Donner Summit, at 7,089 feet, is reached by taking the Soda Springs off ramp, Donner Pass
Road from Highway 80. Donner Summit's small communities are noted for being among the snowiest places in the United
States, with an average annual snowfall of 409 inches. There are 5 ski resorts on Donner Summit: Boreal, reached from Hwy
80, and Soda Springs Ski Hill, Donner Ranch, Sugar Bowl, and Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski resort, all accessed from Donner
Pass Road.
The small developments of Soda Springs and Norden line Donner Summit Road. The Sierra Club's
historic Clair Tappan Lodge is also located on Donner Summit Road. Sugar Bowl has houses around Lake Mary, and at the
base of the resort, with new condominiums being completed at the base of Mount Judah. The small community of Serene
Lakes, which surrounds Lake Serena and Dulzura is reached by taking Soda Springs Road a short distance from Donner Summit
Road. In addition to Serene Lakes, there are various private landholdings, and the many trails of Royal
Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort.
Donner Summit, named after the ill-fated Donner party caught in early snows as
they followed the Emigrant Trail to California, is imbued with history. The long Summit Valley was used extensively
as summer grounds for various Indian tribes; petroglyphs and grinding stones remain as evidence of their visits. Later, emigrant
parties rested at the Summit after their arduous trek up the mountain. Remnants of their trail may still be seen in
the area. The long Summit Valley was used for grazing dairy cattle, and milk was supplied to the railroad. In the early 1900's,
the valley was flooded by the South Yuba Water Company, and the lake christened "Lake Van Norden" after an official
of the company. PG&E, a subsequent owner of the lake, was required to breach the Van Norden dam because it was an earthquake
hazard.
Donner Summit has a dramatic and fabled railroad history, as it was one of the toughest sections of the
transcontinental railroad both to build, and maintain. The tunnels, trains sheds, and Chinese walls still bear witness
to the 15 months of toil and danger endured by the Chinese laborers to complete the Great Summit Tunnel, the greatest obstacle
faced by the Central Pacific Railroad.
Donner Summit also contains a portion of the Lincoln Highway, the first
transcontinental road built across the United States. The sometimes vertigo inducing road, with the dramatic Rainbow
Bridge, follows the old Stevens-Townsend-Murphy wagon trail.
Donner Summit straddles 3 major watersheds.
To the east, water drains down to the Truckee River. To the west, the South Yuba River originates in Van Norden Meadow,
an irreplaceable component of its headwaters. To the south-west, over Soda Springs Road into Serene Lakes, and in the
surrounding area, water mainly flows to the headwaters of the North Fork of the American River. Water from the
Serene Lakes themselves flows down Serena Creek, a class one perennial trout stream, to the North Fork. The two small Serene
Lakes also provide water for the Serene Lakes community.
The entire Donner Summit area is an environmental
treasure, now put at risk by Foster and Symes' Royal Gorge LLC proposed mega-development. The area has important
old growth forest habitat, is home to endangered and threatened species, and provides crucial migratory passage for many species.
Because of the development of Hwy 80, Hwy 40, the train tracks, housing, and the jigsaw of ski resorts and parking lots, areas
of passage for wild animals have become fragmented. Van Norden Meadow in particular is absolutely critical to the movement
of species.
When one gazes out of a car window, passing through the Donner Summit area in winter, the predominant
vista is of granite, trees, and snow-- lots and lots of snow. The area looks strong, and hard, as indeed the rocks are.
Paradoxically, the Donner Summit area is also very fragile. If one gets out of the car, and takes time to look at the
small plants growing out of tiny cracks in the rock (after snow melt), one gets a better picture of how tenuous a hold on
life many species have up here. A development that bulldozes an area of plants depended upon by a species of butterflies
(there are many on the Summit), may destroy that species chance of survival. Cutting down old growth, relied upon by
the reclusive Pacific Fisher, may push the Fisher over into extirpation. Drawing large amounts of water for residential use
from the lakes and rivers may deprive the watershed of water critical to the support of many species, and indeed, may impair
the continued existence of small streams and fens. Dumping yet more treated sewage effluent into the South Yuba River, as
is done now, may disrupt species, and, in essence, render the river nothing but an incredibly scenic sewer.
Donner
Summit itself, if care is not taken in how growth is managed, stands in danger of becoming a lost opportunity to preserve
an irreplaceable piece of National and Californian history, of becoming a squandered last chance to protect an environmental
keystone of the Sierra.
