With the 70th Anniversary of Squaw Valley in 2019 &
renaming the two ski areas Palisades Tahoe in 2020…
Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows: Tales from Two Valleys
70th Anniversary Edition
by Eddy Starr Ancinas
Foreword by Edith Thys Morgan, two-time Olympian
and U.S. Ski Team member
Riveting behind-the-scenes stories of the visionaries and entrepreneurs whose determination and love of the mountains created two (now one) of North America’s most popular ski resorts.
The 1960 Olympics put Squaw Valley and all of North Lake Tahoe on the map. Alpine Meadows was the first of many areas to follow.
But who were the visionaries who saw the potential in these two remote valleys beginning in the 1930s?
Why did they ultimately lose control of their dreams to build a ski resort?
How did these two adjacent valleys become two (now one) of the best-known ski areas in North America?
How these two valleys–so close geographically yet so distant philosophically–survived avalanches, fires, floods, lift accidents, economic ups and downs, ski trends, public opinion, good and bad management;
and how the corporatization of both sides of the mountain inevitably joined them as one, is a story about the people who lived, worked and survived all of the above in both valleys.
From the Introduction…
“By 1960, Squaw Valley, having hosted the Winter Olympics, had become a world class ski resort, with extensive facilities and a lively community of permanent and part-time residents. Meanwhile, Alpine Meadows’ investors and homeowners shunned commercial development, and prided themselves on being a “family area—owned and operated by real skiers.”
From the Foreword by Edith Thys Morgan
“Even starting out as weekend warriors from the Bay Area, our family was wrapped snugly into that culture. As young ski racers we were guided and pushed by French, Swiss, Austrian, Japanese, Argentinian and American coaches, and welcomed by the local athletes with whom we strove to keep up. When I went from the Mighty Might Program, to the US Ski Team and to the Olympics, I followed a well-worn path.”
The book, Eddy, is a great piece of writing that chronicles an extraordinary story about bigger-than-life, over-the-top movers and shakers in your two valleys.
I’ve read a number of mountain resort histories, and yours is the best by far. You really know how to tell a story and hold the reader’s interest. Congratulations! Read More
What People Are Saying
Moonshine Ink Magazine
From deadly avalanches to the politics of the people who built the ski areas, Eddy Ancinas’ new book, “Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows,” unfolds with one-of-a-kind tales…what makes this telling of the tales unique is that Ancinas lived those decades…
Henrik Bull, Architect
It was a great pleasure to read your fine Squaw and Alpine book – a real page turner. I was amazed how complete and balanced you were able to be. You seemed to have avoided getting opinions in the way…
Skiing History Magazine
Skiing History Magazine with Review Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows skiers will delight in reading the familiar and not-so-familiar accounts of how these two leading Sierra resorts got started. Eddy Ancinas’ well-researched book will also appeal to anyone interested in…
Brett Hall-Executive Director, Squaw Valley Community of Writers
Congratulations on a wonderful reading. I really enjoyed every minute of it. You have a wonderful droll take on the events in Squaw and your sense of humor shines through. Everyone was leaning forward, eager to hear the rest of…
Brett Hall-Executive Director, Squaw Valley Community of WritersRead More
Tahoe Daily Tribune
Ancinas delivers compelling behind-the-scenes stories from a front-row perspective in her book “Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows – Tales from Two Valleys…Stories that expose reputation concerns, financial struggles, safety factors and even a roof that caved in due to improper…
Phil Carville, Developer-Olympic Village Inn
I picked up the book in Truckee a couple of weeks ago and finally got time to sit down a fully read it. (of course when I first got it I looked to see the chapter on How to Buy…
About Eddy
Eddy Starr Ancinas, is an award-winning freelance writer and author located in North Lake Tahoe. She received the SKADE Award from The International Ski History Association for Outstanding Book on Regional Ski History, has been a contributor to Skiing Heritage magazine and has published an article on the 1960 Olympics for The Atlantic.
Eddy was a guide for the International Olympic Committee in Squaw Valley at the 1960 Olympics, where she met her husband, a member of the Argentine Olympic Team. They raised their family in Alpine Meadows.
She is also a well-know travel writer specializing in Latin America travel including articles on Perú, and wrote the original Fodor’s Argentina Guide and updates on the Wine Regions and Patagonia chapters for six subsequent issues.
Eddy is president of the future SNOW Wintersports Museum scheduled for construction at the entrance to Squaw Valley (renamed in 2020 to Palisades Tahoe).
Available Now!
A Great Gift for Yourself
and Your Ski-Loving Friends
For bulk orders, please contact Joseph Gorman at Arcadia Publishing:
Email: jlgorman@arcadiapublishing.com or Call: 843.853.2070 ext. 197
If you are a book club, bookstore, group or organization and you would like to book a chat with me, in person or via Skype, please go to my Contact page.
Tom Corcoran, Member 1958 and 1960 U.S. Olympic Ski Team and U.S. Ski Hall of Fame
The book, Eddy, is a great piece of writing that chronicles an extraordinary story about bigger-than-life, over-the-top movers and shakers in your two valleys. I knew some of the personae, but not all, and most of the events described were…
Tom Corcoran, Member 1958 and 1960 U.S. Olympic Ski Team and U.S. Ski Hall of FameRead More