General Conditions

Winter weather has returned to Donner Summit.   Daytime high temperatures were around 50° a week ago; yesterday peaked at about 32°.  New snow has fallen over the past two days, and more is in the forecast.   The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports 1.8 inches in the past 24 hours and 5.1 inches in the past 48 hours.   The CSSL season-to-date snowfall is now 127.4 inches, but that’s barely half of what we would see in a “normal” season to date (212.4 inches).  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 (February 12) sunrise was at 6:56 AM; sunset will be at 5:35 PM.  Sunrise is 8 minutes earlier than last week, and sunset is 8 minutes later; so the days are getting longer by more than 2 minutes per day.

Star Gazing: The Moon is a crescent, visible in the east before sunrise; it will be new on Tuesday (February 17).  Evening star gazing will be good for the next 10 days.  Jupiter was at opposition on January 10, but it’s still very bright and close to overhead before midnight.  As the sky darkens immediately after sunset, you should be able to spot it 30-40° above the eastern horizon.  It’s the first star-like object to appear and is the brightest object in the evening sky.  At about 10 PM Jupiter is close to overhead.  Use the “pointers” in the Big Dipper to find the North Star.  Then draw a line from the North Star through Jupiter to Sirius (the “Dog Star”) toward the south.  The line is almost straight.

Forecast

Our month-long dry spell is breaking, but the weather should be good through the coming Presidents’ Day holiday weekend.  Expect daytime highs around 40° through Monday.  There will be some clouds, but little precipitation.  Tomorrow (Friday) should offer the most sun.  Overnight lows will be in the 20s through the weekend.  A winter storm moves in Monday (February 16) with 5-8 inches of snow forecast during the day and 8-12 inches Monday night.  Tuesday will have 8-12 inches during the day and 3-5 inches at night before the stormy weather relaxes.  However, the two-week forecast shows 2-6 inches of snow each day from the middle of next week through the end of February.  It will also be colder — highs around 30° each day and overnight lows in the teens.

Summit Calendar

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 27 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.  For special events, like today’s Uphiller (4-7 PM), go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events. 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 37 km of groomed trails open today; they are hoping to have more ready for the weekend.  Van Norden parking is open but there is no grooming of trails on the north side of the Meadow until further notice.  Bill Patterson West is open from Van Norden parking to Telegraph on the south side for dog owners with passes.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for details.

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 “2-Moderate” avalanche danger at all elevations.  Watch for wind-blown slabs below ridges, in gulleys, and on open slopes.  For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and conditions should be good until at least Monday, when the next storm moves in.  Beware of local ice and slippery water patches, especially in the morning.  Expect heavier than normal traffic over the holiday weekend.  As snowy weather moves back in next week, expect more problems.  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.