Dr. Robb Gaffney‘s iconic book Squallywood, a Guide to Squaw Valley’s Most Exposed Lines, 2nd Edition (2006) is the stuff of legends. The book has become a highly sought-after collectible that features a breakdown of many of the lines in Palisades Tahoe as well as a full description and breakdown of the game GNAR.

Squallywood, The Book, 2nd Edition Check out this detailed guide/coffee table book that documents over 150 ski/snowboard lines at Squaw Valley. Enjoy 40 maps, 130 photographs, 26 pages of color photos, remarkable personal accounts of falls and historical descents, a foreword by Scot Schmidt, and a bonus chapter by Shane McConkey. Learn about each route in detail including the “difficulty”, “fun factor”, “pitch”, and “hero factor”. Also learn about the ski movies each line is in and where in those ski movies you can find them.

Squallywood

Filmmaker and ski legend Scott Gaffney is auctioning off two copies of the legendary Squallywood, written by Robb Gaffney, M.D. and featuring the iconic bonus chapter by Shane McConkey, to raise money for Robb’s GoFundMe.

“Two copies of Squallywood—the first book of its kind in the ski world and the birthplace of G.N.A.R.—donated by an 84 year-old friend of author @robbgaffney . The books are used but in great condition (both are signed for the previous owner on the inside title page, but we could get it signed for you, as well).” – Scott Gaffney

Robb Gaffney began his first battle with acute myeloid leukemia over four years ago. For two years, the cancer appeared to be mostly under control, but a growing pain and recent studies showed that the leukemia was burrowing into his bones. Though the family is hesitant to ask for help, Lou McGee, a friend of Robb’s wife, has set up a GoFundMe to assist during this period. The two copies of Squallywood will go to the highest offers of donations to this GoFundMe.

“The books will be awarded separately and go to the two highest offers of donations to Robb’s GoFundMe. Since Squallywood has been sold out for a decade and isn’t available anywhere, in the spirit of spreading the love, one person shall not get both books. All proceeds will go straight to Robb and his family as they continue pushing through his cancer battle.” – Scott Gaffney

Squallywood: A Guide to Squaw Valley’s Most Exposed Lines was the first book of its kind, documenting and rating over 150 lines across what is now Palisades Tahoe. The bonus chapters, written by the iconic Shane McConkey, along with each line’s rating, gave birth to the game of G.N.A.R., the focus of GNAR The Movie and an endless amount of mountain fun.

“Either post your offers here or—if you wish to keep it private—hit me with a DM. I will try to pin the leading offers daily both here and in my stories. ENDS 12 pm PST AUGUST 21“

Image Credit: Scott Gaffney via Instagram

Palisades Tahoe remains one of the few North American ski resorts that is still open, with a projected closing date of July 4th. The Alpine Meadows side of Palisades remains open for skiing on weekends and will reopen again this Friday thru Sunday. After that, they’ll be closed until June 30th. Then, the festive weekend begins. America, f**k yeah.

June 30th will be quieter than the whole weekend, so parking at Alpine Meadows will be free. For the rest of the long weekend though, you’ll have to reserve your parking spots on Alpine Meadows.

On July 1st, they will be changing up their parking strategy due to the expected crowds. If you want to park at Alpine Meadows, a $10 paid parking reservation is required from July 1st-4th. The proceeds will go towards the Truckee North Tahoe Transportation Management Association, which is “a non-profit membership organization dedicated to innovative solutions for the transportation challenges of the North Lake Tahoe Truckee region.”

Over at the Palisades village area, parking will be free. A shuttle service will be running on July 1st-4th from 7:30 am- 5 pm, with buses departing every fifteen minutes. Due to the agreement with the Granite Chief Wilderness Protection League, the Base to Base Gondola closed for the season on April 30th, and will not operate for the Fourth of July Weekend.

Skiing will happen at Alpine Meadows from 8 am-2 pm from June 30 to July 4th. The Aerial Tram will open for daily summer operations on June 30th and is free to ride for Ikon Passholders. The weekend will feature live music, t-shirts commemorating the historic season, and other festivities.

Click here for more information about Palisades Tahoe’s closing weekend.

It has been one of the most memorable seasons EVER with 723 inches of snow. We’re sending winter off with a celebration of FREEDOM FEST at Alpine. For the full event details and more tips on how to enjoy Freedom Fest, check out our latest blog: https://t.co/fCWqtcGOsr pic.twitter.com/o3VBzxnI8y

— Palisades Tahoe (@palisadestahoe) June 20, 2023

Image Credits: Palisades Tahoe

With Lake Tahoe experiencing an existential housing crisis, Palisades Tahoe is helping out its employees. SFGate reports that the California ski resort bought two properties around the area that will house their employees.

The first property that they bought was the Tahoe Vistana Inn. The building, which has thirty units, will be able to house fifty employees. The Tahoe Vistana Inn, which has hotel and apartment-style rooms, will accommodate short-term, full-time, and international visa employees.

The other purchased property, which is located at Kings Beach, is being referred to by Palisades Tahoe as a “longer-term solution to housing.” This property will have a total of eight units, with the ability to house fifteen employees. Some of them will be fenced in, allowing these residents to have pets.

Before the acquisition, Palisades Tahoe already owned or rented 13 other apartment buildings, along with a campground that can house employees that live in motor vehicles. These new acquisitions will help strengthen worker stability at the largest ski resort in California.

Image Credits: Tahoe Vistana Inn, Palisades Tahoe

“Daryl Rahlves tried ta show off in front uh me so I had ta put him in his place.”

Our boy Donny Pelletier met up with Olympian and World Champion skier Daron Rahlves on the slopes of Palisades Tahoe and he wasn’t taking any impressed.  Donny wasn’t about to get big timed by the hotshot skier and took it too him with flawless form and constant chirping. Don’t mess with Donny or you’ll end up looking like a scrub 100% of the time:

“This to me doesn’t prove anything, ya know what I mean? Seems like propaganda. They tried to make it look like they buried that sign but they could just stuck that in the ground any time.” –Donny Pelletier

Gotta love our boy Donny keeping the folks at Palisades Tahoe honest with their snow depths claims. Despite ample evidence, Donny ain’t convinced. As he says “We’ll see come July 4th”:

With 700" of snow this season (and counting ), we're open for skiing and riding through July 4th! That all sounded too good to be true to Donny Pelletier, so he had to stop by to investigate for himself

Visit the Spring Skiing Capital! https://t.co/O3CnrCGFLh pic.twitter.com/k9xeewEeuZ

— Palisades Tahoe (@palisadestahoe) April 18, 2023

Cheers to Josh Anderson and his incredible tribute to Shane McConkey during the annual Pain McShlonkey International Snow Blade Day at Palisades Tahoe.  This is considered by many to be the heaviest line at the resort, to do it on snowlerbades is madness. Somewhere Shane is smiling down in approval. Well done!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brandon Skinner (@whiteroomfilms)

Scott Gaffney summed up the line pretty well: 

Here’s a couple more heroic lines from the day and another angle of first descent: 

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A post shared by Josh A. (@bangercertified)

Back in 2021, Palisades Tahoe changed its name from Squaw Valley due to the word Squaw being a disrespectful term towards Native American women.

One of the last holdouts from the Squaw Valley era was the Resort At Squaw Creek. The changeover to a new name has been planned since 2021, which was when Palisades Tahoe announced its new name. They sadly didn’t choose our suggested Death Star name.

KOLO reports that on Friday, the hotel announced its new name will be Everline Resort & Spa. The Ever part of the name comes from it being an evergreen mountain escape that’s great to visit throughout the year. The line part of the name comes from the railroad lines that initially connected guests to Palisades Tahoe. They also say that the name evokes the everlasting experiences and lines of connection that the resort provides. The property will remain part of the Hyatt hotel brand.

I think the new name sucks. They could’ve done something creative that honors the local area or Native Americans, just like they did over at Washeshu Peak where the hotel is situated, but they went with something bland that makes it sounds like an average hotel.

You can read their official statement below.

Image/Video Credits: Everline Resort & Spa

Palisades Tahoe, CA picked up 18 inches of snow in the last 24 hours sending their total on the season to over 400 inches.

The milestone achievement means that the snowpack is deep, and Palisades is forecasting to remain open for months to come.

The resort just announced that they plan to remain open through Memorial Day, May 29th, and could stay open longer depending on conditions.

BIG NEWS With over 400" so far on the season, Palisades Tahoe will be open for skiing and riding through Memorial Day, Monday, May 29th (or longer), weather and conditions permitting https://t.co/zfLGkS7vFR pic.twitter.com/qSCMOaKhsE

— Palisades Tahoe (@palisadestahoe) February 23, 2023

Stay tuned here at Unofficial Networks for all news related to Palisades’ historic season.

We’ve got you covered!