Sugar Bowl & Royal Gorge are teaming up with B4BC (Boarding for Breast Cancer) for the Shred the Love event on March 30.

The resort will be hosting an open rail jam in the Switching Yard Terrain Park, with all entry fees from the event benefiting the foundation. A silent auction, sponsor village, raffles and live music will be featured throughout the day.

This year’s event will also include a cross country ski and yoga retreat at Royal Gorge on April 1.

The pre-party is March 29 at the Pastime Club in downtown Truckee at 8pm.

The boarding event is $25 on Saturday. Register between 8-10am at the Mt. Judah Lodge. The rail jam is from 11am-1:30pm.

This month’s acquisition of 1,370 acres north of Interstate 80 near Donner Summit should boost recreation opportunities in the Tahoe National Forest.

The high elevation lands near Castle Peak, White Rock Lake and Lola Montez Lakes were noted for their recreational and wildlife habitat values.

Lola Montez Lakes

“We are quite excited about this purchase. The property will provide opportunities for more sustainable trails, increased access to beautiful lakes, and consolidation of National Forest lands,” Joanne Roubique, Truckee District ranger, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Trust for Public Land and the Northern Sierra Partnership for facilitating this sale from Sierra Pacific Industries.”

The purchase price of approximately $1.3 million came from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, allocated by Congress primarily from fees paid by companies drilling for off shore oil.

The acquisition provides an opportunity to reroute a popular mountain biking trail into a more manageable loop trail.

“This land helps complete the Hole in the Ground mountain bike trail, one of the nation’s best mountain biking trails and one which is enjoyed by large numbers of riders in the summer,” said Carl Somers, project manager for the Trust for Public Land, said in a press release. “This is an excellent example of our mission of protecting land for people.”

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will conduct prescribed fire operations in the Cold Creek area on the South Shore again beginning March 25.

The Forest Service may also begin operations in the area of North Upper Truckee on the South Shore, Slaughterhouse Canyon or the Meeks Bay area, depending on weather and fuel conditions. Operations will continue throughout the week if conditions are favorable.

Crews expect to complete operations on approximately 10 acres.

Smoke will be visible from this prescribed fire project area. The Forest Service strives to minimize the impacts of smoke on local communities. Smoke-sensitive residents should consider staying indoors and keeping doors, windows and outside vents closed.

To directly receive prescribed fire updates, send an email to pa_ltbmu@fs.fed.us.

The four partners who purchased the Tahoe City Golf Course last year are gathering public input on concepts and designs about current and future uses.

There will be two open houses — March 26 from 6 to 8pm and March 27 from noon to 3pm — at the Golf Course Club House, 251 North Lake Blvd. in Tahoe City for people to voice their opinions.

The meetings are hosted by North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, Tahoe City Public Utility District, Truckee-Tahoe Airport District, and Placer County.

The four agencies purchased the 46-acre golf course to keep local community control of the popular amenity in the heart of Tahoe City and to enhance opportunities for open space, economic vitality, community character, recreation, conservation and safety.

The Tahoe City Golf Course is currently operated by Tahoe City Public Utility District under a five-year lease to Duncan Golf Management.

By Kathryn Reed

NORDEN – First impression – a muddy parking lot and tired looking lodge – is not the lasting image of Royal Gorge.

Endless open terrain. Rolling hills. Pines scratching the sky that is as blue as Lake Tahoe. Sun beaming down to where short-sleeves are all that’s needed. A choice of skiing in tracks or skating outside of them. A bit of exhaustion from not being accustomed to this much skiing.

Those are the lingering memories of Royal Gorge.

At 6,000 acres, it is the largest cross country ski area in the United States. With routes for all ability levels, it is seemingly an endless network of trails near Donner Summit. Some are nestled among the pines, others take skiers to otherwise hidden alpine lakes and then there is the 4,414-foot deep Royal Gorge that is due east of Summit Station – the starting point.

Trails go in nearly every direction from the Summit Station Lodge at Royal Gorge. Photos/Kathryn Reed

Royal Gorge had fallen on rough times. Owners changed. Money was scarce. Development proposed. The Wilderness Lodge was completely destroyed by fire in 2004 and never rebuilt.

Then came a massive fund-raising campaign led by the Truckee Donner Land Trust. In December, the property changed hands again – this time with the trust taking over.

Six leases are involved in the whole trail system, with the trust having control of 3,000 – or half – of the acres. There are 200 kilometers of groomed trails, with some loops allowing dogs.

It cost $11.2 million for the trust to buy Royal Gorge. Armed Forces Bank had taken over when the previous owners defaulted. With about $13 million being raised, it means there is money leftover for improvements.

And while $700,000 was spent at the start of the season on wayfinding signs, grooming machines and cleaning up the lodge, more improvements are in the works.

They are needed. At least one warming hut looks unstable. Signs are broken off. Employees of the base lodge couldn’t say if the upstairs bar would open any time soon.

The amenities at Royal Gorge are anything but royal. But that is destined to change as a recreation and forest management plans are created.

Sugar Bowl, which by vehicle is just down the road, but on a map is the Nordic center’s next-door neighbor, is operating the cross country area. And talks are under way for the downhill company to take over operation of the lodge.

Royal Gorge has never been available to the public for summer use. That is about to change.

“We could do cross country biking. We are looking at a mix (of ideas),” John Monson, spokesman for Sugar Bowl, told Lake Tahoe News. A network of bike trails created mostly by locals already exists.

When the Crows Peak lift at Sugar Bowl goes in – which could be this summer – it will “bridge the gap between Sugar Bowl and Royal Gorge,” Monson said.

Today it is possible to ski across the Van Norden meadow to get from one ski area to the other.

Also new this season, Truckee has added a bus stop at Summit Station at Royal Gorge so people don’t have to drive.

ngg_shortcode_0_placeholder (Click on photos to enlarge.)

By USSA

OLYMPIC VALLEY — Triple World Champion Ted Ligety (Park City) capped a career best season Saturday with massive 1.48 second wire-to-wire slalom victory to close men’s competition at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships in Squaw Valley.

Ted Ligety

A week ago, Ligety won the final Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom of the season to add to his record season that resulted in a fourth World Cup giant slalom title. It was his seventh U.S. Championship gold and first since 2007 when he won both the giant slalom and combined titles.

Earlier in the season Ligety won three gold medals at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships to become the first man since Jean Claude Killy 45 years ago in 1968 to win three or more gold in one World Championships.

Will Brandenburg (Spokane) nabbed silver to clinch the combined title with 2011 slalom champion Colby Granstrom (Lake Stevens, Wash.) in bronze.

Brandenburg was also crowned the U.S. combined champion which pairs the fastest combined time from both super G and slalom. Super G podium finisher Mark Engel (Truckee) and Robert Cone (Killington, Vt.) earned combined silver and bronze respectively.

Wounded Warriors from around the country will descend upon North Lake Tahoe in April for the Ability Challenge Snowsports Camp.

The week starts with the Ability Camp for 20 soldiers and Marines disabled in Iraq and Afghanistan. They will receive specialized instruction in adapted snow skiing and snowboarding at the Disabled Sports Program Center at Alpine Meadows Resort.

From April 2-7 they will also participate in other winter recreation designed as part of their therapy and re-integration into the community.

On April 5 at Squaw Valley and April 6 at Alpine Meadows the Ability Challenge will feature donors, sponsors and disabled skiers for a day of on-hill activities. An awards presentation is scheduled at the end of the day.

The Ability BASH on April 6 has been one of North Tahoe’s premier fundraising events for 19 years. This dinner, dance and silent auction is an uplifting evening for all in attendance.

For more information, contact Doug Pringle at (916) 532.3564 or doug@disabledsports.net

By USSA

TIGNES, France — South Lake Tahoe’s Maddie Bowman earned another X Games medal on Friday. She came away with the bronze in the women’s halfpipe finals.

She was fifth until her final run put her into third at the very end of the contest.

Maddie Bowman

Pushing the limits of her sport, Bowman spun both a left and right 900 in her run, but she her missed grabs.

Only 1.33 points separated the top three finishing women at the end of the tight competition.

“It was the best run of my life. It feels really good to have that run especially coming back after falling in Sochi and having a hard time in Voss,” Bowman said. “I feel like I just had a bit of a mental breakdown. It’s been a long season, and I got it turned around. I’m really happy to know that I can overcome that mental part of the game too. It’s a great end of my season and I cannot wait to go home.”

Marie Martinod-Routin from France took the gold.

On the men’s side, Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.) took the gold medal and left silver for David Wise (Reno). It was the second year in a row that Yater-Wallace and Wise went gold and silver at X Games Tignes.

The Truckee Ranger District will begin spring prescribed burning in the Truckee area as weather permits. The timing of burning will depend on favorable weather conditions.

Weather is the most critical factor in determining when a prescribed burn can begin. Temperature, humidity, fuel moisture, and wind conditions are monitored for the right burning conditions. In addition to weather factors, wildlife needs, soil conditions, tree survival, sensitive plants, and fire suppression activities are all considered in the timing of prescribed burns.

A benefit of the prescribed burning will be reduced intensity of future wildland fires in the treated areas. These areas may also provide firefighters with safe locations to control wildfires in the future

Some of these burns are located in more remote areas of the forest, while some are near communities. Within the Truckee Ranger District of the Tahoe National Forest underburning is planned near Stampede and Boca reservoirs.

Smoke will be visible in these areas. Forest Service fuels management personnel work closely with the California Air Resources Board and the local air quality management districts to minimize smoke impacts to communities. Not all smoke can be avoided, however. At times smoke will settle into low areas and drainages during the evenings and last into the next morning until daytime heating increases air movement and smoke dispersal.

In addition to prescribed fire, crews are working to reduce fuels by thinning dense stands of trees and cutting back or removing brush and smaller trees using mechanical thinning, mastication, and hand removal of vegetation throughout the forest.

To receive up to date prescribed fire information, contact Linda Ferguson at (530) 587.3558 to be placed on an email notification list.

By USSA

OLYMPIC VALLEY — Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley) carved his home mountain on Friday to a 0.20 second super G victory at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships to regain a title he first held in 2010 and lead a commanding 1-3-4 performance by local skiers.

Travis Ganong

NorAm overall and U.S. downhill champion Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) was second ahead of Mark Engel (Truckee), who started with bib 16. Bryce Bennett (Olympic Valley), who grew up on the Squaw Valley Ski Team along with Ganong, was the top junior in fourth.

One of the most technically difficult U.S. Championships slopes in recent history, athletes lauded the set and slope preparation at Squaw Valley.