General Conditions

The past week has been a little dreary at Donner Summit.  Temperatures hit 50° last Saturday (Nov 15), but they have held close to freezing since with little difference between day and night.  There have been periods of rain and a bit of snow.  The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports 2.8 inches of snow in the past 24 hours and 11.6 inches in the past week.  The year-to-date total is 20.9 inches, compared with 22.2 inches — the median over years 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 (November 20) sunrise was at 6:51 AM; sunset will be at 4:42 PM.  Sunrise drifted later by 8 minutes compared to a week ago. Sunset has drifted earlier by about 5 minutes. The days continue to get shorter by about 2 minutes per day.  In early December sunset will start drifting later — the first sign of the approaching winter solstice.

Star Gazing: The Moon is new, making evening star gazing easier (where there are no clouds).  Cassiopeia is a W-shaped constellation nearly overhead but toward the northwest in the early evening.  Look for Orion, rising in the southeast around 10 PM.  If you want to see planets, you can see Jupiter at about 30° above the southeastern horizon at 10 PM.  It will be at opposition (closest and brightest) in early January.

Wildfire: Truckee Fire’s Green Waste Pickup Program is over for 2025.  Truckee Fire estimates that 28,000 hours went into this year’s defensible space clearing effort.

Forecast

Mostly cloudy conditions will continue through the next two weeks.  There will be some sun this weekend — starting tomorrow (Nov 21) — and daytime high temperatures may hit 50° Sunday, holding there through Thanksgiving.  Expect colder on the weekend after Thanksgiving with a 50% chance of rain/snow showers Saturday (Nov 29).  The first few days of December will bring partly cloudy skies and daytime highs in the low 40s.  There is no significant snow in the forecast in the next two weeks.

Summit Calendar

November 20 (Thursday) 5:00-6:00 PM: The next meeting of the Donner Summit Association Board of Directors at Engel & Volkers (10091 Donner Pass Road, Truckee).  Find the draft agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/

December 17 (Wednesday) 6 PM: The third of four avalanche awareness sessions sponsored by Tahoe Mountain Sports will be at Alibi Truckee.  This one is “Rescue”.  The final session is scheduled for January 21 on “Partnering Up”.  For more information, go to https://tahoemountainsports.com/blogs/events

Resorts

All resorts are waiting for snow …

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

Sugar Bowl has no winter activities planned yet; check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for updates.  There has been a major overhaul of the main lodge and dining room … but not open yet.

Donner Ski Ranch has Disk Golf 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 for more information.

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: 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.

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 and ice on the highway (some is forecast today and on the weekend after Thanksgiving).  Otherwise the driving 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 slippery spots.  There may be snow on these roads above 6000 ft.  Forest Road 85 north from Cisco Grove is closed (for several years) while the Lake Fordyce Dam Seepage Mitigation Project is completed.