Their first client was a man who was stuck with an expensive ski lift in Palisades Tahoe that sat idle half the year. They advised him to start a posh and rather formal restaurant-nightclub up the slope that could be reached only by ski lift. So he did. It was named High Camp and it immediately became all the rage.

In 1970, the opening of Palisades Tahoe's High Camp for summertime operation and year-round use ushered in the prospect of brazen new worlds for resort operators. Never before had a Tahoe resort offered a year-round attraction on such an entertaining scale.


A smaller version of the idea had been tried before. In the mid-50s Heavenly's Chris Kurisa welcomed summer's tourists with sightseeing rides up his Gunbarrel, double-chairlift to hearty dining at the top terminal's Pioneer Hut. Bags of peanuts, sold to visitors to feed native ground squirrels, generated enough revenue to eventually pay for the entire cost of the chairlift's operation.

In 1962 Kurisa installed the West's first enclosed aerial tramway that alleviated perilous, open-air downloading to somewhat stressed tourists.

Today, the visionary ideas from Palisades Tahoe and Heavenly have taken a firm hold with their neighbors.

Ski Industry
"As the ski industry morphed from a sport to a recreation, the need to look at resorts as business enterprises grew," says Bob Roberts, Executive Director of the California Ski Industry Association. "Everyone needed a core staff over the summer. Taking on revenue in summer was a convenient way to pay the freight. Several resorts discovered a long time ago that summers could help make winters a success. My recollection of the early days of summer fun included the Grateful Dead at Squaw, music festivals, alpine slides, wrestling and tennis camps, biking and hiking."

According to the National Ski Areas' Association, over half of the 550 resorts in the United States have significant summer operations. The trend is the same around the Tahoe Basin. Industry leaders such as Intrawest, builders of the Village at Palisades Tahoe, East West Partners at Northstar-At-Tahoe, and Vail Associates, owners of Heavenly, specialize in building real estate influenced, year-round destinations.

Palisades Tahoe
On the North Shore, Palisades Tahoe owner Alex Cushing beefed up summer operations in 1989 with a remodel of his visionary High Camp facility. The present day complex attracts thousands of summertime visitors with a number of eateries and bars (complete with panoramic views of the mountains and Lake Tahoe), a spa and rock-lined swimming lagoon, tennis and volleyball courts, a sport shop, an Olympic museum, and an Olympic-sized outdoor skating rink. Last summer, 15% of the resort's revenue came from summer activities.

Compared to the over 650,000 who bought winter lift tickets, the revenue might appear minimal, but that is slated to change as more phases of the Village at Palisades Tahoe are completed.

While it's residential sales drove the initial construction of Palisades Tahoe's base area pedestrian Village, the focus is now more on wooing year-round visitors. At full build-out, the Village will include a total of 600 lodging units and 80 shops and restaurants. Businesses open this summer include a sushi bar, Irish pub, vintage wine shop, steak house, and an array of retail shops that complement established lodging units, shops, eateries, and a golf course located in the high alpine valley.

"The goal at the Village at Palisades Tahoe is to create a year-round appeal to visitors," explains the Village's publicist Chris Lyman." The Village is more visible than High Camp and we want to create energy and a lively buzz during summer months so guests can discover a lot of interaction and fun."

This year for the first time, Palisades Tahoe, has its own TV channel, SVTV, running in all the major resort properties to inform and entertain guests. "It is a vital part of enhancing the visits of the 1.5 million people who come to the valley each year," says Kurt Althof, V.P. of Sales & Development for SVTV.

Northstar
Adds East West Partners' Northstar village project director Dave Tirman: "Part of our objective is to reinforce the notion of a four- season resort. We want to enhance our product by having summer type activities and facilities for the buyer."

Northstar's newly opened village includes 213 residential units, 100,000 square feet of commercial space, a year-round ice rink, amphitheater, and spa fitness facility.

"Northstar has always had a diversified product," explains resort owner Booth Creek's Director of Marketing Julie Maurer. "Northstar was originally developed with a huge emphasis on year round recreation. We don't look at Northstar as just a ski resort but a place to have a vacation and mountain experience. You not only have to have the facilities but compelling activities. The new village allows us to explore all types of opportunities."

Like Palisades Tahoe, this year Northstar has initiated its own, in-resort TV channel to communicate timely information of value to visitors and guests. Statistics show that 70% of guests gather information on what do see and do from their in-room TV, according to Eric Brandt, President of New Tahoe Company, which is developing the channels at Northstar and in Palisades Tahoe. "98% of visitors flip on their TVs within five minutes of entering their rooms, according to a study done by Hilton Hotels," according to Brandt.

Heavenly
Heavenly's village represents a $250 million chunk of an ongoing $1 billion redevelopment project of downtown South Lake Tahoe and Stateline. Rising two and one half miles up the mountainside from the heart of the downtown casino district is an eight-person gondola that whisks sightseers above 9,000 feet in elevation. The $23-million lift allows for wrap-around views of the entire lake region. A Mid-mountain station allows travelers to disembark and drink in views from a 14,000 square foot observation deck complete with high-powered telescopes, snack bar, and picnic tables.

Below, a pedestrian base village features more than a dozen restaurants, bars and shops, an outdoor skating rink, an eight-screen multiplex theater, children's activity center and other activities as well as two time-share, residence type hotels with more than 450 units.

"Summer is playing a much bigger role than it did 20 years ago," concedes John Wagnon, Heavenly's vice president of marketing. "But we've always been a year-round operation. Summer has always been bigger than winter on the south shore in terms of visitors. We are increasing an emphasis on activities to attract the summer visitor and, accordingly, increase revenue"

Kirkwood
In the midst of a 10-year real estate driven improvement project, Kirkwood has completed a Mountain Village complemented by a quarter-ownership $18 Mountain Club condominium hotel, three other superb lodging complexes, and a subdivision of individual single-family home sites.

"These facilities have brought new life to not only winter but summer. Kids have abundant choices and fun things to do. We now have fine dining. These additions allow us to cater to family vacationers," says Kirkwood President Tim Cohee. "We've enjoyed a 50 % increase in residency since 1997, so we are motivated to provide for our buyers a year round resort. Our summer revenue might remain under 10%, but we believe we can make a subsidy of our efforts and in the process let our guests discover just how terrific Kirkwood is during summer months."