NEWS

GENERAL CONDITIONS:

The Summit has seen some warm (60°) and some cool (40°) in the past couple weeks; it’s presently cool, and getting more so. But there’s been no new snow in the past week. The Central Sierra Snow Lab in Norden (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) says year-to-date snowfall is holding at 357.09 inches, tantalizingly close to the 360.24 inches for a normal season total. Sugar Bowl claims 481 inches year-to-date; check their webcams (https://www.sugarbowl.com/webcams) for near-real-time views of Summit conditions. We have about 5 feet in our shaded back yard at 7000 ft. The snow surface is surprisingly consistent for skiing — skis sink less than an inch whether snow is groomed or not, and the only difference between forested and open is the amount of litter (needles, branches, etc.) if trees are nearby. Expect to break through if you walk very far in your bare feet; but travel with skis or snowshoes is easy and fun.

If you’re in the backcountry, beware of stream crossings. Snow bridges may be undercut and the water below may be flowing deeper and faster than you might expect. Also beware of sunburn (including snow blindness) — use sunscreen, hats with brims, and sunglasses.

Purple Air stations on the Summit are reporting AQI around 30 — good air quality, but not the single digit kind we had most of the winter.

Today’s (April 25) sunrise was at 6:09 AM, sunset will be at 7:49 PM. Sunrise is moving earlier by about 10 minutes each week, and sunset is about 7 minutes later. We’ll have 14 hours of daylight (sunrise to sunset) in a couple weeks.

FORECAST:

Today’s (April 25) hi/lo temperature range is forecast to be 46°/31° with showers in the afternoon, changing to light snow overnight; there could be another 1-3 inches by Friday morning. Tomorrow (Friday) will be 5° colder with another inch of snow possible. The weekend (April 27-28) should be mostly sunny with daytime highs in the low 50s and overnight lows around 30° — good weather for the last weekend of ski resort operations. Skies will remain clear into next week with temperatures rising to 61°/36° Wednesday. The first week of May will be partly cloudy with daytime highs in the mid 50s, overnight lows in the mid 30s, and the chance of precipitation on any day in the 15-20% range.

AUBURN SKI CLUB:

Auburn Ski Club offers alpine, Nordic, biathlon and snowboard athletic programs including 25 km of Nordic ski trails, groomed to competition standards but open to everyone when not being used for races. ASC’s youth programs and competitions (from local to national championship levels) are a big part of the Summit community — a legacy for many athletes and families now stretching back almost 100 years. Check the web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for more information.

BOREAL WOODWARD:

Boreal has closed its winter operations; but Woodward started its spring program on April 14. For more information, visit https://www.rideboreal.com

DONNER SKI RANCH:

Donner Ski Ranch will be open on weekends as long as conditions allow. Check out their Spring Fling Sunday, April 28. If you show up in “costume”, you can ski/ride for free! For more information, go to https://www.donnerskiranch.com/#donnerskiranch

KINGVALE RESORT:

Kingvale Resort offers sledding and snow play on the south side of I-80 at exit 171. Their web site is at http://www.kingvaleresort.com.

ROYAL GORGE:

Royal Gorge is open Friday (8:30 AM to 3 PM) and Saturday-Sunday (8:30 AM - 4 PM). But they close for the season after April 28. Van Norden parking and trails on the north side of Van Norden Meadow are closed. Trails in Bogus Basin and on the south side of Van Norden will be open this weekend with access from Sugar Bowl. Core trails south and west will be open from Summit Station. For more information, visit https://www.royalgorge.com/home

SODA SPRINGS:

Soda Springs Mountain Resort ended its winter operations on April 14. Visit https://www.skisodasprings.com for more information.

SUGAR BOWL:

Sugar Bowl is open 9-4 daily; their winter season ends this weekend. Judah Lodge Cafe is open daily 7:30 AM to 4 PM, and the Village Lodge offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days each week. For up-to-date information, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/home

For the following special events, you need to visit the web pages at https://www.sugarbowl.com/events. They can not be easily described in a few words here.

April 27 (Saturday), 9 AM - 5 PM: Tiki Pond Skim

April 28 (Sunday), 9 AM - 5 PM: Arc’teryx Cap Crusade

May 2-5 (Thursday-Sunday): The Donner Summit at Sugar Bowl — a week of workshops for young ski and snowboard athletes

AVALANCHE DANGER:

The Sierra Avalanche Center posted its final report and forecast on April 21. Check their web site for general information at https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org Then explore the backcountry cautiously and responsibly; there’s a lot out there, but help is more than a phone call away.

WEB PAGE UPGRADES:

The DSA News web page is updated weekly. We are in the process of updating other web pages. Check out the upgraded Adventures tab (https://www.donnersummitca.com/adventures), which is a work still in progress. Others will follow, including new pages on where-to-stay and where-to-eat under the Visiting tab (https://www.donnersummitca.com/visiting). DSA’s new Recreation Master Plan for Donner Summit is available at https://www.donnersummitca.com/projects-information/2021/8/12/summit-summit-iii

SUMMIT CLEANUP DAY:

June 1 (Saturday), morning: Help pick up trash along Summit roads in preparation for a great summer season. Watch this space for details.

ROADS:

I-80: The freeway is open with no restrictions over the Summit.

Parking: The California Sno-Park east of Boreal at I-80 exit 176 is available for public parking for $15/day; but it is first-come first-served and space can be tight on weekends. Get more information about the Sno-Park program at https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30701. Permit information is available at https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30735

General: Follow CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

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