola—renamed from Wild Blue in earlier plans—will provide less crowded access to the Bashor learning area, but the lift won’t fully address crowding problems until it’s extended past mid-mountain, which is the resort’s main access chokepoint. The expanded expert terrain should provide more easily accessible Steamboat steeps, but it’s unclear if the Pony Express’s lift capacity will be upgraded to handle what we anticipate to be considerably inflated interest in the area. We recently penned a deep dive on these upgrades as well as the other changes proposed in Steamboat’s master plan.

We don’t anticipate Deer Valley’s Snow Park upgrade to impact its score much, as we’ve already been very impressed with facilities access in most areas besides Mayflower. However, it looks like the parking situation may improve dramatically. While the ski beach has the potential boost Deer Valley’s aprés ski scene, which takes a back seat compared to nearby Park City, we don’t expect this improvement to make things too much rowdier given the upscale, family-friendly demographic Deer Valley tends to attract.

Mammoth’s Main Lodge rebuild isn’t scheduled to begin until at least 2023, but one major omission from this announcement is the replacement of Chairs 1 and 16, which were originally supposed to receive quad-to-six-pack upgrades before COVID hit. It’s unclear whether these are still on track for the near future. It’s evident that these chairs are getting up in the years, and we agree with the original plans to replace them. However, we perceive that capacity upgrades to other chairs, such as Chair 2 and Chair 15, could provide a larger crowd flow impact.

For detailed information on these resorts as they currently exist, see our Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Deer Valley, and Steamboat reviews. Additionally, check out our Mammoth initial impressions—a full review will be out in the coming weeks.