Lake Tahoe

These companion volumes are filled with hundreds of black-and-white photographs. A recognized authority on the Tahoe region, Scott was known primarily for his definitive pictorial history on the world's greatest alpine lake. These comprehensive books are indispensable for the scholar and amateur historian alike.

Lake Tahoe's legendary scenic beauty is witnessed annually by millions of visitors. While the lake's first sighting (in 1843) by a nonnative was made from a mountain peak, the lake's maritime history began a scant seven years later. Although most of the early steamers were designed for industrial use, the sight of a boat venturing out into the vast, deep blue expanse of Lake Tahoe attracted the attention of residents and visitors alike. After the inevitable decline of extractive industries, tourism became the main economic engine in Lake Tahoe. The steamer era and the evolution of wooden-boat racing are celebrated today by the romantic races of the two paddle wheelers and the annual Concours d'Elegance boat show.

Organized ski racing in America started near Lake Tahoe in the 1860s when gold miners rode 15-foot boards that reached speeds near 100 miles per hour. By 1895, residents of Truckee had started the nation's first winter carnival west of the Rocky Mountains and soon built the largest ski jump in California. Today's Lake Tahoe, with significant annual snowfall, has become home to the largest concentration of ski resorts on the continent. Places like Mount Rose, Squaw Valley (home of the 1960 Winter Olympics), Sugar Bowl, Heavenly Valley, Homewood, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood, Diamond Peak, Donner Ski Ranch, Granlibakken, and Northstar-at-Tahoe have seen skiing styles, sports, and fashions churn through the decades, while now gone resorts, such as Edelweiss and White Hills Ski Resort, echo the memories of yesterday's skiers through the pines.