Where to Ski And Snowboard - Squaw Valley renamed Palisades Tahoe

Squaw Valley renamed Palisades Tahoe

15th September 2021, by Abi Butcher

The Californian ski resort of Squaw Valley has been renamed Palisades Tahoe

The Californian ski resort of Squaw Valley has been renamed Palisades Tahoe, after recognising the ‘derogatory and offensive’ nature of the term squaw. The new name also covers the ski area of Alpine Meadows, after work began this summer on a gondola to link the two.

Squaw Valley was first named in 1949, but in August last year when the Black Lives Matter movement was gathering pace, the resort’s management team and parent company, Alterra Mountain Company, announced that change “needed to happen” in line with “the momentum of recognition and accountability around the country”.

Ron Conen, then president and COO said at the time: “As much as we cherish the memories we associate with our resort name, we must accept that these emotional attachments do not justify our continuing use of a word that is widely accepted to be a racist and sexist slur”.

The new name has been inspired by its history, the sheer granite faces and chutes in the resort, the geographical area and its inspiration to freeriders. Palisades Tahoe also encompasses the mountain Alpine Meadows — while the two formally merged in 2012, the two areas, which have 6,000 acres of skiing between them, have not until now been linked by lift.

In reaching a name, the resort team held numerous focus groups and surveyed more than 3,000 people, seeking opinions from local residents, long-term passholders, athletes who grew up on the slopes, employees and members of the local Washoe Tribe. The new logo links the mountains of Olympic Valley (former site of Squaw) and Alpine Meadows with the outline of an eagle, a nod to the sacred Washoe symbol.

Rebranding has begun immediately, but there is further work to be done, including renaming the two chairlifts of Squaw One and Squaw Creek, along with the areas Squaw Peak and Squaw Creek.