The Sierra Club's four backcountry huts in the Donner Summit/Lake Tahoe area are maintained by volunteers.  Work parties are generally run during the off-season - June through October - to make repairs, restock firewood, and tend to routine maintenance. The cadre of volunteers are comprised primarily of hut users who have taken ski trips to the huts.   

Each hut sits on property managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) under a Special Use Permit (SUP) signed in 2006 and administered by the Truckee Ranger District (TRD). Various

attempts to renew the SUP have led to discussions about new permit terms including a new fee structure, new determinaDons of historic status of huts, decommissioning of pit toilets, addition of a “mud” room at Peter Grubb Hut, and construcDon of a fifh hut. TRD has verbally extended the 2006 permit on condition that the Sierra Club abide by the 2006 terms. TRD has postponed further discussions about renewal unDl at least the beginning of calendar year 2026.

The huts are managed through Clair Tappaan Lodge (CTL). The CTL complex, which also includes Hutchinson Lodge, is operated by a private management company — currently Aperture Hotels — under contract to the Sierra Club. Aperture is responsible for maintenance, reservation, and fees at the main Lodge, Hutchinson Lodge, and the huts. For various reasons, management focuses on the main Lodge and (to a lesser extent) Hutchinson.  Aperture does not carry insurance that covers volunteers, so virtually all hut maintenance is

conducted through “outings” sponsored by the Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter (LPC) Ski Touring Section (STS).

Volunteers are offered priority in next-season hut reservations; that has proved to be sufficient to recruit volunteers and keep the huts in operating condition.

The information organized on this site is intended to support work parties and their leaders to organize and conduct work parties.  The Hut Volunteer Coordinator (HVC) provides system-wide oversight, and reporting as appropriate to the CTL General Manager.