Sierra-at-Tahoe is a

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

and

snowboard Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

resort in

Twin Bridges, California Twin Bridges is a small unincorporated community on U.S. Route 50 near the Desolation Wilderness in El Dorado County, California. It is located west of Echo Summit, at an elevation of . It has a population of 14 people according to census fi ...

south of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

. Sierra-at-Tahoe is approximately 16 miles (26 km) south of

Stateline, Nevada Stateline is a census-designated place (CDP) on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. It lies next to the California state line and City of South Lake Tahoe. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. ...

and 12 miles south of

South Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the southern edge of Lake ...

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

and is contained within the

Eldorado National Forest Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California. Geography Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties ...

. Sierra-at-Tahoe (often shortened to "Sierra") is a medium sized

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

in the Lake Tahoe region, and is well known for being a more family oriented resort and also having a high annual snowfall. Sierra-at-Tahoe's terrain is 25 percent beginner, 50 percent Intermediate, and 25 percent advanced. The majority of the ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe region are on the northern end of the lake, near

Truckee, California Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highe ...

and

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. Sierra-at-Tahoe, Kirkwood and Heavenly are located south of the lake, approximately 75 miles (120 km) from Reno. It is common for visitors to ski amongst these three resorts when staying in southern Lake Tahoe area and not venture to the northern lake resorts such as Squaw Valley,

Northstar at Tahoe Northstar California (previously Northstar-at-Tahoe) is a mountain resort in the western United States, located in Placer County, California, near the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe. Approximately from the San Francisco Bay Area, the resort fe ...

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

, which are approximately 50-70 miles away. This resort also serves many communities around the eastern Sacramento region as it is in close proximity being located before the road summit on

U.S._Route_50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

. The high schools of

El Dorado County El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

all use the resort for training, and competitions for their snowboard and ski teams.

History

Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort was started in 1946 by brothers Ray and Floyd Barrett as Sierra Ski Ranch, further down

. It was sold to Vern Sprock in 1953. In 1968, the "Ranch" was moved to its present location when the

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...

began widening

. The Sprock family operated the resort until 1993 when the resort was sold to Fibreboard Corporation. Fibreboard updated many areas of the resort, including changing the name to Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort. Booth Creek Ski Resorts purchased Sierra-at-Tahoe in 1996. CNL Lifestyle acquired Sierra-at-Tahoe and

Northstar California Northstar California (previously Northstar-at-Tahoe) is a mountain resort in the western United States, located in Placer County, California, near the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe. Approximately from the San Francisco Bay Area, the resort fe ...

from Booth Creek in 2007. Sierra-at-Tahoe was among 15 resorts sold by CNL to

Och-Ziff Capital Management Sculptor Capital Management (formerly Och-Ziff Capital Management Group) is an American global diversified alternative asset management firm. They are one of the largest institutional alternative asset managers in the world. The firm operates m ...

in 2016. Booth Creek continues to operate Sierra-at-Tahoe. In August 2021 the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort was severely burned by the

Caldor Fire The Caldor Fire was a large wildfire that burned in the Eldorado National Forest and other areas of the Sierra Nevada in El Dorado, Amador, and Alpine County, California, in the United States during the 2021 California wildfire season. T ...

and was unable to open by the typical opening date in late 2021. In December 2022, the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort was able to open up in full operation however it has been severely denuded of its tree cover on the lower mountain. More tree removal is expected in the future, and the resort is still undergoing some operational rebuilding related to the fire as well.

Ski lifts

The Easy Rider, Grandview, and West Bowl Express ski lifts are the high speed quads built by Doppelmayr, the triple chair lift is the Puma built by

Yan Lifts Yan Lift, incorporated as Lift Engineering & Mfg. Co., was a major ski lift manufacturer in North America. Founded in 1965 and based in Carson City, Nevada, the company built at least 200 fixed-grip chairlifts, as well as 31 high-speed quads. Th ...

, and the 5 doubles are the Tahoe King, El Dorado, Rock Garden, Short Stuff, and Nob Hill all built by

. The Tahoe King and Puma are auxiliary lifts of the Grandview Express and West Bowl Express respectively, and run if crowd levels warrant their usage. The oldest lift in operation is the Nob Hill double chair installed in 1968, and many (or all) of the double chairs were installed in the 1970's to about 1985 and are still in operation. The high speed quads started their installation around 1989, with the current high speed quad lifts being installed in 1996.

References

External links

Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort official web siteBooth Creek Ski Resorts, Inc.Vern Sprock Obituary, Lake Tahoe News
{{California Ski areas navbox Buildings and structures in El Dorado County, California Ski areas and resorts in California Tourist attractions in El Dorado County, California 1946 establishments in California