Royal Gorge cross-country ski resort on Donner Summit is currently in the hands of a court-appointed ‘receiver’ and will be offered for sale by fall or early winter.
The sale of the property will end a tumultuous six years that began when Bay Area developers Kirk Syme and Todd and Mark Foster purchased the property with hopes of building a large subdivision on the land. Hamstrung by road access, water supply, sewer capacity, and vocal opposition, development plans never got off the ground, and earlier this summer controlling owner Syme defaulted on his loan on the property. The property is currently controlled by a receiver who will oversee its operation until a sale can be completed.
The ski resort will be open for business this winter, said Tom Olson, a representative of San Diego–based court-appointed receiver Douglas Wilson. Wilson has retained Royal Gorge general manager Dave Achey to continue operating the resort, said Olson.
Representatives of the receiver will tour the property in October, set a price soon after, and offer Royal Gorge for sale as early as November. The property will be marketed across the nation and internationally, said Olson.
Despite the marketing efforts, many locals with knowledge of the ski resort wonder what amount of interest a large cross-country ski resort with substantial operational costs and limited revenue potential will generate in a depressed real estate market. The Fosters and Syme paid a reported $35 million for the land, with the clear intent to build and sell nearly 1,000 housing units on it. Today, it seems unlikely that a developer would view Royal Gorge as legitimately developable. Apart from seemingly insurmountable water, sewer, and road capacity problems, Royal Gorge development plans have been opposed by an active and determined group of nearby residents and regional conservation groups.
‘The highest and best use of Donner Summit is as protected conservation land,’ said Tom Mooers, executive director of Sierra Watch, a conservation group that has had success fighting land conservation battles in the Martis Valley, near Mt. Lassen, and east of Mt. Whitney. ‘There are so many resources worth protecting, and so many people interesting in protecting it, that it makes a resolution much more possible.’
The Truckee Donner Land Trust is interested in buying Royal Gorge, said land trust Executive Director Perry Norris.
‘I think we will be their strongest and best buyer,’ said Norris. ‘We have a different reason to buy it than a developer. We don’t have margins to protect.’
The land trust is interested in protecting both the Donner Summit property and the cross-country ski resort, said Norris.
‘We believe the continued operation of Royal Gorge as a ski area is important for the local economy and for conservation,’ said Norris.
Mooers said the effort to raise money and purchase Royal Gorge may turn out to be a similar effort to the land trust’s Waddle Ranch purchase. At Waddle Ranch, the land trust worked with private donors, state agencies, and local government to preserve the nearly 1,500-acre property in the heart of Martis Valley.
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