Tahoe’s Mount Rose Highway Area is Keeping Public Backcountry Access Alive

In a world where physical space seems to be all but fully privatized, keeping access to public land is crucial to the ongoing health of mountain culture as we know it. Forget skiing-- if people can't simply experience snow without paying a private company, we're cooked.

Mount Rose is the focus of the latest episode of Flylow’s Peaks and Passages series. A Rose For All pays tribute to the backcountry spaces that belong to everyone, no matter how they choose to slide on snow, or if they can pay the fees of the resorts.

The issues we see at the Mount Rose Highway--that is, private landowners complicating access to public land-- is nothing new. And it's certainly not unique to Tahoe. Tensions between private exclusivity and public equity play out in our beloved ski towns all the time. As demand for backcountry access continues to grow, claims to these spaces need to be continually addressed with broad public interest in mind. 

Executive director of the Tahoe Backcountry Alliance, Anthony Cupaiuolo, speaking in A Rose for All, says “One of the issues we’re facing now—and I hope won’t be the case 15, 20 years from now—is that we have these incredible public lands, but private residences often treat them as their own private backcountry,” 

According to Cupaiuolo, that's not what these spaces are about. "Public land," he says, "is for everyone.”

For skiers, hikers, and first time snow visitors alike, multi-use areas like the Mount Rose Highway are shining examples of community access in the mountains. Places like Mount Rose are critical infrastructure at the heart of a sport fighting to be inclusive and accessible. They are the soul of skiing.