The Ski Channel's Favorite Lifts: KT-22, Squaw Valley, CA
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Description
KT-22. It's been called the best chairlift in the world. "The Mothership", serving more terrain off one lift than most resorts have on their entire mountain. Chutes, cliff drops, glades, groomers, and of course, The Fingers. Rising 2,000 vertical feet, KT-22 has it all.
The story of KT-22 is also the story of Sandy Poulsen, for whom the lift is named. Her husband Wayne counted the 22 Kick Turns it took Sandy to negotiate the steep, north facing slope, and christened the run, humorously, KT-22.
Known as the "First Lady of Squaw Valley", Sandy Poulsen grew up destined to be just another Uptown Girl, but her spirit wrestled her free from the typical Manhattan lifestyle. This was a trailblazing woman, a great woman, and her life would be one of adventure and inspiration.
In 1936, America's first destination ski resort opened near Ketchum, Idaho, christened Sun Valley Resort. Poulsen had learned to ski on weekend trips in New England. The allure of the amazing scenics she had seen of Sun Valley on the big screen, and the promise of light, fluffy snow drew Poulsen to the Idaho slopes. She showed up to the ski lodge (gasp!) unescorted. These were culturally conservative times, but this was a woman not to be held back by traditional Mores.
It was in Idaho that the maiden Sandy Kunau met Pan Am Pilot and part-time ski instructor Wayne Poulsen. By the Spring, the two were engaged. Wayne Poulsen had spent summer fishing trips in and around Squaw Valley, which at this time was nothing more than an uninhabited meadow. Uninhabited, that is, except for the occasional grazing pack of sheep. In 1943, Wayne purchased 640 acres of Squaw Valley land, the present day Olympic Village. Sandy and Wayne became the area's first residents. This was back-country, hard livin'. And Sandy thrived. "I grew up in New York, in a penthouse, but I ended up living in a tent in Squaw Valley. Yet I couldn't have been luckier."
Wayne Poulsen's job as a pilot took him away from the valley for long stretches of time. Sandy was essentially a part-time single mom, raising eight kids, in a remote, harsh mountainous climate. Long days, but still Sandy found the time to earn her commercial pilot's license, one of the first women to do so.
Sandy Poulsen passed away in September of 2007, but her impact and story live on. KT-22 was named by Skiing Magazine as the greatest lift in North America. A great lift named after an even greater woman and a Ski Channel Favorite.
The story of KT-22 is also the story of Sandy Poulsen, for whom the lift is named. Her husband Wayne counted the 22 Kick Turns it took Sandy to negotiate the steep, north facing slope, and christened the run, humorously, KT-22.
Known as the "First Lady of Squaw Valley", Sandy Poulsen grew up destined to be just another Uptown Girl, but her spirit wrestled her free from the typical Manhattan lifestyle. This was a trailblazing woman, a great woman, and her life would be one of adventure and inspiration.
In 1936, America's first destination ski resort opened near Ketchum, Idaho, christened Sun Valley Resort. Poulsen had learned to ski on weekend trips in New England. The allure of the amazing scenics she had seen of Sun Valley on the big screen, and the promise of light, fluffy snow drew Poulsen to the Idaho slopes. She showed up to the ski lodge (gasp!) unescorted. These were culturally conservative times, but this was a woman not to be held back by traditional Mores.
It was in Idaho that the maiden Sandy Kunau met Pan Am Pilot and part-time ski instructor Wayne Poulsen. By the Spring, the two were engaged. Wayne Poulsen had spent summer fishing trips in and around Squaw Valley, which at this time was nothing more than an uninhabited meadow. Uninhabited, that is, except for the occasional grazing pack of sheep. In 1943, Wayne purchased 640 acres of Squaw Valley land, the present day Olympic Village. Sandy and Wayne became the area's first residents. This was back-country, hard livin'. And Sandy thrived. "I grew up in New York, in a penthouse, but I ended up living in a tent in Squaw Valley. Yet I couldn't have been luckier."
Wayne Poulsen's job as a pilot took him away from the valley for long stretches of time. Sandy was essentially a part-time single mom, raising eight kids, in a remote, harsh mountainous climate. Long days, but still Sandy found the time to earn her commercial pilot's license, one of the first women to do so.
Sandy Poulsen passed away in September of 2007, but her impact and story live on. KT-22 was named by Skiing Magazine as the greatest lift in North America. A great lift named after an even greater woman and a Ski Channel Favorite.
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