REVIEW: Tahoe Donner’s New Lodge and School Turned My Family Into Skiers
TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA – When I heard that the newly revamped ski school at Tahoe Donner intended to teach my three kids to ski in a single afternoon, my first thought was “Oh, yeah right.”
My kids (ages 8, 5 and 4) love a good adventure. But none of them had ever skied before.
And as anyone with three kids knows, the logistics of simply driving to a park or Trader Joe’s are complex. Getting everyone out to a mountain, into snow clothes, through a gear rental process and onto the slopes (much less safely down those slopes) felt daunting, nigh impossible.
Low and behold, though, by the end of the day at Tahoe Donner, my four year old was confidently riding the “magic carpet” by himself, my five year old was sliding right down the hill, and my oldest was on a chairlift heading for the big slopes.
That’s the magic that Tahoe Donner’s staff were able to pull–with a big assist from their brand new ski lodge and school facilities.
And they can do it for kids of all ages, as well as older skiers (they focus specifically on teaching both).
Here’s how it all happened.
The Lodge
Tahoe Donner’s ski lodge is brand new. And it’s been decades in the making. A spokesperson from the community told me that the lodge had taken 20+ years to build, including a 13-year planning process.
Now, it’s ready. And it’s a terrific facility, tailored specifically for new skiers.
You park in several nearby lots, and take a shuttle right to the entrance. Downstairs there’s a checkin area, as well as a store selling gear, in case you forgot goggles or gloves.
Upstairs, there’s a full dining area with hot food, drinks, and snacks for the kids. There’s an ample number of tables, as well as giant picture windows looking out on the slopes, for those who would prefer to sit in a warm space and watch the skiing take place.
There’s also a full bar!
Some ski lodges can be drafty and worn down. Since Tahoe Donner’s is brand new, it’s extremely energy efficient, and thus warm and toasty, brightly lit, and in great condition.
For families doing a drop-off lesson (they have part day and full day available), there’s a dedicated space for kids to meet up with their ski class and relax between visits to the slopes.
I got a tour of this space, and it’s a big, cheerful room with tables covered in art supplies, as well as a dedicated food service counter pouring juice and providing snacks.
It’s locked for safety, and staffed with plenty of adults. A Tahoe Donner spokesperson told me that kids who need a break from the slopes during a long drop-off lesson can come there and relax in a safe environment with supervision (and apple juice!).
In our case, we opted for a family lesson for all five of us (Tahoe Donner hosted us so we could try their facilities–thanks!). So after grabbing some snacks (on which more later), we headed back downstairs to the lodge’s ski rental area.
The ski school has its own dedicated rental area, and the staff was very patient with squirmy kids who were reluctant to try on helmets or found ski boots too tight.
There are also rentable lockers where you can safely stash your non-ski-related stuff.
After some negotiation, swap-outs, and helmet loosening, we had all our stuff and were ready to head to the slopes.
The Hills and Ski School
For our lesson, we met up with Alisha Salazar, our instructor, in a dedicated area at the base of the slopes.
Enthusiastic and patient–the kind of person who uses words like “stoked” and “rad” with total authenticity–Salazar immediately put our youngest kids at ease by showing them how to kick the ground with their heavy ski boots and shower her in snow.
Having immediately won them over, Salazar took them to Tahoe Donner’s bunny hill.
In designing their ski program–both the teaching elements and the hills themselves–Tahoe Donner’s spokesperson told me that the organization chose to focus specifically on kids and senior skiers.
There are plenty of places to ski on gigantic hills with challenging terrain and tons of drops and crazy turns, laden with dangerous rocks and pine trees.
Tahoe Donner isn’t trying to compete with that. Instead, their spokesperson told me, they’re trying to create an environment where you can ski “without a crazy snowboarder flying by you at 60mph and missing you by inches.”
As the dad of three little ones, I appreciate that. Skiing with the kids felt totally safe. Salazar first took them to a hill with an extremely gentle slope, where they learned to put on their skis and safely move down the hill.
Salazar put the process in terms they could easily understand, telling them to make “french fries” (skis in parallel) to move faster and “pizza” (skis forming a triangle) to slow down.
With this easy visual metaphor in mind, my two littlest ones were immediately making their way up the bunny slope and back down again, with Salazar following them, helping them when they slipped, and cheering them on.
As they advanced, Salazar moved them to more advanced versions of the bunny slope–first with big plush obstacles to ski around, then with a steeper slope, and finally with cones to form a simple slalom.
These progressive hills helped them to keep advancing, while still remaining in an environment that felt totally safe for a novice.
A “magic carpet” style ski lift made getting up the slopes simple–like a people mover at the airport, you just hopped up and rode to the top.
Within an hour, both my littles were skiing confidently and enthusiastically. My oldest had stopped at the ski lodge and briefly fell asleep (a combo of the high altitude and sun did him in.)
Salazar helpfully offered to extend the lesson so he and my wife could get a chance to try the slopes too. Both of them were soon skiing down the smaller slopes as well.
Immediately, my oldest showed a real knack for the sport, confidently getting faster and faster on his short runs. Salazar started showing him more advanced techniques. Within 45 minutes, he had mastered the small hills.
Salazar volunteered to take him up the big lift while my wife and I hung out with the littles. He rode the lift and navigated the resort’s Snowbird hill with ease.
It was joyful to see him doing so well on the hill–and to see our younger kids learning with confidence.
I was skeptical that Tahoe Donner could even get our entire gaggle of littles ones out on the hill. But in only a few hours, they had turned us into skiers.
The Verdict
Overall, I was impressed by the facilities at Tahoe Donner’s new lodge. The building itself is beautiful, and we stopped and had some much-deserved chicken nuggets and candy after our lesson, which were delicious.
The rental process is easy and geared towards kids, the hills are well maintained and extremely accessible, and everything feels cozy and new.
I was most impressed, though, with the quality of the teaching, and the warmth and hospitality of the staff.
Salazar was a skilled teacher with the patience to work three young kids through the inevitable wipe outs, moments of fear and challenges of learning a new sport. When one of my kids got a bit nervous on the hill, Salazar led him in breathing exercises.
And when my oldest showed obvious signs of a knack for skiing, she immediately took him on the big hill herself.
The front desk staff who checked us in, the gear rental staff who patiently loosened boots and adjusted helmets, our guide from Tahoe Donner, and everyone else at the lodge seemed to be working hard to make this a fun and accessible experience for our family.
Tahoe Donner probably isn’t the best bet of venue if you’re a thrill-seeking skier or snowboarder with tons of experience.
If you’ve ever thought about, for example, skiing from a helicopter, you should probably choose a different resort.
But if you’re a family (or a multi-generational) group looking for a safe, delightful place to learn skiing–with lots of small hills and a handful of bigger ones, excellent instructors, and ample chicken nuggets–Tahoe Donner is the perfect fit.
I had no idea if we’d even make it down the slopes once. I walked away wanting to come right back–perhaps to bring my oldest back on his own, and try bigger hills like the resort’s Mile Run, now that we know he’s got a talent for the sport.
Tahoe Donner might not be the resort for hardcore hills and extreme terrain. But I can’t think of a better place to learn to ski.
