Mountain Living. Natural Wonders. Community Spirit. November 2026

In this issue

• Firewise Update & A Big Thank You To Volunteers.

• Winter Readiness...

• A Little Warmth. A Little Wonder.

• Many Hands, One Beautiful Valley.

• A Safer Crossing Before Winter: Where Do We Stand?

• Winter is Knocking at Palisades Tahoe...

• Big Winter on the Horizon: Palisades Press Winter Edition in newsstands Dec. 7th!

A Cleaner Valley, a Safer Community, and a BIG Thank You to Those Who Helped

Every load of green waste hauled away represents someone making the effort to care for this place we love. Removing accumulated needles, branches, and brush helps reduce wildfire fuel and maintain defensible space. Our Green Waste Drop-Off program makes that work a little easier.

Through September, our community collected 450 cubic yards of green waste. For comparison, the District’s drop-off records show 360 cubic yards through September 2025 and 420 through September 2024. That puts this year’s collection 25% ahead of the same point last year, and doesn't include a large final drop-off in October.

Behind those numbers are neighbors who showed up.

To everyone who volunteered time staffing the gate, checking loads, and helping residents throughout the season: Thank You. Giving part of your Sunday to serve our community matters, and your community is grateful to each of you.

Thanks also to the Olympic Valley Public Service District, the Olympic Valley Fire Department, Olympic Valley Firewise, Olympic Valley Property Owners Association, and Palisades Tahoe for supporting this shared effort.

As they say, "It takes a Village..."

Looking ahead to 2027

Next season we'll maintain the same frequency of drop-off days, but with new hours of 10am - 2pm.

Caring for the Valley takes many hands. This season, yours made a difference.

Winter Readiness

A practical winter preview for residents and visitors: home preparation, keeping hydrants accessible, and what to know before ski season begins.

First Snow, a Friendly Nudge

Sunday, November 1st brought our first snow to Olympic Valley, and with it, that familiar sense of anticipation. Our mountains are finally putting on their winter clothes. Time for the rest of us to get ready, too.

A few things worth tending to now: check tires and tire chains, put the snow shovel within reach, protect exposed pipes, and make sure flashlights, batteries, and supplies are ready for a power outage. Give your heating system a little attention, and test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

As roads and walkways turn slick, let’s slow down, allow extra room, and watch for people on foot. Check in on a neighbor who might appreciate a hand.

Winter is part of what makes this place magical... extraordinary. A little preparation helps us enjoy it and look after one another along the way.

A Little Warmth. A Little Wonder.

A warm coat. A new toy. A reminder that someone cares.

From November 3rd through December 6th, Truckee Community Cares is collecting gently used coats and new, boxed toys for local families in need. And our Olympic Valley Fire Department (OVFD) is offering its space as a convenient donation drop-off location.

If you have a coat to spare or can add a toy to your shopping list, please consider contributing. Thank you to OVFD for helping our Valley take part in this worthy cause.

Together, we'll bring a little warmth and joy to a neighbor’s holiday season.

Many Hands, One Beautiful Valley

A special Thanksgiving tribute to the people who care for our Valley: Green Waste Monitors, Adopt-A-Highway cleanup Volunteers, First Responders, and other Stewards of the Valley whose contributions often go unnoticed. Like the people who helped with pulling noxious weeds in our meadow last summer and the folks who helped out, recently, during Truckee River Day.

Truckee River Day 2026

On Sunday, October 18th, 275-plus Volunteers and community partners made the 31st Annual Truckee River Day another day of success.

Here in Olympic Valley, the Olympic Valley/Washeshu Creek project called for planting native shrubs and spreading mulch, helping care for the land as restoration continues.

Volunteers helped restore a rare alpine fen in Washeshu Meadow, (located where you see all the tree stumps at the start of our Valley), removing invasive plants, transplanting native species, and seeding wetland grasses.

These remarkable wetlands store carbon, filter water, and provide valuable wildlife habitat. Every hour contributed was an investment in the health of our community.

Stewardship begins with caring and comes to life when people show up.

Thank you for showing up!

It’s work like this that takes willing hands, patience, and people who care enough to engage.

Thank you to the Truckee River Watershed Council, the project leaders, and every Volunteer who contributed. You gave your time and energy to a place we all treasure. When we talk about being Stewards of the Valley, this is what it looks like.

A Safer Crossing Before Winter: Where Do We Stand?

Olympic Valley Pedestrian Crossing: Progress, but Still No Timeline for Installation

For those following the effort to establish a safer pedestrian crossing near Olympic Valley Road and Christy Hill Road, Placer County has provided another update.

There's movement, although several steps remain before we can expect improvements on the ground. Here's the latest as of Nov. 1st, 2026:

According to Jared Deck, Deputy Director of the County’s Tahoe Engineering Division, Alterra/Palisades Tahoe is preparing to hire Fehr & Peers as its traffic engineering consultant. Contract negotiations are largely complete. The County and Alterra/Palisades are now finalizing an agreement outlining responsibilities and funding contributions before the consultant’s contract is signed.

The County is contributing funds to help advance the design work. Deck says the consultant is expected to begin preliminary review within a month of the County’s update (that would be around Nov. 27th) - a starting point for studying a safe crossing location, but no installation date has been provided... yet.

One detail deserves the community’s attention: according to the County, the Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan doesn't require the Christy Hill crosswalk until higher use is anticipated later in the development. The County says it's helping move the work forward ahead of that requirement. Which is a good thing, considering this could be far down the road, so to speak.

We appreciate that effort. But those of us concerned about crossing this stretch of road also know that the safety concern exists today.

Regarding temporary measures, the County maintains that pedestrian aids installed before a proper engineering review could create a false sense of security. Its focus remains on designing formal improvements, while continuing to work with CHP on additional enforcement opportunities.

We're grateful to the County and Palisades staff working toward a solution, and I'll continue asking for clear milestones (as I did in a response to Deck's Oct 27th email) and a timeline the community can follow.

Our neighbors and visitors deserve a safe way across this busy road. Let’s keep that goal in sight as the agreements become a study, and the study becomes action.

As of this day, Sunday, Nov. 1st, a response from the County regarding timelines and accountability remains pending.

Stay tuned.

Winter Is Knocking at Palisades Tahoe

Our November 1st snowfall certainly helped set the mood. As we look toward another winter in Olympic Valley, here are a few dates worth putting on the calendar:

• November 4th–5th: Warren Miller’s Days Off. Gather with fellow snow lovers for the filmmaker’s 77th ski film, showing at 7pm both evenings at the Olympic Village Events Center. Tickets are available through Palisades Tahoe.

  
  

• November 25th: Target opening day. Palisades Tahoe plans to begin the 2026–27 season on Wednesday, weather and conditions permitting. Here’s hoping Mother Nature keeps contributing.

  
  

• November 26th: Thanksgiving at Olympic House. For those ready to let someone else handle the cooking, the resort is offering a Thanksgiving buffet, with seating at 2:30 and 5:30pm. Reservations are available online.

  
  

• November 28: Welcome to Winter. The Village will host a free, family-friendly afternoon celebrating the season. That same day, FORGED welcomes new honorees from 4–5pm at Tram Plaza, recognizing the people who have helped shape this mountain community. A fitting opportunity to celebrate both the winter ahead and those who helped bring us here.

Check the Palisades Tahoe events calendar for tickets, reservations, and schedule updates.

Early Winter Edition of Palisades Press Comes Out Dec. 7th. Let me know if you don't see it in the usual places... and if you have suggestions about places the paper should be.

Thanks for reading this issue of 96146 News.

See you out there!

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All photographs by Michael Kennedy (unless otherwise noted) / BlueWolfGallery.com

I’m Michael Kennedy, a resident of Olympic Valley, CA (in photo above with Nicola). I’m a writer and photographer and I love exploring nature and getting lost along the way. I get nervous around Nicola this time of year... We live in a world that demands our attention and I just want to say thank you for your attention. If you enjoyed this post, please share this with a friend. For more photos and stories visit BlueWolfGallery.com.