| Pioneer Ski Area of America Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram | |
| Location: | Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram 1960 Olympic Vly Road Olympic Valley, California |
| Coordinates: | 39.1966°N -120.2357°W |
| Designation1: | California |
| Designation1 Number: | 724 |
The Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram (originally called the Squaw Valley Aerial Tramway) is a 1.5miles long aerial tramway at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort in Olympic Valley, California. It was inaugurated in 1968, and was called the Cable Car. At its opening, it was the largest tramway in the world, built by an Austrian company Garaventa.[1] It carries passengers from the Base Camp at 6,200 feet (1,889m) elevation to High Camp at 8,200 feet (2,499m) elevation. The tram operated operates year-round.[2]
Pioneer Ski Area of America is a California Historical Landmark No. 724 Located at Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram in Placer County.[3]
The historical marker at Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram reads: [4]
The VIII Olympic Winter Games of 1960 commemorated a century of sport skiing in California. By 1860 the Sierra Nevada-particularly at the mining towns of Whiskey Diggings, Poker Flat, Port Wine, Onion Valley, La Porte, and Johnsville, some 60 miles north of Squaw Valley-saw the first organized ski clubs and competition in the western hemisphere.
California Registered Historical Landmark No.724
Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in Cooperation with the California Historical Society and the Organizing Committee, VIII Olympic Winter Games, February 14, 1960. Rededicated by Squaw Valley Ski Corporation, February 1996.
During a blizzard in 1978 a tram car carrying 44 passengers became dislodged from one of the two cables. It fell before the second cable halted its fall, causing the car to bounce back up.
The cable that had become disconnected sprung upwards and broke its connection to the tower. The 17-ton cable fell downwards slicing into the rebounding car, instantly killing three passengers. The final casualties were 4 killed and 22 injured.[6] [7]