One of the more unusual things Reese Bickart has been asked to haul away is now sailing around Stampede Reservoir. His business, North Tahoe Junk Removal, was called in to remove a perfectly usable sailboat. Instead of taking it to the dump, Reese gave it to a friend, who still takes it out sailing.

In this case, one man’s junk really was another man’s treasure.

One winter turned into five years

Reese’s story will sound familiar to many Tahoe transplants. A snowboarder who grew up on the East Coast, he started visiting Truckee almost every winter weekend while attending college in the Bay Area. His sister, Skylar (read her spotlight here), had moved here, giving him another reason to make the trip.

When he left school, his plan was to move to Tahoe, work as a snowboard instructor for one season, and head back to the Bay. But winter turned to summer, summer turned back to winter, and five years later, Truckee had become home.

“Well, five years later, I’m still here and can’t imagine leaving. Truckee and the North Tahoe area have really become home for me.”

A truck, a few online posts, and a growing business

As any truck owner knows, you’re always in high demand when people move or start a spring cleaning project. Reese already owned a truck and was looking for side work. It turned out his neighbors were already asking for exactly the kind of help he could offer.

“I started noticing people on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups constantly looking for someone to haul things to the dump.”

His first gigs were small enough to handle with just his pickup. Eventually, he borrowed his brother-in-law’s trailer, allowing him to take on bigger jobs. Demand kept growing, and he bought his own trailers. What started as a side hustle became a full-time business with a crew to help keep up.

His business grew in response to a practical need in the community. People had stuff they needed gone, and Reese had a truck and was willing to do the work.

Making a living through the seasons

The winter that brought Reese to Tahoe is also the season when his hauling business slows down. From May through October, he says, they’re slammed almost every week. Once the snow arrives, the pace changes.

Like many local trades and service businesses, keeping a crew working across seasons takes some juggling. Reese started a Christmas light installation business to help keep himself and the crew busy heading into December. Building a life here means finding ways to make the quieter months work, too.

Even in the busy months, the properties themselves keep things interesting. Steep driveways, tight access, and stairs can turn a seemingly simple pickup into a much bigger undertaking. Add snow, or a house where the trailer can’t get anywhere close to what needs removing, and hauling something away involves quite a bit more than a trip to the dump.

“Every job is a little different, and you learn pretty quickly how to adapt.”

Where everything goes

Reese is candid that a large percentage of what they remove ultimately goes to landfill. When items are in usable condition, they try to donate them first. But as anyone who’s tried to offload furniture at a thrift store knows, donation centers can be quite selective about what they accept.

A couch can still have plenty of life left in it and nowhere willing to take it. Reese tries the donation route when it looks promising, then handles disposal for whatever can’t be accepted. The sailboat was a happy exception: something usable, with someone ready to give it a new home.

“We always try to give something a second life when there’s a realistic opportunity to do so.”

Growing the business while keeping it personal

Reese wants to continue growing the business, with the goal of having a second crew operating full-time. At the time of our interview, he was able to run two crews simultaneously about a quarter of the time.

The goal is to help more customers while holding onto the quick response and personal service that got him here. A bigger business still needs to feel like the local company that started with him answering a neighbor’s post.

“That would allow us to help more customers and continue growing without losing the quick response and personal service that got us here.”

Getting that pile out of your way

For local residents, getting started can be as simple as sending a photo. Reese says you can reach out even if you’re not sure exactly what service you need, and they can typically get someone scheduled within 48 hours.

North Tahoe Junk Removal handles everything from a single-item pickup to full property cleanouts, including old furniture, appliances, yard waste, and remodel debris.

There are two ways to go about it. His crew can do the lifting, loading, and hauling, or they can drop off a dump trailer so you can work through a cleanout at your own pace. Once you’re done, they pick it up and handle disposal.

That might mean finally reclaiming a garage, getting the old couch out of the way, or dealing with the yard debris that’s been on your list for months.

Reese originally planned to spend one winter here. These days, he’s figuring out how to keep a growing crew busy through the next one.

Find out more at North Tahoe Junk Removal, or call or text a photo to 530-214-0727 for a quote.

Mountain Rock

I always say that things like food, beer and music are better when you’re in the place where they belong. Sipping on a Mexican lager tastes way better when you’re on a beach in Baja than when you’re shivering on the shores of Lake Tahoe. And Coburn Station sounds even better when you’re sipping a pale ale listening to them on the deck of Alibi in Downtown Truckee, or when they’re playing in my headphones while I’m skinning up somewhere on the West Shore.

I caught up with my friend Conor McAlindin, drummer for Coburn Station, to get the backstory on one of Tahoe’s longtime local bands.

For the uninitiated, Coburn Station’s name is a nod to Coburn’s Station, the settlement that preceded the modern town of Truckee. Their music is similarly rooted in this place.

The band describes its sound as a mix of rock n’ roll, groove and psychedelia, with a heavy emphasis on live improvisation. You might call them a jam band, but the guys prefer their own term: Mountain Rock.

“Coburn Station is dedicated to filling the mountains with cosmic vibrations via a soulful blend of rock n’ roll, groove, and psychedelia.”

They draw heavily from the classic rockers of the past, while mixing in their own influences and leaving plenty of room for the music to go somewhere unexpected.

If you’re seeing Coburn Station live, don’t expect them to simply reproduce the album. They’ll never play the same setlist twice, or even play the same song the same way you heard it on the album. Expect the music to go unexpected places, and as Conor puts it:

“Hopefully you leave with your face intact…”

How did Coburn Station get started?

The members of Coburn Station didn’t originally set out to create a band. Dan McAlister, Thomas Page and Conor all worked together at the same local company in Truckee, and they’d often get together to jam. Those casual sessions eventually turned into a musical relationship that’s now lasted more than 15 years.

The current lineup came together when Brian Mooney joined on keys in 2016, shortly after the band released its first full-length album, Coming Home.

One thing Conor kept coming back to in our conversation is that there really isn’t a leader.

Conor handles much of the logistical side through McAlindin Music, including booking shows and managing the band’s website, but creatively, Coburn Station operates as a band of equals.

“What makes Coburn Station so special is all four members share the leadership responsibility.”

All four contribute original material, and all four have songwriting credits on their latest record, Tomorrows. Each brings different tastes and influences, which somehow get blended together into the distinctly Coburn Station sound.

“This democratic collaboration constantly inspires me.”

What keeps you doing it after 15+ years?

Conor has been making music since grade school and started writing songs at a pretty young age.

One of the first was written with his childhood friend and former bandmate Anthony Daniels. It was called “Ham Sandwiches,” inspired by what they apparently ate for lunch for much of that particular middle school year.

But it was performing live that really changed things for him.

Once Conor got a taste of playing music in front of a crowd in high school and college, he was hooked. The way he describes it is like a flow state, where everything else disappears and you stop consciously thinking about what you’re doing.

“When it’s all working right, you don’t think about anything, and the music just flows through you. I can’t really identify any other place in my life where I don’t think at all.”

That feeling is still a big part of why he plays.

When I asked what Coburn Station means to him beyond simply being a band, his answer was pretty straightforward.

“The band is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Nothing better than jamming with your buddies!”

That might also explain how a coworker jam session turns into a 15-year band. At its core, they’re still doing basically the same thing they were doing when they started: getting together with their friends and making music.

Conor jokingly calls it his “strongest addiction.”

How has the band evolved?

Coburn Station released its first full-length album, Coming Home, in 2016. Their second, Tomorrows, followed in the summer of 2024 with seven original tracks.

It also feels like the clearest representation of what the band has become. Every member has songwriting credits, and the record moves between different genres and influences without losing the Mountain Rock sound they’ve developed together.

Conor has previously described the record as looking at the pressures and stresses of life while trying to move forward, stay in the present and imagine what’s next.

But where Coburn Station really seems to come alive is when they take those songs onto the stage.

What makes a Coburn Station show different?

No two Coburn Station shows are ever the same.

They mix originals with carefully chosen covers, and setlists are built around the venue and vibe of a particular show. In keeping with the whole band-of-equals thing, different members take turns putting those setlists together.

Even then, they’re more of a suggestion than a strict plan.

“It’s ever-evolving, and never set in stone.”

Conor says they’ve never played the same setlist twice.

Songs themselves can change too. Improvisation is central to the band, and what begins as a fairly straightforward song can stretch out and turn into something completely different depending on what the band is feeling that night.

“We always try to surprise the crowd a few times throughout the show, and keep them on their toes.”

If you’re heading to your first show, Conor’s advice is pretty simple. Be ready to dance, meet some people on the dance floor, and don’t assume you know what’s coming next.

What makes Tahoe such a good place to make music?

Conor is particularly stoked on the local music scene and the opportunities to catch live music around the lake and in Truckee. There is live music everywhere during the summer, much of it free, outdoors and surrounded by places that would be pretty spectacular even without a band playing. Tahoe really seems to punch above its weight when it comes to live music.

But Conor thinks there’s something else going on too.

“I think it has something to do with the types of people that like outdoor recreation, ‘mountain people.’ Those types often breed creativity, and it shows here in Tahoe.”

For a relatively small mountain community, that produces a surprisingly deep pool of musicians.

Some of Conor’s favorite musical memories have happened right in Kings Beach, where he lives, at the Friday night summer concerts.

He also loves the Crystal Bay Club, and the Crown Room, where he’s been able to see bands he loves before they became too big to play such an intimate venue.

“I’ve been so lucky to see some of my favorite bands in the Crown Room before they blew up and were too big for it.”

And lately, one of Coburn Station’s favorite places to play has been River Ranch.

“Besides being an amazing venue right on the Truckee River, the folks that staff the place are amazingly generous, inspiring, and know how to throw a party.”

There’s another upside to making music here too. As Conor puts it, Coburn Station gets to be a bit of a “big fish in a small pond,” rather than trying to fight for attention in a major music market like San Francisco.

Conor beyond Coburn Station

Music is only one piece of Conor’s life in Tahoe.

He lives in Kings Beach and gets involved locally through community cleanups and town meetings around development. He works a regular 9-to-5, coaches his son’s baseball and football teams, bikes and boats through the summer, and skis through the winter.

He also recently beat me in the old guys category at the Hough Enduro, which I’m reluctantly sharing here.

It’s a pretty recognizable Tahoe existence: work, family, community, bikes, skis and trying to find the time to do it all.

For Conor, one of those things will always be making music.

What’s next?

Coburn Station recently wrapped up its summer 2026 shows, with nothing officially on the calendar in the immediate future. But the bigger thing on the horizon is getting back into the studio.

The band is planning to record its next round of original songs in 2027, with the goal of another full-length album. They may head back to 25th Street Recording in Oakland, where they recorded Tomorrows, or they may end up somewhere completely different.

Which feels pretty appropriate for a band that doesn’t even like sticking to a setlist.

“Like everything in Coburn Station, the path isn’t set in stone…”

Wherever that path takes them, Conor says it’ll be an adventure.

And despite two full-length albums, a growing catalog of original music, countless local shows and a loyal group of fans, his explanation for why they’re still doing it is considerably simpler:

“Nothing better than jamming with your buddies!”

Find Coburn Station: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | SoundCloud

How much time do you spend thinking about what goes into the bin? We’re pretty insulated from the amount of waste we produce. We might empty our trash into the bear box a couple of times a week, think, wow, that’s a lot for one week, and then go on with our day. Or we head to the dump after a good spring clean and watch things we once spent money on get crushed beneath a loader along with our neighbors’ stuff.

María López Godoy spends a lot more time thinking about it. She’s made a career out of helping organizations understand what they throw away and how to throw away less. According to her Waste Free Tahoe bio, she has helped hundreds of locations reduce waste and helped keep more than 10,000 tons out of landfills over the course of her career.

At one ski resort, María examined what was headed for the landfill and found that roughly 80% could be kept out of it if the resort changed how it collected and handled that waste. Only 2% had no identified path elsewhere. The audit showed what was possible; putting a workable system in place was the next step.

“That finding reframes the entire conversation... It is about showing an operation exactly where the waste is going, what it is costing them, and what a realistic path to diversion looks like.”

From ski instructor to Waste Free Tahoe

María grew up in Argentina and first came to Truckee “to be a ski instructor, chasing the mountains and skiing as much as I could.” She was finishing her economics degree at the time, and working at resorts got her wondering how those same places could operate more sustainably.

She went on to earn a master’s in sustainability management and consult for large organizations. Eventually, she returned to Truckee to start Waste Free Tahoe.

She had seen plenty of sustainability efforts built around posters, training and good intentions. What she wanted to know was what actually ended up in the trash, and why.

“What was missing was someone willing to get into the waste physically, understand what was actually being generated and why, and build systems around operational reality rather than ideal behavior.”

The problem is often the system

That means getting out from behind a desk. When María walks through a resort, hotel, hospital or other large operation, she pays attention to where waste is created, where the bins are placed and what happens to everything after someone tosses it.

She looks at the signs, too. A business might ask employees to sort waste into four categories when its hauler only accepts two. Staff could follow the instructions perfectly and still be working within a system that doesn’t match what happens at pickup.

“I am looking at the system, not the behavior.”

Why it’s harder in Tahoe

There are fewer hauling options here than in places like Sacramento or the Bay Area. Composting facilities aren’t always accessible year-round, and recycling in a remote market comes with its own challenges. A good plan has to account for what’s actually available locally.

Many Tahoe businesses also rely on seasonal staff. The people working in July may be gone by November, so a waste system needs to make sense without its creator standing next to the bins explaining it.

“Systems have to be simple enough to survive turnover and simple enough to work without constant oversight.”

Where local businesses can start

If you run a business, María suggests starting with a walk through your space during a normal workday. What regularly fills the trash? Are the bins where people need them? Do the signs match what your hauler actually takes? Then pull out your hauling invoice and look at what you’re paying to have taken away.

She also asks businesses to look at what they buy. If the same thing ends up in the trash every week, could you avoid buying so much of it in the first place? A few changes to purchasing, bin placement or signs could make the job easier for staff while cutting waste and costs. María has free checklists to help businesses get started.

“The most sustainable thing an organization can do is stop buying what it does not need and stop paying to landfill what it could be diverting.”

What’s next

María recently launched the Waste Free Tahoe Method, a six-module program that walks smaller businesses through assessing their waste, reviewing invoices and building a system they can maintain themselves. She also works directly with organizations that want hands-on help.

I keep coming back to that ski resort audit. So much of what was headed to the landfill had another possible destination, but someone had to look inside the bin to find out. That’s where María starts: with what’s really happening, and what a business can realistically change.

Learn more at Waste Free Tahoe or reach María at m@wastefreetahoe.com.

Tahoe is a dog paradise. Whether you’re on the trail, at the brewery or over at a friend’s house for a barbecue, chances are dogs will be running around like kids. But giving dogs that much freedom requires trust, clear boundaries and reliable behavior.

Skylar Bickart is the founder and head trainer of Skye’s the Limit Dog Training in Truckee. The company was recently named the 2026 Best of North Lake Tahoe & Truckee winner for animal training.

Skylar’s philosophy goes well beyond teaching commands. She wants dogs and their owners to have the confidence to experience more of life together here in Tahoe.

“The more freedom we give our dogs, the more reliability we need from them.”

A Lifelong Interest in Dogs

Skylar’s path to a career training man’s best friend started early. At eight years old, she ran a neighborhood dog-walking and sitting business. She would even bring the dogs home and train them on a PVC agility course her parents had given her.

She went on to study animal science and work at a veterinary hospital for three years, initially planning to pursue veterinary behavior work. But her own dog would ultimately change the direction of her life.

The Dog Who Changed Everything

While in college, Skylar got a Weimaraner named Sterling. He hated being touched, was extremely reactive toward people and dogs, and was willing to bite. Skylar tried multiple approaches, but Sterling’s behavior only became more difficult.

“I joke that I loved him, but I really did not like him very much that first year.”

Medication was a major part of Sterling’s treatment at the time. Skylar felt that, in his case, his behavior continued to get worse rather than improve. The experience pushed her to look beyond managing the behavior she could see and begin asking what was driving it beneath the surface.

Skylar eventually realized the problem wasn’t simply that Sterling disliked certain people or dogs. It was the intensity of his reaction whenever he felt uncomfortable.

“Once I accepted who he was instead of trying to make him love everyone, we could focus on tolerance, confidence and helping him navigate those situations without feeling like he needed to react.”

Taking away some of the pressure for Sterling to be “perfect” gave him room to relax. Skylar began seeing a playful, goofy side of him that had been buried under all that stress. Ironically, once she stopped putting so much pressure on fixing the problematic behaviors, she became more successful at changing them.

Sterling will never love every dog he meets, but today he can handle nearly anything Skylar asks of him. He has flown on planes, traveled with her and regularly hikes alongside a rotating pack of eight to ten dogs.

The dog who once hated being touched is now social with people, loves to cuddle and sleeps under the covers in Skylar’s bed every night.

The experience sparked Skylar’s interest in behavior modification, emotional regulation, communication and the relationship between dogs and their owners. She eventually found a mentor and began working with more dogs.

She never intended to build a company, but people kept asking for her help. Recognizing the need for services like hers ultimately led to Skye’s the Limit in 2020.

“I never really set out to build a business. I just loved the work, people kept asking for help, and Skye’s the Limit grew into something much bigger than I ever imagined.”

Looking Beyond Obedience

Her experience with Sterling helped shape what Skylar calls “whole-dog” training. Rather than measuring success only by whether a dog follows commands, she looks at the emotional, mental and physical factors influencing its behavior.

A dog can appear obedient in a controlled setting while still struggling with anxiety, reactivity, overarousal or an inability to recover from stress in everyday life. For Skylar, obedience matters, but it is only one part of building a dog that can confidently make good decisions in the real world.

“A dog can know every command in the book and still be struggling emotionally, mentally or physically.”

Skylar puts that philosophy into practice through a four-part system:

• State: The dog’s emotional, mental and physical well-being.

• Structure: Predictability, accountability and clear expectations.

• Skills: Obedience, coping mechanisms and communication between the dog and owner.

• Standards: Bringing everything together into reliable behavior and a better quality of life.

Skylar wants dogs to understand what is expected of them while remaining confident, emotionally stable and able to enjoy being dogs.

Owner education is also a central part of the process. For the work to last, owners need to understand how to communicate with their dogs and maintain the progress made during training once they are back home.

Training for Life in Tahoe

Like most dog parents in Tahoe, we want a companion who can experience everything living here has to offer. We expect our dogs to navigate trails, wildlife, other dogs, crowded patios, travel and constantly changing environments.

But just because a dog lives here in paradise does not automatically mean it is ready for all of those experiences.

A dog that cannot reliably recall away from other dogs, people or wildlife should not be off leash. A dog that cannot settle in a busy public place may not be ready to join you on the patio.

Skylar’s training focuses heavily on:

• Reliable recall

• Neutrality around people, dogs and wildlife

• Environmental confidence

• Emotional regulation

• Adaptability

• The ability to settle and switch off

The goal is to help families safely include their dogs in more of their lives.

“We train for real life, not the ideal version of it.”

Giving a Family Its Dog Back

One transformation that has stayed with Skylar involved a five-year-old Goldendoodle whose family had nearly exhausted its options.

The dog had been involved in numerous fights, had bitten several people and had already worked with three trainers and completed another board-and-train program before coming to Skye’s the Limit.

Skylar believed the dog needed more than obedience work. Beneath the aggressive behavior, she saw a dog that lacked confidence and had learned to control situations as a way to create safety when she felt uncomfortable.

Once the training began addressing what Skylar believed was driving the behavior, the dog started to change. By the time she returned home, she was playing with other dogs, comfortable around people and able to experience the world differently.

Several years later, the progress has lasted. The Goldendoodle now attends the family’s children’s soccer games, joins them at restaurants and even goes mountain biking with them each week.

More importantly, the family went from feeling frustrated and resentful toward their dog to genuinely enjoying life with her again.

“For me, the most meaningful part is not how dramatic the transformation was. It is what that transformation gave back to both the dog and her family.”

Recognition From the Community

For Skylar, the recent award was an opportunity to step back from the long days and recognize the impact of her work.

Skylar has lived locally for more than five years and, like many small business owners, remains involved in nearly every aspect of the company. Most of its growth has come through word of mouth.

People see a well-trained dog in the community and ask the family how they achieved those results. That family shares its experience, and another dog owner begins to see what might be possible.

Her dad was also the one who nominated her for this Spotlight. Skylar says her parents have supported her “every step of this crazy dog life journey.”

What Socialization Actually Means

One of the biggest misconceptions Skylar sees is that a well-socialized dog should greet every person or animal it encounters.

Encouraging constant interaction can unintentionally create dogs that become overly excited, frustrated or anxious whenever they are unable to say hello. A dog can enjoy people and other animals without needing to interact with every one of them.

For Skylar, socialization means teaching a dog to feel confident and comfortable around different people, animals, environments and distractions. The goal is neutrality: a dog that can calmly coexist with the world around it and look to its owner for guidance.

Dogs are not born knowing how to navigate the human world. Owners have to teach them.

“Good socialization is not about raising a dog who wants to say hi to everyone. It is about raising a dog who can confidently move through the world without feeling the need to interact with every person, dog or distraction they encounter.”

Helping People Do More With the Dogs They Love

Sterling challenged Skylar’s relationship with him, but he also pushed her to look beyond visible behavior and ask what was happening beneath the surface.

“Successful training was never about turning him into a different dog. It was about understanding the dog I had, building his confidence and giving him the skills to experience so much more of the world with me.”

That lesson now sits at the center of Skylar’s work. Through Skye’s the Limit, she helps owners build the trust, communication and reliability they need to experience more of life with their dogs.

Skye’s the Limit offers board-and-train programs, along with puppy board-and-train and private puppy lessons.

Learn more on the Skye’s the Limit website or follow Skye’s the Limit on Instagram.

Donner Summit is not known as the most hospitable place. Winters are long, storms are fierce and snow piles up by the foot. Yet for nearly a century, Alpine and Nordic skiers, snowboarders and biathletes of all ages, abilities and ambitions have called the Summit and Auburn Ski Club Training Center home.

ASC is a place where athletes learn, grow and pursue their goals. Generations of families have connected here through a shared love of mountain sports. Athletes become coaches and mentors, passing what they have learned to the next generation and keeping one of the Truckee and North Tahoe region’s great traditions alive.

While ASC may be best known for developing athletes, its larger purpose is creating relationships with mountain sports, the outdoors and one another that can last a lifetime.

“It is more than a place to train,” said Amy Warren, executive director of ASC Training Center. “It is a community where athletes grow up, families connect, coaches mentor, and people can stay involved in mountain sports throughout their lives.”

Four programs, one club

Based at 7,040 feet on Donner Summit, ASC Training Center is a nonprofit mountain-sports community that brings together four disciplines: Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, snowboarding and biathlon.

ASC’s motto: “Four programs, one club.”

While most ski clubs specialize in a single discipline, ASC is one of the few organizations in the country to bring all four together. Athletes may use different equipment, train at different facilities and pursue different competitive goals, but they share a community, coaches and mentors, and the opportunity to learn from people following many different paths through mountain sports.

“ASC can support a child discovering skiing, a teenager competing regionally or nationally, and an adult who simply wants to stay connected to the sport,” Warren said. “There isn’t just one pathway to success here.”

That breadth is reflected throughout ASC’s programming. Nordic instruction begins with play-based programs for children as young as four. Alpine programs offer development and competition pathways for young skiers, while snowboard programming ranges from recreational riding to athletes with professional and Olympic ambitions. Biathletes train at what ASC describes as the only Olympic-distance, year-round biathlon range in the West.

The organization also operates the ASC Nordic Center, with 25 kilometers of groomed trails open to the public through season passes and day tickets.

Together, these programs make room for athletes of different ages, interests and ambitions while keeping them connected through a shared club identity.

Nearly a century on the snow

ASC’s roots stretch back to 1928, before Sugar Bowl, Boreal or Palisades Tahoe existed.

The club was founded by a group of people who loved skiing and wanted to create opportunities for others to experience winter sports. Since then, ASC has evolved alongside skiing itself, connecting Tahoe’s early ski culture with today’s world of year-round training, specialized facilities and international competition.

Its history includes several milestones in the development of winter sports on Donner Summit:

• 1928: Auburn Ski Club was founded and built the first engineered ski jump in the West.

• 1932: The club advocated for keeping Highway 40 open throughout the winter.

• 1969: The Western SkiSport Museum opened on Donner Summit.

• 1989: The modern ASC Training Center was established on Donner Summit.

• 2023: ASC installed California’s first permanent Nordic night-lighting system.

The facilities and programs look very different today, but Warren said the founding spirit has remained remarkably consistent.

“At the heart of ASC is access,” she said. “Creating opportunities for people to participate, develop as athletes, build character and become part of a mountain community.”

Developing people, not just athletes

At ASC, making an Olympic team or winning a World Cup is not the only measure of success.

Coaches provide technical instruction, but they also help young athletes develop confidence, resilience, independence and personal responsibility. The goal is not simply to produce faster skiers or stronger competitors. It is to help young people grow while building a lasting relationship with the outdoors.

Families are active participants in that process. Parents volunteer, help operate races and events, and form friendships that can continue across seasons and even generations.

“Success at ASC isn’t just producing elite athletes,” Warren said. “It’s producing people who love mountain sports enough to stay connected for life.”

Bernie Nelson comes full circle

Few people represent that idea better than Bernie Nelson.

Nelson grew up as an ASC Nordic athlete, surrounded by coaches and mentors who helped shape her love of the sport. She went on to become a coach, mentor and advocate herself, and her career eventually took her to the highest levels of Nordic skiing.

After representing Auburn Ski Club in a World Cup coaching-development program, Nelson joined the U.S. Cross Country Team’s coaching staff. She has continued to remain connected to ASC and support the community that helped develop her.

Her story captures the generational cycle at the heart of the organization. A young athlete receives support, grows within the sport, reaches its highest levels and then helps create opportunities for the athletes coming behind her.

“Her passion for the sport was shaped by the coaches and mentors who invested in her as a young athlete, and today she is providing that same experience for the next generation,” Warren said. “To me, that is what success at ASC looks like.”

Access requires a community

As nearly anyone who participates in mountain sports knows, they can carry significant financial, logistical and geographic barriers.

Creating access therefore requires an entire community.

ASC’s coaches teach and mentor. Families and volunteers make programs, races and community events possible. Staff operate the programs, trails and facilities. Donors help ensure those opportunities remain available to future generations.

The ASC Legacy Foundation serves as the philanthropic partner to ASC Training Center. While the Training Center operates the programs and facilities, the Foundation raises money to strengthen the organization and expand access.

Its support includes:

• Needs-based tuition scholarships

• Coach education and development

• Trail and facility improvements

• Capital projects

• Programs and community events

“The ASC Legacy Foundation helps ensure that opportunity isn’t limited by a family’s financial circumstances,” Warren said. “The Foundation helps us keep looking toward the next generation while honoring the generations that built ASC.”

Applications for the Foundation’s 2026–27 needs-based scholarships are currently open through October 17.

Looking toward the next century

ASC will celebrate its centennial in 2028, a major accomplishment for any organization. Warren and the ASC team are focused not just on growth, but investing in facilities, trail improvements, year-round training opportunities and clearer development pathways across all four disciplines. Their goal is to keep ASC accessible, sustainable and relevant for the generations that will carry it into its second century.

“Growth for us isn’t simply about getting bigger,” Warren said. “It’s about creating more opportunities for people to experience mountain sports and making sure ASC remains accessible and sustainable for future generations.”

My team at Peak Digital Studio and I were recently fortunate to work with ASC to modernize its website and make the organization’s many programs and opportunities clearer and easier to access online. Working closely with Amy, Inger and the rest of the team gave us a better appreciation for just how much ASC encompasses.

What might look from the outside like a ski club is really a network of athletes, families, coaches, volunteers, donors, trails, facilities and traditions, all working together.

See ASC for yourself

For anyone interested in joining that tradition, ASC will host a community open house on September 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Training Center.

The afternoon is expected to include a Dryathlon relay, a coach Q&A and a walk along the Nordic trails highlighting improvements completed over the summer. It is an opportunity for families and other community members to explore the facility, learn about the programs and find ways to participate as athletes, volunteers or supporters.

Winter registration is also open for Alpine, Nordic, snowboard and biathlon programs. Program prices are scheduled to increase by $150 after October 6 at 11:59 p.m.

It takes a hearty person, and a hearty organization, to survive on Donner Summit. Community and a multigenerational commitment to ASC’s mission have sustained it for nearly 100 years.

ASC began with people who wanted to share their love of winter sports with others. The disciplines, facilities and ambitions have evolved, but that guiding principle remains. Perhaps ASC’s defining achievement is not simply that it has survived on the Summit, but that generations of people have continued to return, give back and bring someone new with them.

Follow ASC Training Center on Instagram for program news, events and updates.

Who Should We Spotlight?

Here at TNT This Week, we’re excited to announce a new midweek feature we’re calling Local Spotlights.

Truckee and North Tahoe are full of interesting people, businesses and organizations whose stories deserve more attention. Each spotlight will feature a local business, nonprofit, event or person doing something interesting that we want to share with the broader community.

We’ll explore their backstory, why they do what they do, how they fit into the Truckee/North Tahoe community and what they have coming up that you should know about.

We already have our first few spotlights lined up, but we’d love to hear who else you think we should feature. Nominate yourself or your business, a friend, an organization you admire or simply a local you’d like to learn more about.

Help us find the people, businesses and organizations that make this place unique. Who should we spotlight next?

Suggest a Spotlight