Royal Gorge ski resort defaults on $16 mil. loan

Royal Gorge LLC, owners of North America’s largest cross country ski resort, has defaulted on its loan.

According to the notice filed in Nevada and Placer counties, Royal Gorge property owners owe Armed Forces Bank of Irvine $16,743,442.91.

The owners have until late September to pay the loan or face the prospect of having the Donner Summit property taken over by the bank.

In 2005, owners purchased 3,000 acres that include the ski resort and Rainbow Lodge with the intention of building 1,000 condos and a link to Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.

All of those plans were met with great opposition from a slew of groups, most notably Sierra Watch.

“It’s our job to make sure that, if the property does indeed change hands, it moves away from speculative development and into permanent conservation,” Tom Moores of Sierra Watch said in a statement.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report