From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Author: Royal Gorge

  • Royal Gorge XC Resort Opens Expanded Nordic Ski Team

    Royal Gorge XC Resort Opens Expanded Nordic Ski Team

    Royal Gorge XC Resort is excited to open the 2026-2027 registration for our expanded Nordic Ski Team! Come join us. We are now offering programming, training, and competitive teams for every level—ages 6 to 86. Gap Year and potential “pro” level cross-country skiers and biathletes are highly encouraged to contact our head coach, Will Sweetser, to see what the Reno-Tahoe area has to offer you!

    SkiReg Link: Royal Gorge XC Nordic Ski Team

    Full Menu of Options — including pricing and what’s included

  • Royal Gorge XC Resort to Offer Expanded Programming for Winter 2026-2027

    Royal Gorge XC Resort to Offer Expanded Programming for Winter 2026-2027

    Thanks to the fantastic success of the redesigned youth programs at the resort this past winter, Royal Gorge XC will offer expanded teams for the 2026-2027 season.

    New team offerings for the coming season will include middle school age racing, junior racing, gap year programming, pro level racing and masters training groups.

    Youth programming will remain the same as offered this past season, with groups comprised of young skiers from Kindergarten through 8th grade with a focus on skill development and fun.

    The new racing and training focused offerings will put into place a full ladder of nordic ski development at Royal Gorge XC, allowing every level of skier to see the complete range of possibilities this life-long sport can offer.

    Programs will be headed by Will Sweetser, now in his 33rd year of professional coaching. An expanded staff of U.S. Ski and Snowboard certified coaches will support programming and lead the Royal Gorge XC Teams as they represent the resort and Far West Nordic in local, regional and national racing.

    All programs will be competitively priced, with both à la carte and full menu pricing options. Registration for programs will open at SkiReg.com by April 1, 2026.

    Royal Gorge XC Programs 2026-2027

    Manzanitas — Grades K–2
    Fun, fun and more fun. Saturdays only. Classic skiing focus. Weekend and seasonal rentals available.

    Aspens — Grades 3–5
    Fun, coordination and skill development weekend program. Classic and skate skiing. Limited racing opportunities for those interested.

    Lodgepoles — Grades 6–8
    Fun, skill development and fitness focused weekend program for middle schoolers. Independent Middle School racing and limited racing opportunities for those interested.

    Devo — Ages 12–15
    September through March programming options, both fall/winter and winter only. Summer camp offered. Coached sessions held 3 days per week. Local and regional race support with experienced, certified coaches.

    Comp — Ages 15–19
    June through March programming options, both full year and winter only. Coached sessions held 4 days per week on average. Local, regional, and national race planning and support with experienced, certified coaches.

    Gap Year — Ages 18–20
    By application only. Program limited to 5 athletes. 4–5 days per week in conjunction with Pro Team. Head coach: Will Sweetser.

    Pro Team — Ages 19+
    By application only. Program limited to 5 athletes. Individual training and competition planning. Job opportunities. Coaching requirement. Head coach: Will Sweetser.

    Senior/Masters Training Groups — Ages 21+
    Multiple training groups offering beginner to expert skate and classic training. From “learn to” to racing level groups. 1–3 days per week. Scheduled in conjunction with youth and junior training groups and offering race/experience travel.

    Registration opens April 1, 2026 at skireg.com/rgxc-nordic-ski-team-2026.

  • Gold Rush Races Cancelled, But Festival Lives On at Royal Gorge

    Gold Rush Races Cancelled, But Festival Lives On at Royal Gorge

    Low snowfall and warming temperatures across the Sierra Nevadas have forced Royal Gorge XC Resort to cancel the Gold Rush, Silver Rush, and Bronze Rush races originally scheduled for March 21, 2026. Pre-registered racers will be offered a refund or a deferred entry to the 2027 races.

    The long course races are off, but the Gold Rush Festival itself will carry on in a modified form on Saturday, March 21. Royal Gorge is planning a full day of activities, including live music, food, ski demos from Atomic, waxing clinics from Maplus, a laser biathlon demo courtesy of the U.S. Biathlon Association, and their redesigned Slush Cup Super Sprints.

    The festivities kick off Friday evening with the cafe and bar opening at 4:00 p.m. serving tacos, pizza, fries, and drinks, followed by a free Maplus-USA glide waxing clinic at 5:00 p.m.

    Gold Rush 2010 (Photo: MacBeth Graphics)

    Saturday’s schedule runs from 8:00 a.m. through the afternoon:

    8:00 a.m. — Resort opens for demos and skiing
    9:00 a.m. — U.S. Biathlon Association “Take a Shot” laser rifle demo
    10:00 a.m. — Cafe opens; Maplus-USA glide waxing clinic
    12:00 p.m. — Music on the deck
    1:00 p.m. — Slush Cup Super Sprints qualifiers (day-of entry only; $20 adults / $10 under 20)

    The Slush Cup Super Sprints will feature a super short loop with single-lap qualifying, terrain elements, and gates. There will be Beginner, Fitness, and Expert classes, with heats of six following qualifying. Expert Class heats will be a minimum of 600 meters.

     

  • Far West Tour de Royale

    Far West Tour de Royale

    Far West is happy to announce that the Far West Tour de Royale will take place on Sunday, January 18, 2026 at Royal Gorge. Last year, Royal Gorge stepped in as the venue for the 2025 Tahoe Rim Tour — and what a fantastic course they created! We decided to run it back and hold our fundraiser race here again this year — thank you, Royal Gorge!

    Racers start at the West Hut in Van Norden Meadow, tour the meadow, switch back up to the fabulous and eponymous Switch Back Trail, descend to cross Sterling Canyon, cross Castle Pass and Snow Mountain Pass before riding Little Dipper back up to finish at Summit Station Lodge. The 26km course will be offered for both skate and classic. Lunch at the Royal Gorge Cafe is included in the entry fee.

    There are classic and skate divisions, both mass start. We will also hold our Tour division again this year.

    Race Registration

    • Registration is $70 for Far West Nordic Members, $75 for Non-Far West Members and respectively, $35 / $40 for juniors.
    • Registration will be available online until 5pm PST on Saturday, January 17th.
    • After 5pm on January 17th, registration and bib pick-up will be offered on the morning of the event at $85 for adults and $50 for juniors.
    • Day-of registration is available at Summit Station Lodge from 6:30am-7:45am.
    • Registration includes:
      • Race entry
      • After party lunch at Summit Station Lodge
      • Awards ceremony with prizes
    • Considering Far West Membership? Learn more here!

     

    Register Today!

     

    Race Schedule

    • 6:30 am – 7:45 am: Day of race registration and bib pick up at Summit Station Lodge
    • 7:30am: Tour division start (non-competitive)
    • 9:00 am: Classic race start (no skating)
    • 9:30 am: Freestyle race start

    Course Map

  • Sugar Bowl Academy’s Hannah Halvorsen Named to U.S. Scandanavian Cup Team

    us nats

    By Peyton Jobe

    When fifteen-year-old Hannah Halvorsen filled out the “Nutrition” section of her Goal Setting Worksheet at the beginning of her sophomore year at Sugar Bowl Academy, she pledged to herself that she would do the following:

    “Leave room on my plate during lunch for the salad bar” and “eat salad every day.”

    Under “Conditioning Goals,” Halvorsen’s short-term performance goals were “to push myself above and beyond.” Finally, under “Dream Athletic Goal,” she listed “To travel the world skiing.”

    She will soon be doing just that.

    After impressive results in early season Nordic ski racing against the best competition in the country, Halvorsen has been named to the U.S. Scandanavian Cup Nordic Ski Team, and will travel with her five teammates to Finland for a series of races later this month.

    “I had been working hard towards this goal for a long time,” said Halvorsen, “I look at this as an incredible opportunity and as another step in the right direction towards future goals to come.”

    For her coach and Sugar Bowl Academy school advisor, Caitlin Curran, it is Halvorsen’s focus and work ethic that has helped her succeed at the highest levels of competition in the Nordic ski-racing world.

    “I am very proud of Hannah, not only for earning a spot on this year’s U18 trip to Europe, but mainly for all the focused work that she put in throughout the year to meet this goal,” said Curran, who accompanied Halvorsen last week to race at U.S. Nationals in Soldier Hollow, Utah.

  • Sugar Bowl Resort to Unveil $20 Million in Upgrades This Winter

    Investment includes new Crow’s Peak Chairlift, Fitness and Aquatic Center, Permanent Sugar Bowl Academy Campus and Further Improvements to Royal Gorge Cross Country

     

    Sugar Bowl Resort is investing more than $20 million into widespread upgrades this summer, including a new chairlift that opens an entire new peak to lift-served skiing and riding, a new fitness and aquatic center and a ski-in/ski-out  campus for Sugar Bowl Academy.  These investments represent some of the largest upgrades the resort has undertaken since expanding the Mt. Judah side of the resort to include the Judah Day Lodge and slopeside parking lots.  The current projects span all aspects of the resort’s operation by increasing ski terrain, upgrading off-slope amenities, and constructing a permanent slopeside home for the West’s most prominent ski academy.

    Here are four projects, totaling over $20 million, that Sugar Bowl Resort will unveil this winter:

     

    • New Crow’s Peak Chairlift ($3 million)

    Sugar Bowl Resort is currently installing a new chairlift this summer, improving lift-serviced access to advanced and expert terrain on the west side of the resort. The Crow’s Peak chairlift, a fixed-grip Doppelmayr triple, will provide lift-served skiing and riding in the Strawberry Fields area of the mountain, just below Crow’s Nest Peak. The Strawberry Fields area is currently hike-to terrain accessed from the Disney Express Chair, so the new Crow’s Peak chair will greatly improve fall line skiing, increasing the overall terrain and vertical for skiers to enjoy. Installation of the new $3 million chairlift is underway, and the lift will be open and ready for skiers and riders this season.

    The new lift’s bottom terminal is located just above the cross country trails of Royal Gorge’s Van Norden Meadow, physically bringing the two resorts, both under the management of Sugar Bowl, closer together.  At nearly 1,000 vertical feet, the new lift will run to the top of Crow’s Nest Peak, with the top terminal located just looker’s left of the peak itself. The terrain enhancements will include two new groomed runs, excellent tree skiing through glades, chutes and cliffs, and also provide a wind-protected area on inclement weather days.

     

    • New Sugar Bowl Academy Campus ($12 million)

    http://www.sbacademy.org

    A brand new campus for Sugar Bowl Academy is under construction at Sugar Bowl Resort below the lower Mt. Judah parking lot, alongside the resort’s snowbound village. The campus, with classrooms, dormitories and training space for 75 student-athletes, will be open for the 2013/14 school year. Sugar Bowl Academy is the nation’s only ski-in/ski-out academy and consistently places alpine racers, nordic skiers, and freeriders on the U.S. Ski Team and into the nation’s best universities. Its comprehensive college preparatory curriculum and world-class ski training program already make it the premier ski team and ski academy in the West.  “The new campus at Sugar Bowl Resort will definitely put us on par with the best sports academies in the world,” says Tracy Keller, head of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy.  Academy athletes also benefit from ongoing training input and feedback from four-time Olympian, X Games gold medalist and World Cup Champion Daron Rahlves, who serves as Sugar Bowl Resort’s ski ambassador.

    The new campus will be the permanent home of Sugar Bowl Academy, which outgrew its location at the former Alpine Skills International building alongside Old Highway 40. The academy used temporary buildings at Sugar Bowl Resort during the last two years to house its classrooms. The new academy campus will allow the alpine skiers direct access to Sugar Bowl’s ski runs, while the nordic team will enjoy a direct connection to the XC trails of Royal Gorge, North America’s largest cross country resort.  Its location in the Village at Sugar Bowl will also give students easy access to athletic training facilities in the new Sport Haus Fitness and Aquatic Center at Sugar Bowl Resort.

     

    • Sport Haus Fitness and Aquatic Center ($4.5 million)

    Sugar Bowl Resort is building a full-service fitness and aquatic center within the resort’s snowbound village for use by Sugar Bowl homeowners, lodge guests and Sugar Bowl Academy student athletes. The new $4.5 million Sport Haus is being built adjacent to the resort’s Village Hall building on the Mt. Disney side of the resort. The Sport Haus will include a full aquatic center with two lap lanes, outdoor hot tubs, fitness facilities, a yoga studio, spa treatment rooms, and athletic training space. Homeowners and lodge guests will be able to swim, participate in yoga classes and enjoy other fitness programs at the facility. The facility is centrally located between Sugar Bowl’s lifts, the resort’s lodge and the resort’s snowbound homeowner village. The Sport Haus will also serve as a world class conditioning facility for Sugar Bowl Academy’s 75 student-athletes.

    The fitness and aquatic facility is also an added incentive for purchasers of the new Summit Crossing homesites in the Village at Sugar Bowl.  Summit Crossing’s 25 homesites are located on the trails of Royal Gorge, North America’s largest cross-country ski resort, and just steps away from the chairlifts of Sugar Bowl Resort. A new $300,000 Village Tow surface lift will be installed this summer, directly connecting the Summit Crossing homesites to Sugar Bowl’s lift system. All Summit Crossing homeowners will have full access to the Sport Haus facilities. All Village homeowners will also enjoy a newly renovated and completely remodeled $300,000 Village Services office as the central location for all homeowner needs.  For more information on Summit Crossing visit: http://www.thevillageatsugarbowl.com/summit/overview.cfm

     

    • Royal Gorge Improvements (ongoing, $750,000)

    http://www.royalgorge.com

    In its second year of Sugar Bowl Resort management, North America’s largest cross-country resort will continue to expand its offerings with new fat tire snowbiking trails and the return of the Sierra Snowkite Center, California’s first and only resort-based snowkiting school.

    Royal Gorge’s 6,000 acres of cross-country skiing and 200 kilometers of trails across six distinct track systems give cross country skiers endless skiing possibilities on an impressive trail system dotted by lakes, canyons, meadows, majestic alpine peaks and eight different warming huts.

    In addition to cross country skiing and snowshoeing, fat tire snowbiking will be offered on narrow, bike-specific snow trails, giving the riders of fat-tired, winter-specific bikes the feeling of riding singletrack trails through the snow. Snowbikes will be offered for rent at Royal Gorge’s Summit Station Lodge.

    The Sierra Snowkite Center will return this winter with snowkiting instruction, rentals and custom snowkiting trips. The snowkite center operates out of Royal Gorge’s Van Norden Meadow, where consistent wind and a variety of terrain makes for superb snowkiting. For more information on the Sierra Snowkite Center visit: http://www.sierrasnowkite.com

    Visitors to Royal Gorge this season can also expect to see improved wayfinding signage, a new mobile phone application with improved snow reporting and trail conditions status, a new and improved website, enhanced food and beverage options at the lodge and on-trail warming huts, LED signage for weather updates and events information, renovated lodge grounds, and continued improvements to the trail grooming fleet.

     

    To learn more about Sugar Bowl Resort, go to www.sugarbowl.com. Sugar Bowl Resort, California owned and operated since 1939, was voted a Top 25 Ski Resort in North America by Outside Magazine. To learn more about Royal Gorge Cross Country, North America’s largest XC resort, go to www.royalgorge.com  

  • Sugar Bowl’s Summit Crossing Launches Homesite Offering in Nation’s Only Snowbound Village

    XC Skate Ski Summit Crossing

     

    Sugar Bowl has released 25 new homesites for sale at Summit Crossing in the ski resort’s ski-in/ski-out base area. The homes are centrally located in one of the most unique ski settings in the nation— a snowbound village where residents are brought to their home by snowcat and walk out their door to a frontyard of lift-served skiing or endless cross-country ski trails.

    The quarter-acre, forested homesites range in price from $475,000 to $700,00 and feature creekside sites along the headwaters of the Yuba River, filtered views of the surrounding peaks of Donner Summit and a central location in a ski area renowned for its family friendly vibe, world-class ski team and tight-knit community.

    The Summit Crossing offering is a rare opportunity to buy into one of the most storied ski areas in the country, a California-owned and -operated ski resort founded in 1939 that built the first chairlift in the state and where Walt Disney, Warren Hellman and Daron Rahlves have all called their home slopes.

    Six of Summit Crossing homesites have been reserved or sold, leaving 19 currently on the market.

    Summit Crossing homeowners gain access to a number of exclusive benefits.  Homeowners enjoy 24-hour VIP concierge service, ensuring that all arrival and departure needs are met, and that homes are properly maintained and protected. In addition, on-mountain perks such as private Express Line privileges at the chairlifts, and access to the world-class Sugar Bowl Ski Team are included.

    But many homeowners choose Sugar Bowl for a completely unique Tahoe ski experience that combines world-class skiing with the unhurried feel of a true mountain experience.

    Once the resort’s chairlifts close for the day, the village becomes a private snowbound playground for families to enjoy.

    Sugar Bowl is also the closest major Tahoe resort to the Bay Area and Sacramento, and has limitless, four-season recreation available in the area, including world-class skiing, hiking, cycling, climbing, mountain biking and boating. Sugar Bowl’s downhill skiing is complimented by a direct connection to Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort, North America’s largest cross-country ski area.

    The profits from each Summit Crossing homesite sale are re-invested into the ski resort in improvements that directly benefit homeowners. Currents sales are financing planned projects to build a fitness and aquatic center at the village base area and a new ski lift at the resort.

    Sugar Bowl helps homeowners escape the hassles of home construction while still staying in control of as much of the home’s design and build-out as they desire. Each Summit Crossing homesite comes with the option of using Sugar Bowl’s Construction Contract Management, the resort’s full-service custom service that handles all of the details of home design and construction from permitting to change orders.

     

    For more information on Summit Crossing, please visit www.villageatsugarbowl.com or contact Sugar Bowl’s real estate development professionals on (530) 426-6780 or by emailing homes@sugarbowl.com.

     

    For more information on Sugar Bowl Resort, visit www.sugarbowl.com or call (530) 426-9000.  California owned & operated since 1939.