General Conditions

Spring has been in the air for the past couple weeks.  With temperatures close to 60° during early afternoon, overnight lows below freezing, and clear skies, early morning skiing on well groomed tracks and slopes has been fast.  The midday sunshine softened the surface, but the underlying structure remained firm; these were great conditions for snowplow turns.  But now clouds are starting to move in and temperatures are dropping.

We have about 4-1/2 feet of snow in our back yard at 7000 ft (a northeast facing, partially shaded slope).  There are patches of snow along I-80 above 5000 ft, but there’s not much for recreational use until you reach at least 6000 ft.  Ski resorts have enough cover to finish their seasons, though Royal Gorge has closed a few trails because of water hazards and snow bridge collapses.  The Central Sierra Snow Lab (https://cssl.berkeley.edu/) says the total snowfall this season has been 354 inches compared to a median full season 360 inches over 1991-2020; so we’re very close to “normal”, but not quite there.  Check web cams at Sugar Bowl (http://www.sugarbowl.com/home) and Donner Ski Ranch (http://webcams.donnerskiranch.com/) for up-to-the-minute views of current conditions.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (April 24) sunrise was at 6:11 AM; sunset will be at 7:48 PM.  Sunrise is drifting earlier by about 10 minutes each week. Sunset is drifting later by about 7 minutes each week. The days continue to get longer — by about 2-1/2 minutes each day; these rates will continue into May when we can start to feel as though it’s summer again.

Star Gazing: Roughly 40° above the western horizon after sunset (8:30 PM) you should be able to spot Jupiter, which is now the brightest object in that part of the sky. At the same time, look for Mars, nearly overhead and in a crooked line with the Gemini twins.  All three are about the same brightness; Mars is slightly orange, separated from the other two by about twice their separation,  and moving noticeably to the east each night (toward the constellation Leo, which looks like a left-to-right flipped question mark).  At midnight you should be able to spot the Big Dipper nearly overhead; the pan opens to the north and the handle stretches east.  If you’re up at 5 AM and have a good view of the eastern horizon, you should be able to spot Venus.  The crescent Moon, nearly “new”, is also in the morning sky until Sunday, April 27.

Forecast

The daytime high temperature today (April 24) is forecast to be 53°, and tonight’s overnight low should be around 31°.  Tomorrow will be cooler (41° high/27° low), and the weekend will be relatively frigid for this time of year (35°/27°).  There’s 6-8 inches (total) of new snow in the forecast for Saturday-Sunday but with only 60% probability.  So we could get to the full season median by Sunday … or not.  Monday should be sunny and warmer (55°/32°); and the rest of the two week forecast shows daytime highs around 60°, overnight lows in the mid-30s, and partly cloudy skies.  Snow will melt 24/7 — just more slowly at night.

If you want to recreate outdoors at Donner Summit, this next weekend (April 26-27) looks chilly and damp, but with possible fresh snow.  The following weekend should be 25° warmer during daylight hours, not cold enough to freeze overnight, and cloudy.

Events

May 1 (Thursday), 1-2 PM: Catch the final Zoom briefing on winter conditions by Andrew Schwartz, Director of the Central Sierra Snow Lab.  He will discuss the latest data on snow measurements, both locally and nationally.  He will also look at the three-month predictions for temperature and water in the contiguous western United States.  Try the following to make the Zoom connection: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/94526024405; Meeting ID: 945 2602 4405; Passcode: 222580.

May 3 (Saturday) 10 AM – 2 PM: Nevada County Recreation Fair (Bodhi Hive, 420 Providence Mine Rd., Bldg N4, Nevada City) — Find new ways to play in Nevada County.  There will be approximately 50 local vendors encouraging people of all ages to improve fitness and health by recreating in the county.  For more information, visit https://nevadacityca.gov/315/Nevada-County-Recreation-Fair

May 21 (Wednesday) 3-4:30 PM: A free on-line webinar about wildfire mitigation, resources available, and Firewise Communities.  Register for Truckee Fire’s Firewise Virtual Office Hours at https://www.truckeefire.org/firewise

May 23-26 (Friday-Monday): Open tavern and bar at Rainbow Lodge; for details, go to    https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events.  Guest rooms may be booked at https://therainbowlodge.client.innroad.com/ 

June 7 (Saturday), 9 AM – Noon: Join the Donner Summit Association for its annual Summit Clean-Up Day.  Details here soon.

July 12 and 13 (Saturday and Sunday): Trails and Vistas Art Hikes — A fusion of art experiences and forest immersion.  Guides lead small groups from one performance setting to the next, where award-winning musicians, dancers, poets, and visual artists present their works.  For more information, go to https://www.trailsandvistas.org.

Resorts

Sugar Bowl is is open Saturday-Sunday 9 AM – 4 PM. Sugar Rush Tubing is open Saturday-Sunday 10-4. Sugar Bowl tickets may be purchased on-line for $99.  Check https://www.sugarbowl.com for more information.  Sugar Bowl closes for the season on Sunday (April 27).

Boreal (the mountain) closed for the season on April 20.   Woodward (indoors) is open Monday-Friday noon – 8 PM and weekends 10 AM – 8 PM.  The Grind Café, Hub & Spoke Bar, and Hub & Spoke Grill are open within these hours.  Check https://www.rideboreal.com.

Auburn Ski Club is closed for the season.  When operational, it offers alpine, Nordic, biathlon and snowboard athletic programs including 25 km of Nordic skiing groomed to competition standards. Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for more information.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort closed for the season on April 20.

Donner Ski Ranch, including tubing, is open Saturdays and Sundays 10-4 “til the snow is gone”. DSR’s Old 40 Bar and Grill is open daily from 8 AM. Check their web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com

Royal Gorge is open Saturday and Sunday (April 26-27) 9 AM to 2 PM. It will have 50 km of trails groomed on the weekend.   Parking is available at Summit Station; Van Norden Meadow parking is closed, but skiing along the south side of the meadow is possible from Summit Station or Sugar Bowl.  Check http://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates.  Royal Gorge closes for the season on April 27.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) offers tubing, sledding, and a rope tow terrain park. Their web site is http://www.kingvaleresort.com. For snowmobile tours, you can check the web site of their Kingvale partner at https://www.hlatours.com

Avalanche Forecast

The Sierra Avalanche Center avoided staff reductions by appealing threatened cuts at the end of this winter season.  Nonetheless SAC issued its (previously planned) final avalanche forecast on April 19.  The forecast advises caution where heavy wet snow overlies weak layers, especially on steeper slopes.  Check the SAC web site (https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org) for details.

Roads

I-80: There are currently no chain requirements on I-80 and the forecast is generally favorable for the next two weeks. Watch for water on the road and ice where that water has frozen. Drive especially carefully when weather turns bad (as forecast Saturday-Sunday, April 26-27).  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov. Public parking is available at California Sno-Park sites (https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23055); purchase permits in advance through the web site or at vendors on approaches to Donner Summit.

General: Secondary roads around the Summit should be open with no restrictions.