There used to be a ski resort at Echo Summit. Photo/Lake Tahoe Historical Society

Historically, the wintertime recreation area atop Echo Summit on Highway 50 was a ski resort with chairlifts and a rope tow, known variously since the 1940s by names such as the early Nebelhorn or the later Echo Summit Ski Area.

The track was used for training for the 1968 Olympics. Photo/Les Wright

In 1968, it was the site of the Olympic training track to prepare athletes for Mexico City’s similar elevation at 7,300 feet.

It closed as a ski resort in 1988, later becoming home to the California Conservation Corps until 2002.

Today it is the new Adventure Mountain.

Adventure Mountain now leases the U.S. Forest Service property. Photo/Bill Kingman

— Bill Kingman

Souvenirs, above and right, from the old ski resort. Photo/Dave Wakeman

Usually the only way to get down to Emerald Bay and tour the castle is either by hiking or boating in.

California Parks is offering an ADA Vikingsholm Escort program. Reservations must be booked at least 24 hours in advance by calling 530.525.9529. It is a first come, first serve program with a maximum of two guest cars. One person in the car must have a disability placard.

It costs $10.

The escort down is at 1pm, returns at 3pm. Guests follow the volunteer escort in their own car.

The schedule, so far, is June: most Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; July: most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; August: most Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the Tahoe Area Sierra Club is sponsoring a photo contest.

Today, there are nearly 110 million acres in the country that have been designated as wilderness. Desolation Wilderness, Mokeulmne, Granite Chief, and Carson-Iceberg are all within a short drive of Lake Tahoe.

All photos submitted for the contest have to be taken in a designated wilderness area. Photos must be submitted by July 10. The winner will announced at the Sierra Club fundraiser on July 16.

First prize is $250 and $50 for two runner-ups. Email photos with contact information to wildernessphotocontest@gmail.com.

• Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce’s June 3 Tech Tuesday is Pinterest for Business. The 5-7pm class at the chamber’s office in Stateline is free for members, $15 for non-members.

• Check out this Reno Gazette-Journal story to find out about a public-private property dispute in Incline Village involving billionaire David Duffield. The old Ponderosa Ranch site and lake access are part of the squabble.

• Placer County Board of Supervisors will consider adopting a $792.5 million proposed budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year during a meeting in Auburn on June 3.

• Truckee Donner Chamber of Commerce’s June 10 7-8:30am meeting will focus on Americans with Disabilities Act and health care. Cost is $10 for members, $12 for non-members; it includes a continental breakfast. For more info, call 530.587.2757.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado’s 2nd annual Golf for Kids’ Sake is July 21 at 10:30am at the Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills. For more info, go online.

Road work will take place on Mount Rose Highway beginning June 2.

The approximately $10 million project by Granite Construction will repave and improve roadside drainage on from the highway’s base in south Reno to the Mount Rose summit. Rumble strips will be installed to enhance driving safety in residential areas at the base of the highway. Safety enhancements such as nearly 18,000 linear feet of guardrail, as well as rock removal and mesh cover to reduce erosion-caused rock fall on one roadside slope, will also be included.

Construction work will take place with single lane closures. Construction in the residential area at the base of the highway will take place largely during night, with minimal daytime work. Work will take place both night and day from the tree line up to the summit. Construction for this season will complete in the fall.

Lake Tahoe Boys & Girls Club of is changing the entryway to make way to install Bricks for Kids.

This is also a fundraiser to raise funds to keep the club operational.

Since 1991 the program has grown to two sites with 800 registered members ages 5-18.

To order a brick for a business, individual or family, go online.

Stories and brick building take place at the Zephyr Cove library on June 13.

All ages are welcome; children 5 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

The brick builders will listen to a story and create something from Duplo blocks or Lego bricks from 11am-noon. From noon-1pm children may use their imaginations to build their own creation.

Bring a sack lunch for an indoor picnic.

The Douglas County Public Library Lake Tahoe branch is located at 233 Warrior Way in Zephyr Cove. For more info, call 775.588.6411.

• The Thunderbird is out of commission until $250,000 is raised to repair the historic boat’s twin Allison aircraft engines.

• The  marine GPS class on June 28 will cover a brief treatment of GPS theory, how to set up a GPS unit, three waypoints (create, edit, navigate), hands on operation, and what not to do. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is putting on the class at Lake Tahoe Community college from 9am-1pm. Cost is $59.To register, call 530.541.4660, ext. 717.

• MontBleu casino in Stateline gave $18,116 to the Tahoe Fund through the donation program called Green Bucks where guests add a dollar donation onto their room nights.

• On June 2 at 8pm Lake Tahoe Community College is hosting the Soccer Class Showcase on the community ball field. Many of the students trying out will be on the intercollegiate mens and women’s soccer teams. Student activities organization will be serving free hot dogs to spectators.

• UCCE Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe plant sale is June 7, 9am-2pm at Lake Tahoe Community College Demonstration Garden, 1 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe. Perennials and organic, non-GMO vegetables will be sold Cash or checks only. Bring old pots to recycle.

• Clean Tahoe’s Dump Day is May 31 from 8am to 4pm. Bring unwanted items to the South Tahoe Refuse Transfer Station for $5 per truckload.

• El Dorado County election officials need poll workers for the June 3 election, especially English speakers who are also fluent in Spanish or Tagalog. For more info, call 530.621.7480.

• League to Save Lake Tahoe partnered with 12 students and two teachers from Douglas High School’s Environmental Club on Monday to remove 59 pounds of trash from El Dorado Beach in South Lake Tahoe in one hour.

• Scott Helmer is putting on a benefit concert for Tahoe Dream Foundation on June 13 from 7-10pm at the American Legion in South Lake Tahoe. For tickets, go online.

• Genoa’s Sweet Sippin’ Sundays strolls into its second month of the season on June 1 from 1-4pm. The cost is $12, which includes an event glass or $10 for return sippers who bring their event glass with them. For more info, email sweetsippinsundays@gmail.com or call 775.220.0605.

• South Lake Tahoe is having a Neighborhood Service Team meeting June 10 from 6-7pm. It is designed to improve and preserve neighborhood vitality by fostering public participation and facilitating interaction between residents and city officials. Meet at the rec complex, 1180 Rufus Allen Blvd. For more info, call 530.542.6093.

• Stacie Lyans is now executive director of the Tahoe City Downtown Association.

• Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe is in talks with the California Tahoe Conservancy to help fund the completion of the Lakeview Commons bike trail that would extend to the Alta Mira building that the state agency just bought.

• Tahoe Adventure Company puts on guided sunset kayak tours every Friday. Cost is $60. For more info, call 530.913.9212.

• TOCCATA–Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus concert on June 22 at 2pm at St. Theresa Catholic Church in South Lake Tahoe will include works by Vivaldi, Sowerby, and J.S. Bach. Featured soloists are flutists Josue Casillas and Carmella Cao and organist David Brock. Tickets are $25 for adults; call 775.313.9697.