General Conditions

Skies over Donner Summit have been relatively clear over the past week.  Day time high temperatures have been around 50° (except yesterday, when the high barely reached freezing).  There’s been no precipitation for nearly two weeks, so snow on surfaces that see much sun has been slowly melting.  You can still find a foot or more in shaded areas, particularly above 7000 ft.   The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) continues to report 22 inches of snow this season compared to a median 34 inches 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 27) sunrise was at 7:05 AM; sunset will be at 4:37 PM.  Sunrise drifted later by 7 minutes compared to a week ago. Sunset has drifted earlier by about 2 minutes. The days continue to get shorter by a bit more than one minute per day.  In about a week sunset will start drifting later — the first sign of the approaching winter solstice (December 21).

Star Gazing: The Moon will be full at 3:14 PM today; official moonrise on the Summit is at 4:12 PM, so you won’t miss fullness by much if you’re looking east when it comes up.  This is the third of three “super” moons in 2025.   Cassiopeia is a W-shaped constellation nearly overhead but toward the northwest in the early evening.  Look for Orion, to the southeast around 10 PM.  If you want to see planets, you can see Jupiter at about 40° above the eastern horizon at 10 PM.  It will be at opposition (closest and brightest) in early January.

Forecast

The next week is going to look a lot like the past week except that there will be a few more clouds.  Highs will be around 50° this weekend, rising to 57° next Thursday.  Overnight lows will rise from around 30° this weekend to 34° next Thursday.  Next Friday-Saturday will be mostly sunny, but more clouds will move in the following week.  Rain/snow showers are in the forecast starting Monday December 15.  Daytime highs will be in the low 40s, however, so accumulations will be modest around the Summit — possibly a foot over four days Monday-Thursday (December 15-18).

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

Resorts at Donner Summit are waiting for more snow; but there are some openings.

Boreal (outdoors) has its Castle Peak chair open 9 AM – 8 PM, but options for getting down are limited (watch for unmarked obstacles). Tahoe Tubing opens two lanes tomorrow (December 5). Woodward (indoors) is open Monday-Friday noon-8 PM and weekends 10 AM – 8 PM. Check https://www.rideboreal.com for details

Sugar Bowl is opening beginner terrain and Sugar Rush tubing this weekend (December 6-7); check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for details.  See the major overhaul of the main lodge and dining room.

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 will open Planet Kids tomorrow (December 5).  For more information, visit https://www.skisodasprings.com/

Royal Gorge needs more 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.

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.  Roads will becomes slippery when wintery weather arrives around the middle of the month. Otherwise the driving forecast is generally favorable for the next 10 days.   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.  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.