News

General Conditions

Winter is rapidly slipping away at Donner Summit.  Although we had 9-10 feet of new snow two weeks ago, there is less than 3 feet on the ground in our back yard at 7000 ft elevation (a north-facing shaded lot).  Daytime highs have exceeded 50° on 4 days in the past week, and overnight lows have dropped below freezing on only a couple nights.  There was light rain mixed with snow briefly last Sunday, then a bit more yesterday.  Year-to-date snowfall at the Central Sierra Snow Lab remains at 238.2 inches, compared with 270.3 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 (March 5) sunrise was at 6:27 AM; sunset will be at 5:58 PM.  Sunrise is 11 minutes earlier than last week, and sunset is 7 minutes later; so the days are getting longer by about 2-1/2 minutes per day.  Don’t forget to more your classic clock hands ahead one hour for Daylight Savings Time starting Sunday, March 8 (spring forward, fall back).

Star Gazing: The Moon was full Tuesday (March 3), and there was a total lunar eclipse 3-4 AM.  As the Moon moves toward last quarter (rising after sunset), evening star gazing will be good for the next 10-14 days.  Look for the spring constellations Gemini and Leo, approaching overhead in the late evening.  Jupiter is the bright star-like object in Gemini, near the stars Castor and Pollux.  Venus is now visible 30-60 minutes after sunset near the west-southwest horizon; it will become brighter and higher in the evening sky in coming weeks.

Forecast

Today’s high is predicted to be 39°, and the overnight low tonight is predicted to be 23°.  There is a wind from the northeast at about 12 MPH, bringing cold air from Canada.  The wind will continue through Saturday before switching to its more common southwesterly direction.  Daytime high temperatures will rise to 57° Sunday before dipping slightly early next week.  By next weekend (March 14-15) daytime highs will be in the mid-60s and overnight lows will be in the mid 30s.  Skies will be sunny and the chances of precipitation are no higher than 6% any day through next weekend.  A few clouds will move in after next weekend, but temperatures won’t change much (mid-60s daytime, mid-30s overnight).

Summit Calendar

March 1 (Sunday) 9 AM – March 6 (Friday) 4 PM: The California Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation Championships are in progress at Sugar Bowl.  For more information, go to https://www.cnissf.com/cnissf-championships-2026

March 12 (Thursday) 4 PM: The final Uphiller Evening Event — a race to the top of Mt. Lincoln at Sugar Bowl without aid from a chair lift.   For more information, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events

March 14 (Saturday) 7:30 AM: Start of the real Uphiller race to the top of Mt. Lincoln at Sugar Bowl.  Rack up as many human-powered trips as possible during a long day.   For more information, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events

March 19 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The March 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.

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.  February 27 is a Play Forever Friday with tickets for both the Mountain and Woodward at $35; $5 goes to a local charity.

Sugar Bowl  is open 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.  Soda Springs is open on additional days during special holiday/vacation weeks.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for details.

Royal Gorge reports 40 km of groomed trails open.  Running water makes grooming chancy, but last night was cold and today is mid-30s.  The Van Norden trailhead is closed, but Pt Mariah remains accessible via Sterling Canyon. Telegraph on the south side of Van Norden Meadow is open to dogs.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates.

Donner Ski Ranch has six chair lifts, the ski moving carpet, and the tubing hill open.  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.  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 “1-Low” avalanche danger at all elevations today.  Their preliminary forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is the same.   For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition, but watch for slippery spots during showers.   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.