General Conditions

It’s been unseasonably warm at Donner Summit over the past week with temperatures reaching 80° in some spots.  But that’s starting to change.  We had a brief thundershower Monday at sunrise; clouds then hung over the highest elevations for the rest of the day while it was mostly sunny over western areas. The Central Sierra Snow Lab web site (https://cssl.berkeley.edu/) has details.  You can see Monday’s shower as a thin green line in CSSL’s data plot of 7-day “weather type” on October 5.

Fall color is appearing in some aspen groves; but leaves turned yellow along Donner Pass Road east of Soda Springs, then dropped to the ground.  Aspens are more colorful in Kingvale and Cisco Grove.   There is additional color in shrubs and ground cover; but, even by California standards, this is not going to be a spectacular autumn for foliage.

Purple Air AQI around the Summit this morning was 10-20 (good air quality).  There are no active fires nearby.  USFS rates fire danger in the Truckee Ranger District as “high”; Truckee Fire rates the fire danger as “very high”.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (October 8) sunrise was at 7:04 AM, about 7 minutes later than a week ago.  Sunset will be at 6:32 PM, about 11 minutes earlier than last week.  The days are getting shorter — by about 2-1/2 minutes each day; this combined rate will continue into mid-October.

Star Gazing: The Moon will be new on Saturday, so evening stargazing will be excellent (clouds permitting) for a few more days.  Saturn was at opposition on October 4 meaning it is at its brightest and is south of overhead at about midnight. Saturn is brighter than most stars, but it doesn’t compare with Venus, Mars, or Jupiter at their brightest.  With a pair of good binoculars, you may be able to make out Saturn’s rings.  As for stars, Cassiopeia looks like a “W” rotated about 90° above the northeastern horizon; the Big Dipper is very low to the northwest and oriented just about right to hold water at 10 PM.

Forecast

Today will be the last summer-like day for a while.  Expect a high around 74° at the Summit and a low of 41° before dawn tomorrow.  Tomorrow’s high will be 67°, Saturday’s high will be 55°, and Sunday’s high will be 46°.  Expect high temperatures to climb back to about 60° next weekend (October 17-18); but overnight lows will rarely get above freezing over October 11-22.  There is a 55% chance of precipitation Sunday and Monday (October 11-12); considering the temperatures, some of that could be snow.

Summit News (date unspecific)

Measure T Oversight Committee: Truckee Fire seek two volunteers to fill positions on its Measure T Citizens’ Oversight Committee, which oversees use of Measure T funds.  Applications are due November 6, and terms begin January 1, 2027.  For more details and the application, go to https://form.jotform.com/252864844745066

Cannabis Dispensary: Nevada County’s Board of Supervisors (BoS) discussed selection criteria for cannabis dispensaries in the North San Juan and Soda Springs areas during their meeting in Truckee on October 6. The Board voted 4-1 to move forward with the selection process adding a requirement that any successful applicant’s proposal must meet a minimum TBD score, which could be set as early as the next BoS meeting on October 20.  A recording of the meeting is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn1-FyMXsew.  The cannabis discussion starts at 03:50 in the recording and ends at 05:46.

The RFA for dispensary applicants is at https://www.nevadacountyca.gov/3905/Commercial-Cannabis-Dispensary-Applicati#docaccess-bbeff2aadd2f0d4c29aabb0d69227a76.  Click on “Draft: Request for Application Submittal” to see the proposal discussed by the Supervisors.

Truckee Fire Fuel Reduction: Tree thinning and removal is in progress along Hampshire Rocks/Donner Pass Road between Cisco Grove and Kingvale. The goal is to improve emergency access and egress along these key roadways.

Donner Lake Rim Trail (South): The Truckee Donner Land Trust has completed 4 of a planned 15 miles of non-motorized trail on the south side of Donner Lake.  The newly completed section lies along Schallengberger Ridge.  For more information, visit https://www.truckeedonnerlandtrust.org/news-events/donner-lake-rim-trail-south-2026-update

Forestry Work around Serene Lakes: Forest health and wildfire resilience projects are in progress west of Hillside and north of Cascade/Pahatsi in Serene Lakes.  The more northerly project appears to be nearing completion.  The tree cutting west of Hillside project is done, but clean-up is still pending.

DSA is Looking for an Administrative Assistant: This person would support the Donner Summit Association Board of Directors in day-to-day operations.  Expected average work load is 10 hours per month.  Pay is $25-40 per hour depending on experience and skills.  For more information see 260725a_duties

Nevada County Calendar: Look for community events throughout Nevada County on their calendar at https://gonevadacounty.com/community-calendar/

Placer County General Plan Update: The General Plan covers many important topics, including where housing and businesses get built, how we travel around Placer County, protecting the natural environment, and providing parks and community services.  Half of Donner Summit is in Placer County.  For more information on update activities visit https://www.placer.ca.gov/10433/General-Plan-2050

Fire Safety: Fire danger on Donner Summit is currently rated as “high” to “very high”.  Residential burn permits, required since May 1, have been suspended throughout the Truckee Fire region.  Outdoor charcoal and wood fires — e.g., barbecues — are prohibited (gas only).   See https://www.truckeefire.org for more.

Defensible Space: 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.

Summit Calendar

October 11 (Sunday): Last day to request free curbside green waste pickup through Truckee Fire.  Details at https://www.truckeefire.org/greenwaste?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=6a876cb10ed803148c74297a&ss_email_id=6a8c766ba7f16a1d9f68a273&ss_campaign_name=Emergency+Alerts%2C+Green-waste%2C+Firewise+Office+hours&ss_campaign_sent_date=2026-08-24T16%3A51%3A05Z

October 15 (Thursday) 5-6 PM: DSA’s monthly Board of Directors meeting at Sugar Bowl.  For an agenda early in the week of the meeting (including directions to the meeting location), go to https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/

October 17 (Saturday) 9-11 AM: Join DSA for a two-hour “trail day” improving walking paths at Gould Park in Cisco Grove.  Meet at the informal parking area on Hampshire Rocks Road near its junction with Cisco Road.  More details are at poster

October 17 (Saturday): Oktoberfest at Rainbow Lodge.  Details at https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events

October 31 (Saturday) 10 AM – 8 PM): Dead Man’s Jam at Boreal/Woodward. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced skating, scooting, and BMXing.  Costumes are highly recommended.  More details at https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/community/all-events/dead-mans-jam-2026/

October 31 and November 1 (Saturday and Sunday) 10 AM – 4 PM: Tube-or-Treat at Sugar Bowl — tubing on SnowFactory-made snow, a live DJ, trick or treating, refreshments, and a costume contest.  For more information, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/tube-or-treat

November 2 (Monday) 5 PM PST: Registration deadline for the Central Sierra Snow Science School, which will be held at Donner Summit on January 13-15, 2027 (Wednesday-Friday).  Find more details at https://www.csslsnowschool.com/

Resorts

Boreal/Woodward: Woodward Tahoe is open Wednesday-Friday 1-8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays 10 AM – 8 PM; it is closed Monday-Tuesday.  Check https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/community/all-events/  for special events.

Sugar Bowl: Activities are limited while the new gondola is being installed.  It’s Sugar Bowl’s fourth gondola.  For a gondola history see https://www.sugarbowl.com/gondola-history.  Winter opening day November 27 (conditions permitting) has been announced.  For other news go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/home

Donner Ski Ranch: DSR’s Old 40 Bar and Grill remains open 7 days a week.  DSR offers beds, showers, and laundry to PCT thru-hikers and disc golf to anyone interested.  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.  The resort is planning a Royal Gorge XC Ski Team for winter 2026-27; for more information, see https://www.sugarbowl.com/nordic-team.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for other 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 about avalanches on its website  https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

A short report on the February 17 Perry Peak avalanche near Frog Lake has been posted at https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/observations/#/view/avalanches/83ba330a-5eb4-446e-95b0-495c26faf06b.  It points to a more in-depth report on avalanche.org.

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition, but there are lane restrictions and ramp closures (both day and night, both east and west) that cause backups between Colfax and Truckee.  The Hwy 20 eastbound merge with I-80 eastbound is closed on some (but not all) weekdays; details can be found at https://yubanet.com/regional/next-eastbound-hwy-20-closure-scheduled-in-nevada-county/.  Other restrictions are relaxed on weekends but not completely gone.  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.  Rattlesnake Canyon Road (FR85) north from Cisco Grove was closed for four years starting in 2024 for construction at Fordyce Dam.