The Frog Lake Backcountry Huts project demonstrates a thoughtful integration of conservation, recreation, and resilient timber design in California's northern Sierra Nevada. Acquired in 2020 through a partnership between the Truckee Donner Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and the Trust for Public Land, the nearly 3,000-acre property encompassing Frog Lake, Red Mountain, and Carpenter Ridge preserves critical watersheds and wildlife habitats while granting public access to lands that had been closed to the public for nearly a century. Plan North Engineers provided structural engineering services for three new modular sleeping huts and the seismic retrofit of the historic 1930s Eschenbach Backcountry House, developing innovative solutions for extreme alpine conditions. Accessible only by ski-in, ski-out or hiking access and situated off-grid above 7,600 feet, each modularly-constructed hut features Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) roofs with conventional wood-framed walls and floors supported by structural composite lumber. Our design enables these structures to resist up to 545 pounds per square foot of snow load while maintaining a minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic and providing comfortable lodging for small groups seeking immersive backcountry experiences, with amenities such as propane stoves and heaters, LED lighting, wood-burning fireplaces, and a full commercial kitchen.

Receiving up to 500 inches of annual snowfall, the Donner Summit region presented substantial engineering challenges that required innovative structural solutions for both new construction and historic preservation. Our team led the structural engineering in collaboration with SageModern (architect) and Method Homes (modular builder), developing a hybrid mass timber system optimized for modular transport and efficient assembly at the remote, high-elevation site. Completely off-grid and operating on solar power and propane with non-motorized access only, this project exemplifies what happens when design, engineering, conservation, and recreation converge—delivering modern comfort in a pristine alpine setting through a replicable model of resilient, modular mass timber construction.

Images courtesy of Blackbird Guides, Truckee Donner Land Trust, and Plan North.

For more information, check out these articles by Outside Magazine, Adventure Sports Journal, Frommer’s, Northern Sierra Partnership, Tahoe Quarterly, Snow Brains, and this video by Fly Low.