General Conditions

Winter was great at Donner Summit early this week; but it’s been raining (lightly) for the past 24 hours.  Power was out for about 6 hours this morning, but it’s now restored.  Several feet of snow fell a week ago, but the new snow followed 5 inches of rain.  Downhill resorts opened late last week, with limitations.  Royal Gorge, which has more flat terrain, was more limited because of flooding in low areas; Van Norden parking is not yet plowed.  The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory web site (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) is off-line while they do upgrades; but Sugar Bowl reports 30 inches of new snow in the past week and 101 inches season-to-date.  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 (January 1) sunrise was at 7:21 AM; sunset will be at 4:49 PM.  Sunrise drifted later by 2 minutes compared to a week earlier while sunset drifted later by 6 minutes.  The winter solstice was 12 days ago, so days are getting slightly longer.

Star Gazing: The Moon will be full Saturday; so evening star gazing is marginal (when you can see the sky).  Cassiopeia is a W-shaped constellation toward the northwest.  Look for Orion, to the south around 11 PM; Sirius is brighter and more toward the southeast.  If you want to see planets,  Jupiter is the brightest star-like object in the evening sky and slightly east of overhead at 11 PM.  It will be at opposition (closest and brightest) on January 10.  With binoculars you should be able to spot as many as four of Jupiter’s moons.

Forecast

Afternoon showers will change to snow today as temperatures drop.  Today’s high will be 39°, tonight’s overnight low will be 26°.  Total snow accumulation is predicted to be less than a couple inches by tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow (Friday) will be mostly cloudy with a similar temperature range.  More serious snow will move in Friday night with 5-8 inches expected.  Look for full days of snow Saturday and Sunday with more than a foot in each 24 hour period.  By Monday the temperature range will have dropped to 31°/19° with another 3-5″ of accumulation.  From Tuesday onward there will be snow showers and temperatures will fall within the 35°/20° range.  Next weekend (January 10-11) looks fairly pleasant compared to this weekend with mostly sunny skies and a temperature range 37°/20°.

Summit Calendar

January 8 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The next meeting of the DSA Board of Directors will be in the Snowshed Room at Sugar Bowl’s Village Hall.  There will be a discussion of business opportunities on Donner Summit and how to promote those.  When an agenda is available, it will be posted at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  Directions to the meeting location will be included.

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

February 6 (Friday) Morning: Ski History Day co-hosted by the Sugar Bowl Historical Society and the SNOW Museum.  Kick off Winter Olympics 2026 with talks about Sugar Bowl’s role in California ski history over coffee and pastries.  Then take a guided tour of the mountain before lunch.  Proceeds will support the SNOW Museum; members of the Museum’s Board will share what’s ahead.  For more information go to https://www.thesnowmuseum.org/ski-history-day-at-sugar-bowl-resort/.  For tickets go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ski-history-day-at-sugar-bowl-february-6-2026-tickets-1976925780226

February 14 (Saturday) PM: Valentine’s Day Get Away at Rainbow Lodge.  Tavern with full bar is open 4-9 PM, French comfort food served in the dining areas 5-8 PM, and live music by Shane Q.  Dinner and bar is walk-in only (first come, first served).  Rooms are available for booking Saturday night.  For more information, go to https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events

Resorts

Boreal is open but facilities are limited.  Lift hours are  9 AM – 8 PM.  Tahoe Tubing is open 9 AM – 4:15 PM.   Check https://www.rideboreal.com for updates.

Sugar Bowl is closed today because of the power outage.  Check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for more details.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort had a delayed opening.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for updates.

Royal Gorge is closed today because of the power outage.  Van Norden parking remains unplowed because of flooding.  Connecting trails between Sugar Bowl and Summit Station have been groomed.  Watch https://www.royalgorge.com/home for late information.

Donner Ski Ranch is closed today because of the power outage.  Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com for late information.

Auburn Ski Club: Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for information.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) may be open.

Avalanche Report

The Sierra Avalanche Center reports moderate danger at all elevations.  Wet snow avalanches are possible where rain has been falling on snow.  Above the rain/snow line, there may be risks where new snow drifts onto downwind slopes and into gulleys.   For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open but road surfaces are wet.  Drive carefully, especially as temperatures drop and rain starts to change to snow.  A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from 4 PM Friday to 10 AM Sunday.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be clear; but follow the precautions mentioned above.