RENO, Nev. (AP) — A long-awaited gondola connecting two Lake Tahoe ski resorts that was tied up in a legal battle will be completed for the 2022-23 ski season at Palisades Tahoe. Alterra Mountain Co., the Denver-based parent company of the resorts, broke ground last spring on the $65 million project. It will effectively create the third-largest ski area in North America with 6,000 acres of ski terrain. The 2.2-mile-long gondola had been controversial because it will travel near the edge of federally protected wilderness on national forest land above Lake Tahoe. A settlement was reached with conservationists two years ago.