Alternatives to Royal Gorge XC Resort

December 23, 2008

Royal Gorge Cross Country (XC) resort offers many miles of prepared pistes, useable by both classic and skate skiers in a safe environment, which are well worth the money it charges for the privilege to access them. Additionally, there are many rest huts spread along the pistes with beautiful sight seeing.

This note documents existing and planned skiing alternatives to the Royal Gorge XC Resort. It is a follow-up on the open letter to the Royal Gorge Principals dated December 13, 2008, and is motivated by the real possibility that Royal Gorge LLC. owners may chose to close their resort in 2009-10. This season only a subset of the trails are groomed and the resort is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in an attempt to restore profitability. But will profitability degrade further, given the unchanged prices of day and season passes and continued inept marketing?

Besides groomed XC pistes, ski touring/mountaineering trips are also included; they involve objective dangers, including death, resulting from getting lost, being ill-equipped or ill-prepared for bad weather and extreme cold, or from avalanches. The author and this web site's owners do not make any claim with regard to accuracy of information, nor assume any responsibility for any accident resulting from any activities described or implied below. You are on your own!

Auburn Ski Club

Clair Tappaan Lodge

Donner State Park

Public Roads

The Auburn Ski Club - 15 kms of XC ski trails on the Summit

The Auburn Ski Club Associates is a 501(c)3 non profit organization dedicated to foothill winter sports. The club covers the full range of skiing activities at both amateur and competitive levels.

The club maintains over 15 kms of cross country (XC) ski trails on Donner Summit at the west end of the Boreal Ski Area's parking lot. The trails are groomed every day, except Monday and Tuesday, with state of the art equipment for both classic skiing and ski skating. The club offers many classes and has very active youth and junior programs. It is open to anybody willing to respect a code of conduct, sign a waiver, register as an associate, and purchase a trail pass. Membership fees are $40 a year for the first family member (2008-09), $20 for each additional family member. Trail passes are $60 a year, and free for youth under 18 years old. Trail passes are available only to associates and are not sold at the summit.

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Clair Tappaan Lodge's XC ski trails

The Sierra Club owns and operates the Clair Tappaan Lodge on the north side of Donner Pass Road (midway between the I80 Soda Springs exit and Sugar Bowl). 

The lodge maintains up to 10 kms of XC ski trails and a warming hut in the Lytton Lake valley south of Boreal Ridge on the Summit and provides access to the public for a small fee ($7 per day as of Dec 08).

This season, the lodge has organized several group activities:

• "Backdoor to the Backcountry: Nordic Ski Tour": the tour starts on groomed trails and gets off the beaten path to explore the area fully. Intermediate: 7 miles, 5 to 6 hours.

• "Backdoor to the Backcountry: Intro to Snowshoe Tour": an introduction to snowshoeing and the backcountry. Beginner: 3 miles, 500 feet, 4 hours.

• "Castle Peak Backcountry Ski/Ride Tour": climb Casstle Peak, ski down to round valley, experience the Peter Grubb Hut. Intermediate/advanced: 8 to 10 miles, 2500 feet, 7 to 8 hours.