General Conditions

Summer has arrived at Donner Summit.  High temperatures over the past 10 days  have been in the upper 60s and low 70s except for being about 10° cooler last weekend through Tuesday.  Overnight lows have been in the low 40s except for mid-to-upper 30s when daytime highs were also lower.  Find details on the Central Sierra Snow Lab web site (https://cssl.berkeley.edu/).

There are still a very few patches of snow in shaded areas at 7000 ft — mostly from roof shedding or driveway/street plowing where the piles have been shaded.  North facing slopes on nearby peaks still have larger patches; some might be skiable, but you’d have to haul your gear to reach them and the runs would be short.   When operational, 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 overviews of current conditions on Donner Summit.

Rivers and streams have flow; but it’s decreasing as the snowpack melts.  Mosquitoes are out; they are most bothersome around dawn and dust.  Purple Air AQI is 0-7 around the Summit — excellent air quality.  Wildflowers are a little thin but making their presence known.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (June 11) sunrise was at 5:34 AM; sunset will be at 8:28 PM.  Sunrise is one minutes earlier than a week ago and sunset is 4 minutes later, so the days continue to get longer but by less than one minute per day.  Sunrise has started turning around — becoming later on a daily basis, though barely noticeable — but sunset will continue drifting later until early July.  The summer solstice is June 21, when the two cancel and we have our longest day (a few minutes shy of 15 hours of daylight).

Star Gazing: The Moon will be new on June 14,  so evening star gazing will be good for another week.  Venus and Jupiter went through “conjunction” on June 8-9; Venus is now above (and continues to be brighter than) Jupiter in the northwestern sky just after sunset.   If you have a good view toward the northwest, the pair should be unmistakable after 8:45 PM.  The two stars to the right of (and slightly below) Venus are Castor and Pollux (the Gemini twins).  If you have an unusually good view toward the northwest, you may also be able to spot Mercury; it reaches maximum separation from the Sun, setting about 90 minutes later, on June 15.   For those with smaller skies, the Big Dipper is almost overhead at 10 PM.  Follow the arc of its handle to Arcturus, the brightest star in the sky overhead.

Forecast

Daytime highs will rise from the upper 70s to the low 80s between today and early next week.  By next weekend (June 20-21) highs will have drifted back down to the mid-to-upper 60s before rebounding to the upper 70s two weeks from today.  Expect overnight lows to drift between 40° and 50°, following the daytime highs.  Only two days in the next two weeks are forecast to have more than 0% chance of precipitation — Saturday (June 13) is 6% and Sunday (June 14) is 1%.

Summit News

Fire Safety: Fire danger around the Summit is currently rated as “high”.  Residential burn permits have been required since May 1.  Charcoal barbecue operation is generally not permitted June-November, but no notice has been posted yet at https://www.truckeefire.org; nonetheless, be careful with fire.

Defensible Space: A recording of a very informative Truckee Fire webinar on fire safety and defensible space is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COz0xBZ74FY&t=535s.  It runs about 51 minutes.  At least two other relevant videos — the documentary Standing Dead and a recording of a Steve Hawks (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety) Zoom presentation — are available through the Eastern Regional Firewise Coalition web site at https://www.erfwc.org/.  You may need the passcode #2sK1jKw to view the Hawks recording.

Fire Inspections: With one exception, Donner Summit is scheduled for defensible space inspections by Truckee Fire this summer/fall; the exception is Serene Lakes, which was inspected in 2024 and will be re-inspected in 2027.

Soda Springs Cannabis Dispensary: A hybrid public informational meeting on the proposed cannabis dispensary in the Soda Springs area was held on May 21 at the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.  DSA is preparing a web page in its Projects section to provide additional information.  Stay tuned.  For a summary of basic information on this topic, see Dispensary_FAQ_v1.  For readers in Placer County, see placer_district_5_cannabis for a statement from District 5 Supervisor Cindy Gustafson’s office.  See also July 2 and 14 events below.

Summit Calendar

June 13 (Saturday): Vault toilets at the new Sheep Pens trailhead in Van Norden Meadow should be open.  The access road from the west (aka Old Lincoln Highway) is badly rutted; you may want to park a couple hundred yards short of Sheep Pens until Placer County repairs the road.  Access via Old Lincoln Highway from the east may be possible from Sugar Bowl.  But planking allowing vehicles to cross the railroad tracks has been removed, so vehicle access from the Donner Ski Ranch direction is not presently possible.

June 18 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The June meeting of the DSA Board of Directors at a private residence in Sugar Bowl.   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.

July 2 (Thursday) 5:30-6:30 PM: Soda Springs Community Workshop on the cannabis dispensary applicant selection process.  Nevada County Cannabis Compliance staff and Nevada County Economic Development Office staff will provide an overview of the selection process.  There will be an opportunity for public comments and questions.

July 14 (Tuesday): Nevada County Board of Supervisors will meet in Truckee.  Final scoring and selection criteria for the cannabis dispensary in the Soda Springs area will be on the agenda.  Location, time, and full agenda will be announced later.

July 20-24 (Monday-Friday): Headwaters Science Institute “Water Week” day camp based out of Serene Lakes.  Aimed at kids ages 5-12 (or counselors-in-training, ages 13-15).  There is a second camp (July 27-30) on plants and wildflowers and a third (August 3-7) on animals and insects.  For more information, go to https://headwatersscienceinstitute.org/science-camp/summer-camps/

August 1 (Saturday) 8 AM: Point Mariah Trail Marathon (~26.4 miles, ±4300 ft vertical, 8 hour limit) starts and ends at Soda Springs Mountain Resort.  There are solo, pair, and team options.  Volunteers to support the event are needed.  For more information go to https://donnerpartymountainrunners.com/point-mariah-trail-marathon/

August 22 (Saturday) 11 AM to August 23 (Sunday) 4 PM: The “Crumble + Hard Head” event at Donner Ski Ranch for serious mountain bikers sponsored by the Sacramento Pacific International Trials Society.  For more information go to https://www.sactopits.org/event-details/crumble-hard-head

September 19 and 20 (Saturday and Sunday): Donner Party Hikes — Seven hikes around Donner Summit with a historical theme.  Choose one hike each day.  For more information and registration go to https://www.donnerpartyhike.com

September 26 (Saturday) Noon – 3 PM: DSA’s annual SummitFest at Soda Springs Mountain Resort.  A benefit with live music, food, drinks, auctions, and fun.  Details later; for now, just save the date.

Resorts

Boreal/Woodward: Boreal (the Mountain) is closed for winter activities; but Woodward Tahoe (indoor and outdoor) is up and running.  Open daily 1-8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays 10 AM – 8 PM.  Summer camps started June 8 (https://www.rideboreal.com/summer-camp/camp-overview/overview/).  Check https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/community/all-events/  for special events.

Sugar Bowl (the Mountain) is closed for the season. The Sugar Bowl Kids Summer Day Camp offers a mix of outdoor recreation, skill development, and hands-on discovery.  Camps are tailored for kids ages 4-7 and ages 8-17.  They run Monday-Friday 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM during four weeks in July.  For more information and registration go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/summer-camp?utm_term=5.20.26&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=summer&spMailingID=51760789&spUserID=MTMyMDEyNzA0NDQwMQS2&spJobID=3181793507&spReportId=MzE4MTc5MzUwNwS2

Donner Ski Ranch (the Mountain) is closed for the season.  DSR’s Old 40 Bar and Grill remains open 7 days a week.  DSR also offers beds, showers, and laundry to PCT thru-hikers.  Thru-hikers 21 years and older can claim a 40 oz beer.  Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com for more information.

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.

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 general comments on avalanches on its website  https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition, but there are occasional lane restrictions and ramp closures (for example, Baxter eastbound) for construction.  Hwy 20 eastbound merge with I-90 eastbound is closed weekdays.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.  Check I-80 webcams at https://caltranscameras.app/cameras/route/I-80

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be in good condition.  Off Highway Vehicle roads will be challenging as snow melts and muddy sections dry.  There are also a lot of downed trees on back roads.  The Old Donner Summit Road (along the north side of Van Norden Meadow) has serious mud/ruts 100 yards west of Sheep Pens.  Its connector across the railroad tracks to Sugar Bowl Road and Donner Ski Ranch is physically closed.  Rattlesnake Canyon Road (FR85) north from Cisco Grove was closed for four years starting in 2024 for construction at Fordyce Dam.