General Conditions

Pleasant weather continues at Donner Summit.  Daytime high temperatures have been in the mid-40s with overnight lows in the 20s.  There’s been a lot of sunshine, and snow continues to melt (and be icy in the morning).  The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports about 3 inches of new snow early yesterday morning (January 28); but that’s the only significant precipitation since the beginning of the month.   The CSSL season-to-date snowfall total is now 122.4 inches, compared with 180.3 inches on the same date for a median winter in 1991-2020.  Webcams at Sugar Bowl (http://www.sugarbowl.com/home) and Donner Ski Ranch (http://webcams.donnerskiranch.com/) provide up-to-the-minute views of current conditions.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (January 29) sunrise was at 7:10 AM; sunset will be at 5:18 PM.  Sunrise is 6 minutes earlier than last week, and sunset is 8 minutes later; so the days are getting longer by 2 minutes per day.

Star Gazing: The Moon is getting “bigger”; the next full moon is Sunday, February 1, so evening star gazing will become progressively more difficult.  Jupiter was at opposition on January 10, but it’s still very bright and close to overhead before midnight.  It is the brightest object in the night sky (aside from the Moon).  For the next couple nights Jupiter and the Moon will be very close.  In fact, if you draw a line from the North Star (Polaris) to Sirius (the bright star that trails Orion in the southern sky), that line will pass through the space occupied by Jupiter and the Moon tonight.  Before midnight, the Big Dipper is propped on its handle to the northeast; use the two stars on the outer edge of its pan as “pointers” to the North Star.

Forecast

We continue to be in a very stable weather pattern.  With some minor fluctuations in temperature and cloud cover, it will be partly cloudy and relatively warm for another 10 days.  Daytime high temperatures will be in the upper 40s and low 50s for the next week; overnight lows will be in the 20s.  It will be mostly cloudy through this weekend, then sunny Monday-Friday next week.  Some clouds return next weekend (February 7-8) and temperatures will start to drop.  Two weeks from today, the forecast includes some possible shower activity (maybe snow showers?) on  February 12, leading into Presidents’ weekend.

Summit Calendar

January 30 (Friday) 6-8 PM: Royal Gorge is hosting its third Friday Night Lights event.  Skate around a 1 km track, lighted by lanterns.  Then enjoy food and drink in the pub at Summit Station.

February 5 (Thursday) 4:30-7:00 PM: Placer County Resource Conservation District, in collaboration with several other agencies, is hosting a Landowner Fuels Reduction and Prescribed Fire Gathering at Sugar Bowl’s Judah Lodge.  Admission is free.  Learn about safe and effective ways to burn for fuels reduction.  Also learn about programs and grants to support these activities (Truckee Fire’s grant program opened on January 20; there is more information at https://www.truckeefire.org/grants).

February 6 (Friday) Morning: Ski History Day co-hosted by the Sugar Bowl Historical Society and the SNOW Museum.  Kick off Winter Olympics 2026 with talks about Sugar Bowl’s role in California ski history over coffee and pastries.  Then take a guided tour of the mountain before lunch.  Proceeds will support the SNOW Museum; members of the Museum’s Board will share what’s ahead.  For more information go to https://www.thesnowmuseum.org/ski-history-day-at-sugar-bowl-resort/.  For tickets go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ski-history-day-at-sugar-bowl-february-6-2026-tickets-1976925780226

February 14 (Saturday) PM: Valentine’s Day Get Away at Rainbow Lodge.  Tavern with full bar is open 4-9 PM, French comfort food served in the dining areas 5-8 PM, and live music by Shane Q.  Dinner and bar are walk-in only (first come, first served).  Rooms are available for booking Saturday night.  For more information, go to https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events

February 19 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The next meeting of the DSA Board of Directors will be at the Nancy O Gallery and Glass on Donner Pass Road in Soda Springs.   Look for an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  during the week before.  Directions to the meeting location will be included.

Resorts

Boreal (the Mountain) is open  9-8 daily. Tahoe Tubing is open 9:30 AM – 4:15 PM daily with a later closing at 6:30 PM on Friday and Saturday.  Woodward (indoors) is open 12-8 Monday-Friday and 10-8 Saturday and Sunday   Check https://www.rideboreal.com for more information.  February 6 is a Play Forever Friday with tickets for both the Mountain and Woodward at $35; $5 goes to a local charity.

Sugar Bowl  is open 9-4.  Check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for more details.  Backcountry access information is at https://www.sugarbowl.com/backcountry

Soda Springs Mountain Resort is open 10-4 Thursday-Monday.  Soda Springs is open on additional days during special holiday/vacation weeks.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for details.

Royal Gorge reports 55 km of groomed trails open today.  Van Norden parking is open but there is no grooming of trails in the Meadow until further notice.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates.

Donner Ski Ranch has six chair lifts, the ski moving carpet, and the tubing hill open.  Hours are 9-4 on the front side and 9-3 on the back side.   Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com for late information.

Auburn Ski Club offers alpine, nordic, snowboard, and biathlon programs including 25 km of groomed trails.  ASC specializes in training for competition and sponsors events.  Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for information.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) is open for tubing and sledding.  They also offer snowmobile tours and have a rope tow terrain park.  Visit their web site at http://www.kingvaleresort.com/ for more information.

Avalanche Report

The Sierra Avalanche Center reports “1-low” avalanche danger at all elevations.  For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and conditions should be good for at least the next 10 days.  Beware of local ice and slippery water patches. Drive carefully as conditions change and there may be local sections with especially slippery surfaces.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be plowed and open.  Follow the precautions mentioned above.