In 1966, two Incline Village residents had a dream of making a year-round resort community, what would be called the “Pebble Beach of the Sierra.” Part of Art Wood and Harold Tiller’s dream would be Ski Incline, a ski resort placed directly in the Incline Village Community. Sixty years later, Ski Incline might have a different name – Diamond Peak Ski Resort – but it is still what Wood and Tiller had dreamed, a ski mountain for the community.
When developing the resort, Wood and Tiller hired Austrian ski consultant Luggi Foeger to design and build Ski Incline.
“He spent quite a bit of time poking around the area looking for the best slopes, the best aspects, and ultimately settled on the footprint of what is now our lower mountain for what was then called Ski Incline,” said Paul Raymore, Marketing & Communications Manager, Incline Village General Improvement District.
Construction on the mountain began in August 1966. Just four months later, on November 19, 1966, Ski Incline opened for its first (and longest) season, which lasted 170 days.
In 1987, Ski Resort Manager Jurgen Wetzstein led the development of the upper mountain and the addition of the mile-long Crystal Quad chairlift to reach the top of the peak. This expansion doubled the resort’s skiable acreage and added more advanced terrain. Since most of the new trails were black diamonds, Ski Incline was renamed Diamond Peak.
The expansion to the upper mountain also added the Crystal Ridge run, which gives Diamond Peak its iconic view of Lake Tahoe. The resort was even visited by filmmaker Warren Miller and featured in one of his films.
“The panoramic views from the upper mountain are pretty hard to beat,” said Raymore. “We feel like they’re kind of the best in the basin.”
In 2003, Diamond Peak replaced its old Crystal Quad with the high-speed detachable Crystal Express quad to the top of the mountain. In 2008, Diamond Peak renovated the base lodge and in 2010, it completed a large renovation project with a new Skier Services Building, featuring a plaza area, ticket windows, Child Ski & Ride Center, Ski Patrol headquarters, and offices.
Diamond Peak has also invested heavily in snowmaking capabilities.
“One cool aspect about Diamond Peak is that we were the first resort on the West Coast to invest in a snowmaking system… when the resort opened back in 1966, and that was brand new technology back in the day,” said Raymore. “Throughout the years, we’ve continued to invest in that so that right now we can cover 75% of our developed runs with snowmaking if needed.”
Despite growth and upgrades, Diamond Peak, which is owned and operated by Incline Village General Improvement District, prides itself on continuing to be a community resort.
“Diamond Peak has always been an independent resort, it’s something that we take pride in,” said Raymore. “We like to say we’re community owned because essentially, the residents here in Incline Village and Crystal Bay are the owners of the resort.”
The mountain still sees visitors from around the region and the world. Raymore said about 80% of the guests come from outside of Incline Village and Crystal Bay.
Diamond Peak hosts several signature events each year, including the Luggi Foeger Uphill/Downill Race, the Dummy Downhill and the ULLR Fest, which supports the Diamond Peak Ski Team.
In addition to the annual events, the resort will be hosting several events to celebrate its 60th birthday. There will be $60 ticket days, retro-themed parties and history talks.
“We’re just trying to celebrate as much as we can,” said Raymore.
To learn more, visit www.diamondpeak.com.