Fighting for fair winter access to public lands
By Kurt Gensheimer
When you ask avid backcountry skiers and splitboarders what the number one issue facing the burgeoning sport is, many would guess climate change — and they wouldn’t be wrong. But at least in the Lake Tahoe region, the most immediate challenge is winter public access. Specifically, the issue of snow plowing and trailhead parking. 
Since COVID, backcountry skiing has exploded in popularity, jamming up backcountry access parking lots across the Lake Tahoe Basin, Donner Summit and Mount Rose on weekend pow days. Compounding the problem, budget shortfalls and staffing challenges in agencies tasked with plowing snow have recently left trailhead parking uncleared after a big storm. The result creates dangerous situations, with inexperienced backcountry users parking over the white line in busy roadways.
Tahoe Backcountry Alliance (TBA) was founded in 2016 by Rich Meyer and David Reichel when they discovered the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was dismantling the parking areas at Jake’s Peak on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, one of the most popular places to backcountry ski in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Meyer and Reichel realized they needed to organize a voice to represent the backcountry skiing community.
Three years ago, avid splitboarder Anthony Cupaiuolo, a Meyers-based photographer, videographer and owner of First Tracks Productions, stepped into the role of TBA executive director. Thanks to his years working in the local community producing films and photography showcasing Lake Tahoe and supporting nonprofits including Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA), Tahoe Rim Trail Association, National Forest Foundation, and the Boys & Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, Cupaiuolo had already developed important relationships with local leaders in the outdoor space, helping further establish TBA as a valued partner in representing the community’s public access needs.
One of the challenges TBA faces is the multiple overlaying agencies involved with winter backcountry access. To the public, accessing a parking lot and getting out on the snow seems straightforward, but for TBA, simply getting the parking lot plowed during a storm requires lots of behind-the-scenes work, coordinating with California State Parks, the US Forest Service, Caltrans, and a handful of counties surrounding the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Another challenge affecting winter backcountry access is the increasing cost of living in the region. Caltrans District 3 has a substation in Tahoe City, and traditionally, the hardworking crew that has kept Highway 89 on the West Shore cleared for decades is experiencing a generational change, with veteran plow drivers retiring. These retired workers have lived in Tahoe for years and most already own their homes, but new plow drivers can’t afford to live where they work. As a result, Caltrans must recruit new drivers who live outside the area, and finding them has been challenging. When plow drivers don’t live locally, it negatively impacts locals.
“This is beyond just a Caltrans issue; it’s a funding issue,” said Cupaiuolo. “California’s Natural Resources Department objective includes public access to public lands, and plowing or the lack thereof is an access issue. It takes a while for people who work in state government to think this way, especially those who live and work in Sacramento and don’t spend a lot of time in the mountains on the snow, but that has been changing and we’re seeing some improvements, such as a new dorm for Caltrans workers in the Tahoe City area who get called up during big storms.”
Another impact that many don’t realize is that a lack of public access to public land can have a negative effect on the winter recreation economy in Lake Tahoe.
“Our shop rents a lot of ski gear in the winter season, but if the public can’t access trailheads because the lots aren’t plowed, we lose out on that business,” said Dave Polivy, co-owner of Tahoe Mountain Sports.
Polivy is also a councilmember with the Town of Truckee, serving twice as mayor, making him an important liaison between land managers, the public, local business owners and elected officials. An avid backcountry skier himself, he has an even deeper vested interest in making sure the public retains winter access.
With assistance from community leaders like Polivy, TBA has attained some considerable wins for winter public access. One was solving the access issue at the bottom of Lake Run, a popular backcountry ski route from Judah Peak near Donner Summit down to the West End neighborhood behind Donner Lake. Previously, the public was parking in the neighborhood, causing issues with residents.
The North Tahoe Community Alliance connected TBA with Caltrans and Placer County plow crews crews to figure out possible ways to solve this access issue. Thanks to a public-private partnership between the Town of Truckee, Truckee-Donner Recreation and Parks District (TDRPD), Truckee Donner Land Trust, Visit Truckee-Tahoe, and TBA, the Donner Lake West End parking lot at the bottom of Lake Run is now plowed every storm, opening up public parking access, taking the pressure off local residents.
Another big parking access win came last year at the foot of Mount Tallac. A few years ago, the Forest Service closed access to the Spring Creek Summer Home Tract in winter, access not only used for homeowners, but also for the public accessing Mount Tallac. Homeowners sued the Forest Service to regain winter access and won, but the public never regained that access, so skiers started parking near the gate on Highway 89. California Highway Patrol began ticketing people because they were in the Caltrans right-of-way.
Meanwhile, the Forest Service was doing a fuels reduction project right next to the gate out by the highway, and approached TBA to see if the public would like a parking lot near the gate. Last winter the parking area was plowed, and there were no reported incidents of skiers being ticketed due to the expansion in parking access. The lot is currently dirt, and TBA is actively fundraising so it can be paved, further developing this huge win for public access.
Despite its focus primarily on human-powered access, TBA has also worked with the Lake Tahoe Snowmobilers for better multi-use access. One area where both motorized and non-motorized uses are permitted is Johnson Canyon, located right off Interstate 80 between Truckee and Donner Summit, but parking has been challenging due to the lot’s poor condition and narrow width. Last summer, the Truckee Donner Land Trust parking lot at Johnson Canyon was reconstructed, expanding the number of parking spaces for year-round access to both ski terrain and the local trails in summer, including larger spaces to accommodate snowmobile trailers.
Addressing more than just parking issues, TBA has also expanded into getting more of the public onto public lands during winter, launching a Library Sno-Park pilot program in 2023, purchasing a few dozen Sno-Park passes in El Dorado County and donating them to the local library so residents can access Sno-Park areas.
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View more photos by Anthony Cupaioulo / First Tracks Productions here
Read more articles by Kurt Gensheimber here
