Supporters of the Clair Tappaan lodge at Donner Summit have scheduled a variety of events to help raise $100,000 for the facility. Special to The Bee/Peter Lehmkuhl

Mounting financial woes may close Donner lodge

Local members of Sierra Club, owner of the facility, vow to come to the rescue.

By Barbara Barte Osborn -- Bee Correspondent
Published 2:15 am PDT Saturday, August 20, 2005

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The Sierra Club's oldest lodge, Clair Tappaan, atop Donner Summit, has been threatened with closure if it continues losing money.

The environmental group's national board has given lodge supporters a Sept. 30 deadline to raise $100,000 to help it break even. Rising to the cause, members and others have planned fundraisers this weekend and in early September.

The rustic, hostel-style lodge, open year-round to members and nonmembers of the club, is one of the few remaining affordable lodging facilities in the Truckee/Tahoe area and has many multigenerational supporters, said Peter Lehmkuhl, lodge manager.

Lehmkuhl said supporters are close to their goal, with more than $70,000 in event registrations and other donations.

If they fall short, he said, the board says it will consider selling the property, which is visited by about 10,000 people annually.

The Sierra Nevada and Tahoe groups of the club's Mother Lode Chapter are determined to make the sale unnecessary.

Built by volunteers in 1934 on 50 acres at Norden, the lodge is near the Pacific Crest Trail, other multiuse trails, lakes, meadows and mountain peaks.

The lodge is named for Clair Tappaan, who lived from 1878 to 1932 and was a California judge and past club president.

Although the lodge's proximity to Lake Tahoe and major alpine and nordic ski resorts is a major draw, Lehmkuhl said, its own groomed cross-country tracks, ski lessons and backcountry tours are also popular.

In summer, bird-watching, photography and other workshops are well-attended.

"Some people have been coming up here for 70 years, since they were kids," said Forest Berg, who takes reservations at the lodge.

Accommodations are about $300 a weekend for a family of four, Lehmkuhl said. As at hostels, there are bunk rooms, shared baths and chores, but a cook prepares three meals a day.

The "slow seasons" of spring and fall have caused the lodge to lose money for the past decade or so, he said.

Although a few club chapters own lodges, Clair Tappaan is the only one owned by the national club. The club two years ago spent $250,000 on improvements.

The board has challenged Miramar, an outside management company it hired two years ago, to come up with a plan to help the lodge break even by Sept. 30 in addition to the fundraising by supporters, Lehmkuhl said.

Fundraisers through Sunday include bike rides and hikes with emphasis on bird-watching, history and geology and other activities. On Sept. 10-11 a bluegrass festival is planned.