General Conditions

Boreal operations have been updated; everything else in this edition is from November 27 at 10:40 AM.

There’s been a reasonable amount of sun at Donner Summit over the past week.  Temperatures have reached 50° on several days, while overnight lows have been around freezing.   The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reported 1.2 inches of snow about a week ago but none in the past 48 hours.   The year-to-date total is 22.1 inches, compared with 25.8 inches — the median — over years 1991-2020.  On south-facing slopes most of the snow has melted at 7000 ft.  On north-facing slopes there’s 1-2 feet (enough to ski).  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 27) sunrise was at 6:58 AM; sunset will be at 4:39 PM.  Sunrise drifted later by 7 minutes compared to a week ago. Sunset has drifted earlier by about 3 minutes. The days continue to get shorter by a bit more than one minute per day.  In early December sunset will start drifting later — the first sign of the approaching winter solstice.

Star Gazing: The Moon reaches first quarter today, making evening star gazing more difficult.  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 eastern horizon at 10 PM.  It will be at opposition (closest and brightest) in early January.

Forecast

Today could be the warmest day in the next couple weeks at a predicted 52° with partly cloudy skies.  Expect more sun but cooler through the weekend with a high of only 43° on Sunday.  Next week will be partly cloudy with highs around 40°.  By next weekend (December 6-7) plan for rain/snow showers.  Overnight lows will continue to be around freezing for the next two weeks.  There is no significant snow in the two week forecast.

Summit Calendar

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

Mt. Rose is open, but with limited facilities.  Resorts at Donner Summit are waiting for more snow; but Boreal is open.

Boreal/Woodward (indoors) is open Wednesday-Friday 1-8 PM and weekends 10 AM – 8 PM.   Outdoors, the Castle Peak chair is open 9 AM – 8 PM, but options for getting down are limited (watch for unmarked obstacles).  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.  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 (see photo below).  Expect snow on these roads above 6000 ft, especially where there’s little sun.  Forest Road 85 north from Cisco Grove is closed (for several years) while the Lake Fordyce Dam Seepage Mitigation Project is completed.