The Far West Ski Association Turns 90 - 55

and 90s, thus restoring Alpine's reputation for friendly service and quality skiing. Badami worked closely
with Werner Schuster, former ski-school director and now Vice President of AMOT. Schuster loved Alpine
and had been a respected member of the Alpine family since 1963. He understood what motivated skiers
to buy lift tickets, rent or buy equipment, rent, buy or pay for lodging, drive in challenging conditions and
show up - rain, blizzard, powder, packed or slush. " It's not just a lift ticket we are selling, " Schuster said,
" but an experience, a life-style. " With that in mind, Schuster initiated a Ski Week Program that included
lodging in Tahoe City and lessons at Alpine. Races and special events for ski clubs and schools won the
hearts and wallets of local skiers as well as the Bay Area and beyond.. Schuster's national marketing program,
Ski Lake Tahoe, benefitted six resorts around Lake Tahoe, and Alpine.
Badami sold AMOT to Powdr Corporation in 1994, became Chairman of the Board and moved to
Park City, where he guided the company in the acquisition of ski areas including Boreal Ridge and Soda
Springs. New management, a shift in priorities from those of a public company to a private corporation
and the departure of key employees (including Werner Schuster) sent ski teams and many locals back to
Squaw Valley, where snowboarders were welcome and extreme skiers shot down chutes and leapt from
cornices to the delight of onlookers. High Camp, at the top of the Tram, was a year round attraction with
restaurants, skating rink, swimming pool and tennis courts. Then Squaw added an entire village in 2002.
Cushing died in 2006, leaving his wife, Nancy in charge and the skiing public wondering what big
corporations would make an offer on one of the country's last privately owned ski resorts. " Not for Sale " ,
Nancy said.
JMA Ventures, a publicly traded real estate investment company, bought Alpine Meadows from
Powdr Corp. in 2007. New capital improved mountain and base facilities, and former employees and devotees
returned to their favorite ski area. KSL, a private equity firm, bought Squaw Valley in 2010 and
added Alpine Meadows a year later. By 2018, Alterra Mountain Company, a private company owned by
KSL, acquired KSL's community of 14 ski areas, including Squaw and Alpine.
Just as Poulsen, Cushing, Reily and many others have speculated for the past 70 years, the two valleys
now operate as one ski area, and soon they will be connected by a base to base gondola - making the combined
operation the largest ski resort in California and 2nd largest (after Park City) in the USA. n
FWSA 90th Anniversary Booklet / 1930 - 2020 55
The future Sierra Nevada Olympic and Winter
(S.N.O.W.) Sports Museum will tell the stories
of Sierra Nevada ski history from the days when
the Washoe climbed the mountains on handmade
snow shoes, through the 1900s when
goldminers raced down on 14-foot longboards
to modern day world cup and Olympic athletes.
As an Olympic museum, it will commemorate
the 1960 Winter Olympics and the ensuing
effects on regional and western ski history.
The two-level, 16,000 sq. ft. museum will be
located in the park at the entrance to Squaw
Valley Ski Area and will include a Far West Ski
Hall of Fame, Olympic and Sierra Ski History
wings and space for private and public events,
classes, lectures, films and conferences. The
architecturally iconic building will be
surrounded by an Olympic park which
will include the Tower of Nations and other
statuary. Currently, the SNOW Sports Museum
Foundation is completing preliminary environmental
information for local government
review. The foundation looks to begin
construction in the next few years. Follow
their progress, share memorabilia, listen
to oral histories or get involved at
www.thesnowmuseum.org.
watercolor drawing of the proposed S.N.O.W. Museum
courtesy of the SNOW Museum
http://www.thesnowmuseum.org
The Far West Ski Association Turns 90

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