ASC, the historic Auburn Ski Club, kicks off a season of expanded Nordic night skiing trails lit with community support.
The organization, which offers Nordic, biathlon, alpine and snowboarding programs on Donner Summit, instituted the first Nordic night skiing in California and within 600 miles in 2023. In May of 2025, they issued a community call to bridge a $50,000 funding gap to execute Phase II of their “A Place to Shine” campaign, according to a press release.
Community members stepped up with the necessary funds before June 1. ASC installed 14 new permanent, high-efficiency LED light posts this summer to illuminate 2 km of trails in varied terrain with multiple looping options. Every week, more than 200 local children, working parents and high school student-athletes from Reno to Colfax and beyond benefit from ASC’s extension of short winter days. The community’s buy-in to make Phase II possible proved that this region’s skiers value the gift of skiing for all.
“In 2023, the first season of our permanent lights, we saw how lit trails changed Nordic ski culture within our region,” said Nordic program director Gus Johnson in the release. “More skiers got on snow for training and racing, expanding the pipeline and raising the level of competitive skiing for generations of Nordic skiers. Now our Phase II expansion allows for a true training experience and opens up the possibility for national-level night racing.”
Extended time on snow benefits skiers from Truckee, Tahoe City, Reno, Colfax, Grass Valley, Auburn, Sacramento and even the Bay Area.
To celebrate the lights project’s completion, ASC is hosting a New Year’s Eve Freestyle Night Race, sponsored by Pacos California, on Dec. 31; snow conditions permitting. In its fourth year, the race is a new Truckee holiday tradition that has seen more than 120 community members, ranging from 5-year-olds to septuagenarians, cross-country ski racing on the lit loop. Historically, proceeds from the race have gone towards completing the lights project. Now, the community can celebrate what they made possible.
On Jan. 16, don’t miss the spectator-favorite high school and middle school CNISSF Truckee Sprints under the lights. Night skiing is offered to the public until 7:30 pm Tuesdays through Thursdays (conditions permitting). | https://www.asctrainingcenter.org
