General Conditions

This report has been updated with new information about avalanche recovery.  Otherwise the report is as written on February 19.

Presidents’ Day Weekend was reasonably good at Donner Summit although the snow cover was thin and old.  The first of several winter storms moved in Monday, dropping feet of new snow and resulting in tragedy for 15 people exiting Frog Lake huts on Tuesday morning.   The story continues to develop, but 9 of the 15  backcountry skiers were killed in an avalanche (https://www.kcra.com/article/tahoe-avalanche-9-bodies-recovered-update/70447963).  For those affected by this tragedy, community resources are available (https://www.ttcf.net/non-profit/community-resources-following-the-recent-avalanche/).  A vigil is planned in downtown Truckee today, and a memorial service is planned for tomorrow (see Calendar below).

     The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports 25.6 inches of new snow in the 24 hours ending at 8 AM today, 54.9 inches of new snow in the past 48 hours, and 92.5 inches in the past 7 days.   The CSSL season-to-date snowfall was 127.4 inches a week ago, only about 60 percent of what we would see in a “normal” season to date.  The season-to-date number is now 219.7 inches compared with 223.8 inches in a median year (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 (February 19) sunrise was at 6:47 AM; sunset will be at 5:43 PM.  Sunrise is 9 minutes earlier than last week, and sunset is 8 minutes later; so the days are getting longer by about 2-1/2 minutes per day.

Star Gazing: There was an annular eclipse of the Sun in Antarctica two days ago (February 17).   The Moon is now a waxing crescent, making evening star gazing more difficult.  Jupiter is very bright and close to overhead at 10-11 PM.  As the sky darkens immediately after sunset, you should be able to spot Jupiter ~40° above the eastern horizon.  It’s the first star-like object to appear and is the brightest object in the evening sky (except the Moon).  Look for Orion and and Sirius in the southern sky after dark.

Forecast

Snow should end on Donner Summit by 4-5 PM today; but it will be cold.  Expect a high of 22° today and 29° tomorrow.  Overnight lows could be under 10°.  There could be sun by Saturday afternoon, and Sunday should be mostly sunny with daytime temperatures rising to 36° Saturday and 43° Sunday.  Overnight lows both days will be around 23° .  The following week should remain warmer but unsettled.  Temperatures could be as high as 47° next weekend (February 28 – March 1) with overnight lows slightly below freezing.  Expect showers — they could be either rain or snow — each day through February 28, with a couple inches of snow each day.  The warmer weather and, especially, rain could make the new snow unstable as it consolidates.  From Sunday, March 1, through the next week expect cloudy skies and a high/low temperature range of 48°/28° — a return to the stability we saw in January except there will be less sun.

Summit Calendar

February 21 (Saturday) 8 AM: Sugar Bowl’s Empowder Festival is a weekend long free-ride festival for women and non-binary individuals focused on progression, community, and culture. Participants are coached by world class athletes that help them to build from their existing skiing and snowboarding foundation to one that is more controlled, aggressive, and fluid.

February 22 (Sunday) 6 PM: Town of Truckee Community Vigil at the Eagle Statue in downtown Truckee.  Organizers suggest that attendees bring a candle.

February 23 (Monday) 5:30 PM: Interfaith avalanche memorial service at Church of the Mountains, 11079 Church St., Truckee.

February 27 (Friday) is a Play Forever Friday at Boreal/Woodward with tickets for both indoor and outdoor operations at $35; $5 goes to a local charity.

March 19 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The next meeting of the DSA Board of Directors.   Look for an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  during the week before.  Directions to the meeting location will be included.  The February 19 meeting was canceled because of bad weather and poor driving conditions.  If it is rescheduled (possibly for February 26), watch for an announcement here.

Resorts

Boreal/Woodward (the Mountain and indoors) are open  but will close at 4 PM today (February 19).  Expect closer to normal operations by the weekend.   Check https://www.rideboreal.com for more information.

Sugar Bowl  is closed today but should be back tomorrow.  Check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for more details.  For special events,  go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events. Backcountry access information is at https://www.sugarbowl.com/backcountry

Soda Springs Mountain Resort had a delayed opening today and is running with reduced operations. Expect closer to normal operations (Thursday-Monday only) starting tomorrow.   Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for details.

Royal Gorge is digging out and reports 20 km of groomed trails open today; they are hoping to have more ready for the weekend.  Van Norden parking is closed until they can reassess its viability.   Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for details.

Donner Ski Ranch is closed today.  They should be back by the weekend with hours  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) may be 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 “4-High” avalanche danger at all elevations.  Their preliminary forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is “3-Considerable”.  Watch for wind-blown slabs on the windy side and wind-blown deposits on the leeward side of ridges.  Both can be risky for avalanches.  Backcountry travel today is not recommended.  For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway has been closed in both directions from Colfax to the Nevada line for most of the past 72 hours.  Expect it to open slowly.  Even with no new snow falling, wind can reduce visibility to zero.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit will be plowed as crews and equipment catch up.  Expect to need chains even if the chain requirement has been lifted on I-80.