General Conditions

A week ago there was significant rain at Donner Summit, but last weekend was lovely and that weather has continued.  Daytime highs rose from about 55° last Saturday to the low 60s yesterday.  Fall color is starting to appear.  Trails have dried out and the air is generally clear.  The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) has daily, weekly, and monthly conditions on its web site.   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.

Wildfire: The seasonal campfire ban remains in effect.  No open fires — including campfires, charcoal grills, etc.  Gas grills are OK.  Truckee Fire rates its fire danger on the Summit as “moderate”; Tahoe National Forest says fire danger is  “low”.   Find more information at https://www.truckeefire.org/fireban    Purpleair AQI is near 50 around Donner Summit because of a prescribed burn near Truckee Airport; AQI readings near the airport are as high as 400.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (October 9) sunrise was at 7:05 AM; sunset was at 6:30 PM.  Sunrise drifted later by 7 minutes compared to a week ago. Sunset has drifted earlier by about 11 minutes. The days continue to get shorter by about 2-1/2 minutes per day with most of the action in the evening.

Star Gazing: The Moon was full on October 7; star gazing will be easier for the next couple weeks.  Look for the Big Dipper, visible to the northwest; it rests on the northwestern horizon in the correct position to “hold water” at about 9 PM.  You should be able to see Saturn about 45° above the southern horizon at 10 PM; it’s bright but not dazzling.  Being a planet, it does not twinkle.  With a pair of binoculars, you should be able to make out its rings.  The Milky Way is a very diffuse band of light that is close to overhead in the late evening hours.  We’re part of the Milky Way, orbiting its center and about two-thirds of the way toward the edge.  The easiest planet to spot is Venus — very bright at 6 AM and about 15° above the eastern horizon.  Much higher in the eastern sky (and not quite so bright) is Jupiter.

Forecast

We’re heading for cooler temperatures and some precipitation over the next week.  The high/low temperature range today will be 56°/36°; by Saturday the range will be 43°/22°.  It will be partly cloudy through Saturday.  Sunday will be comparatively balmy (53°/27°) and sunny.  But clouds and moisture will move in Monday-Wednesday (Oct 13-15) with daytime highs in the low 40s, overnight lows in the mid-20s and snow in the forecast each day.  The chance of snow Tuesday is highest (70%) with a range 2-4 inches in the forecast.  Winds will shift to the east on Wednesday as the system moves out; but that means continued cold for a couple days.  Starting a week from today, expect daytime highs around 50°, overnight lows in the upper 20s, winds returning to their usual southwesterly direction, and sunny to partly cloudy skies.  The next two weekends should be good for outdoor activities, but it’s getting cooler.

Summit Calendar

August 26 – October 15 (approx): Reconstruction of the Van Norden Dam Road near Sheep Pens.  New culverts have been installed and the road is now open.  The Sheep Pens parking area has been moved east (see photo below).

October 11 (Saturday) 10 AM – 12 Noon: Join neighbors and help DSA improve walking trails in Cisco Grove’s Gould Park.  Park on an unpaved very wide shoulder between Hampshire Rocks Road and the South Yuba River, 0.1 miles east of Cisco Road (the bridge at I-80 exit 165). Be eligible for a free lunch if you register early (at https://www.donnersummitca.com/contact/) and do two hours of work.  For details, see poster

October 11-12 (Saturday and Sunday): Oktoberfest at Rainbow Lodge.  The Lodge and bar are open to the public starting at 3 PM Saturday.  Food service is available 5-9 PM, and Manzanita Music is live 6-9 PM.  For more information, go to https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events

October 12: Last day to request Measure T (free) green waste pickup in areas served by Truckee Fire Protection District.  For more information go to https://www.truckeefire.org/greenwaste

October 16 (Thursday) 4:30-6 PM: Monthly meeting of the Donner Summit Association Board of Directors at Sugar Bowl.  An agenda will be posted here as the meeting approaches.  One of the discussion topics will be the economic status and future of Donner Summit — a round table discussion with Nevada County officials.

October 16 (Thursday) 6-? PM: Placer County’s Donner Summit Town Hall at Sugar Bowl’s Judah Lodge with emphasis on transportation issues.  Join Supervisor Cindy Gustafson for updates on Caltrans and Department of Public Works projects.  For more information see DSTH 10-16

Resorts

Boreal/Woodward (indoors) is open Wednesday-Friday 1-8 PM and weekends 10 AM – 8 PM.   The Castle Peak chair and MTB trails are now closed for the season.  Check https://www.rideboreal.com for details

Sugar Bowl Summer activities have ended; for new activities check  https://www.sugarbowl.com.  Sugar Bowl is making major upgrades to its main lodge.  For a 3-minute video about the project, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL7imGrXCt0

Donner Ski Ranch is closed for the season; but Disk Golf is open.   DSR’s Old 40 Bar and Grill is open daily 8 AM – 9 PM. Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com

Auburn Ski Club is closed for the season. Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for more information.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort is closed for the season.  For more information, visit https://www.skisodasprings.com/

Royal Gorge Royal Gorge is waiting for snow.  Watch https://www.royalgorge.com/home for the latest information.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) is closed for the season.

For those heavily into speculation, three resorts (none on Donner Summit) have announced target opening dates for the winter season (https://epaper.sierrasun.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=3ee86800-0b96-47c1-92da-da9138ad31aa): Heavenly November 21, Northstar November 21, and Kirkwood December 5.  Announcements include wording such as “based on weather and conditions”.

Other Activities

If you’re looking for things to do in the foothills and mountains, Nevada County has some suggestions.  These are spread more broadly but some specifically include the Summit area.  Some link to other parts of this web site.

https://gonevadacounty.com/ways-to-beat-heat-that-arent-swimming/ (like ice cream)

Roads

I-80: Watch for snow in the highway early next week (October 13-15).  Otherwise the forecast is generally favorable for the next two weeks.  Be alert to construction and lane closures — especially Monday-Friday.  There are at least three possible choke points eastbound — Crystal Springs to Drum Forebay, at the I-80/CA20 split, and between Rainbow Road and Soda Springs.  You can avoid the third by exiting at Cisco Grove and driving at a more leisurely pace on Hampshire Rocks Road, which parallels the freeway on the north side.   Continue across I-80 on Donner Pass Road, then go all the way to Donner Lake and Truckee.  Note that several ramps between Gold Run and Donner Summit are closed while being reconstructed.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be open but be prepared for repair work and occasional delays.    Off-highway vehicle routes (unpaved) are mostly open, but watch for pot holes, rocks, ruts, and (with the new rain) slippery spots as we see more rain (and snow).  Forest Road 85 north from Cisco Grove is closed (for several years) while the Lake Fordyce Dam Seepage Mitigation Project is completed.