General Conditions

Snow is mostly gone at 7000 ft, though you can still find patches on sheltered north-facing slopes.  To do real skiing or boarding, you need to go higher.  Daytime high temperatures have ranged between 40° and 50° over the past week except for a high of 33° on Sunday and a high of 55° yesterday (Wednesday).  There have been occasional showers.

The Central Sierra Snow Lab (https://cssl.berkeley.edu/) reported 0.4 inches of new snow during the past week (none in the past 48 hours).  The year-to-date snowfall is 305.9 inches compared to a median 359.5 inches on this date and 360 inches for the season.  Total rain-plus-snow precipitation is 103% of median for this date.

All ski resorts at Donner Summit have closed for the season.  The nearest operating lifts are at Palisades Tahoe; Palisades hopes to continue running into early May.  Webcams at Sugar Bowl (http://www.sugarbowl.com/home), Donner Ski Ranch (http://webcams.donnerskiranch.com/), and Boreal (https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/webcams/boreal-mountain-cam/) provide views of current conditions on Donner Summit.  Backcountry skiing remains feasible at 7000 ft and above; but avoid south facing slopes, and beware of snow bridges.  Streams are carrying a lot of water.  There are likely to be fewer stream crossings above 7500 ft, where the snow cover is more consistent.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (April 30) sunrise was at 6:03 AM; sunset will be at 7:53 PM.  Sunrise is 9 minutes earlier than last week and sunset is 7 minutes later, so the days continue to get longer by about 2 minutes per day.

Star Gazing: The Moon will be full on May 1 (tomorrow), when it will be rising as the sun sets.  After that, it rises about 55 minutes later each night, so evening stargazing becomes easier as the nights become warmer.  Jupiter is the bright star-like object roughly overhead after sunset; it is still in the constellation Gemini but moving toward Leo.  Venus is the bright star-like object over the western horizon after sunset.

Other News: Summit Soups had a “soft” opening last weekend. What their schedule is for this weekend and beyond is not entirely clear.  Check https://www.instagram.com/p/DXff9lSj16I/ for the latest we have.

Forecast

Today and tomorrow will be mostly sunny with highs around 60°.  Saturday will be cloudy and cooler.  Thundershowers are possible Sunday (probability 80% of some kind of precipitation).  By Monday the high temperature will have dropped to 39° and there could even be some snow (but don’t expect accumulation).  Temperatures will rise again to the 60s by next Wednesday (and stay there for the following week) as the clouds move away.

Summit Calendar

May 6 (Wednesday) 3-5:30 PM: Truckee Job Fair at Truckee Community Recreation Center (10981 Truckee Way) for full-time, part time, and seasonal positions.  Prospective employers should e-mail melissa@truckee.com.

May 19 (Tuesday) 6 PM: Public hearing on proposed increases in water and wastewater rates for the Donner Summit Public Utilities District.  Customers who reject the increases must register their opposition before the end of the hearing.  More details can be found at https://www.dspud.org/files/40b501400/2026+Donner+Prop+218_webv2.pdf

May 21 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The May meeting of the DSA Board of Directors.   Find an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/ early in the week preceding the meeting.  Directions to the meeting will be included.

May 21 (Thursday) 6:30-7:30 PM: Public informational meeting on the proposed cannabis dispensary in the Soda Springs area.  The in-person meeting will be at Soda Springs Mountain Resort; a Zoom connection is planned for remote participation, but details have not been worked out yet.  For more details on the meeting, check poster_260424a.  For a summary of basic information on this topic, see Dispensary_FAQ_v1.  Both the meeting announcement and the FAQ sheet may be updated as the meeting approaches.

June 6 (Saturday) 9 AM – Noon: Join with Summit neighbors in trash pickup along Donner Pass Road.  Lunch at the Soda Springs General Store for volunteers.  Details later.

Resorts

Boreal/Woodward: Boreal (the Mountain) and Woodward Outdoor Parks and MTB Trails are closed.  Woodward (The Bunker) is open Wednesday-Friday 1-8 PM and Saturday-Sunday 10 AM – 8 PM.  Check https://www.rideboreal.com for more information.

Sugar Bowl  is closed for the season.  Check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for information on summer activities.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort is closed for the season.  Watch  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for news.

Royal Gorge is closed for the season.  Tapas Friday and Saturday starts in late June.   Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates.

Donner Ski Ranch is closed for the season.  Its Old 40 Bar and Grill remains open 7 days a week.   Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com for news.

ASC Training Center (formerly Auburn Ski Club) specializes in training for competition and sponsors events.  The ASC Training Center is closed for the season.  Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for more information.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) is closed for the season.

Avalanche Report

The Sierra Avalanche Center has posted a final page covering expected avalanche conditions through today (April 30).  General guidance for later travel in snow country is expected l ater today.  Watch for wet loose avalanche conditions on steep slopes as the day warms and snow becomes slushy.   For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition, but there are occasional lane closures for construction.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

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