General Conditions

Unusually warm temperatures continue at Donner Summit.  Daytime high temperatures have been above 53° every day for the past week and have exceeded 66° on the last three days.  There has been no new precipitation.  On our drive up today, we spotted first snow on the I-80 roadside just below Blue Canyon (5000 ft); but don’t plan to ski anywhere before Kingvale (6000 ft).  Resorts still have skiable snow, but cover is thinning.  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 (March 19) sunrise was at 7:06 AM; sunset was at 7:12 PM.  Sunrise is 10 minutes earlier than last week and sunset is 7 minutes later, so the days continue to get longer by about 2-1/2 minutes per day.  After the spring equinox (tomorrow), days will be longer than nights.

Star Gazing: The Moon was new yesterday (March 18), so evening stargazing will be good for the next couple days, then it will be degraded by the waxing crescent Moon.  Look for the spring constellations Gemini and Leo, approaching overhead in the late evening.  Orion and Sirius are easy to spot toward the southwest.  Jupiter is the bright star-like object in the middle of Gemini.  Venus is now visible 30-60 minutes after sunset near the western horizon; it will become brighter and higher in the evening sky in coming weeks.  Mars is faintly visible before sunrise in the eastern sky; it will become easier to spot in coming months.

Avalanche: If you’ve been following the Castle Peak avalanche (February 17), Moonshine Ink has a 6-page article in its current edition (https://www.mirabelsmagazinecentral.com/digitaledition/index.html?id=512e8383-5ea7-4868-8cc7-c60978452c9c). In the same issue, there’s also a 3-page review of the Alpine Meadows 1982 avalanche, a nice perspective on skiing on a warming planet, and a short article on how Open Snow is using AI to refine its weather predictions.

Forecast

Today’s high was 70.6°; tonight’s low is predicted to be 39°.  Tomorrow (Friday) will be similar (70°/39°) before the heat wave breaks.  Don’t expect a lot of relief, however.  Daytime highs are forecast to be in the 60s through next weekend (March 27-28) before showery and cooler weather returns at the end of the month.  Those showers will probably be rain during the day and might be snow at night.  Temperature range on Monday, March 30, is predicted to be 53°/29° and on Thursday, April 2, 48°/28°.  Chances of precipitation on any of those showery days is only about 1 in 3.

Summit Calendar

March 20-21 (Friday-Saturday): Slush Rush at Royal Gorge (replaces canceled Gold Rush, but continues festival activities).  Cafe/bar opens at 4 PM Friday, waxing clinic at 5 PM.  Resort opens 8 AM Saturday, biathlon laser rifle demo at 9 AM, cafe opens at 10 AM, live music on the deck starting at 12 noon.  Slush Cup Super Sprint Qualifiers begin at 1 PM (beginner, fitness, and expert levels).  For details, including registration, go to https://fasterskier.com/2026/03/gold-rush-races-cancelled-but-festival-lives-on-at-royal-gorge/

March 22 (Sunday): 10th Mountain Division Biathlon Race at Auburn Ski Club.  Rifle check is at 7:30 AM; race starts at 9 AM.  Other details and registration information at https://www.asctrainingcenter.org/events-races/biathlon-races/

April 4 (Saturday): All day good-bye party for the historic Gondola at Sugar Bowl.  It will be retired the next day; a new high-capacity replacement is targeted for operation by November 2026.  Snacks and drinks at both ends 3:30-5:30 PM, followed by a celebration and auction. The festivities will wrap up with Open Mic Night outdoors on the Terrace of the Village Lodge, starting at 7 PM.  See https://www.sugar-bowl.com/gondola-history for a history of the Gondola.

April 11  (Saturday): Glenn’s Gallop Biathlon Race at Auburn Ski Club.  Rifle check is at 7:30 AM; race starts at 9 AM.  Other details and registration information at https://www.asctrainingcenter.org/events-races/biathlon-races/

April 11 (Saturday) 9 AM – 4 PM: Pond skim at Sugar Bowl.   Costumes encouraged.   Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paradise-pond-skim-2026-registration-1985396155346?aff=oddtdtcreator&utm_term=registration&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=pond-skim

April 16 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The April meeting of the DSA Board of Directors.   Find an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  early in the week before the meeting.  Directions to the meeting 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.

Sugar Bowl  is open today 9-4.  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 is open 10-4 Thursday-Monday.  Planet Kids carpets are not open.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for more details.

Royal Gorge reported 25 km of groomed trails open from Summit Station; the Van Norden trailhead is closed for the season.   Bogus Basin and Razorback reportedly have the best snow.  Telegraph on the south side of Van Norden Meadow is open to dogs.  The grooming crew has been caching snow in hopes of spreading it to make more km available this weekend.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates.

Donner Ski Ranch had three chair lifts and the ski moving carpet open yesterday; the tubing hill was closed.  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.  See Calendar above and 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 forecasts “2-Moderate” avalanche danger at all elevations today.  Their preliminary forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is the same.   Watch for softening snow, which could avalanche on steep slopes.  For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition.   Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be in good condition.