New Ruby Mountains ski lodge features heli-port

LAMOILLE — The Royer family hosted the official opening of their Ruby 360 Lodge outside Lamoille earlier this month, welcoming local officials as guests at the county’s new luxury resort.

Joe Royer has operated the Ruby Heli-skiing business for more than 40 years and sees the lodge as a welcome addition.

“This was always our dream — to have our own lodge where we could land the helicopter right off the deck, have visitors enjoy luxury accommodations and be located so close to wilderness that our commute to the top of the mountain is shortened,” Joe Royer said.

This winter the Royer family accomplished that dream when contractors finished work on their 10,000-square-foot, 10-room ski lodge, complete with a heli-port for their helicopter to take adventure skiers and hikers into the backcountry. Six permanent and 20 seasonal staff are employed at the lodge

Joe Royer first opened his heli-ski operations in Lamoille in 1977, and has been providing guests backcountry skiing in the Ruby Mountains ever since. The business is now a family operation, with wife Francy at the helm in the resort’s gourmet kitchen, and son Michael assisting with operations. Set at the base of Conrad Creek, a 10-minute drive from Lamoille, at 7,000 feet elevation, the luxury resort offers elegant rooms, a great room, ski equipment area, dining room and commercial kitchen along with panoramic views of the Great Basin and Ruby Mountains.

During the opening, visitors took tours of the property and learned about the history of the Royer family involvement with heli-skiing in the nearby Ruby Mountains. Guests included county commissioners, representatives of the Elko County Commission and Convention and Visitors Center, and staff from the Chamber of Commerce and economic development agencies.

The celebratory opening included comments by Delmo Andreozzi representing the Elko County Commission and Convention and Visitors Authority, Ruby 360 Lodge owner-operator Joe Royer; Wally Murray, president/CEO of Greater Nevada Credit Union (GNCU) — the lender that financed construction of the lodge; and Herb Shedd, interim state director at USDA Rural Development Nevada, the federal agency that provided a loan guarantee on the project.

“USDA is proud to have helped guarantee the loan for this project,” Shedd said. “When we work together with the private lender, we can help leverage these projects to benefit rural enterprise.”

For information about Ruby 360 Lodge, visit www.helicopterskiing.com/the-experience/ruby-360-lodge.php.

For information about Greater Nevada Credit Union, visit www.gncu.org

For more information on USDA Rural Development Nevada, visit www.rd.usda.gov/nv.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; homeownership; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas.