General Conditions

After another round of heavy snow, Donner Summit is digging out and conditions look good for outdoor activities over the next two weeks.   The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory web site (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) is back on-line with a much improved and faster interface.  CSSL reports 2.8 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours, 3.6 inches in the past 48 hours, and 44.9 inches in the past week.  Their season-to-date snowfall total is 119.7 inches, about 4 inches above the median (1991-2020) for this date.  The season-to-date precipitation (snow plus rain), however, is 34.5 inches, compared with the 1991-2020 median of 20.9 inches.  Which is the reason not everything is in full swing yet at the Summit — there’s still a lot of water lying under the snowpack.  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, though neither shows the subsurface puddles.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (January 8) sunrise was at 7:21 AM; sunset will be at 4:51 PM.  Sunrise did not change compared with a week ago, but sunset is 6 minutes later.  Compared with a month ago, sunset is now about 15 minutes later (a noticeable change) whereas it’s slightly darker at the same time in the morning.

Star Gazing: The Moon is approaching last quarter.  Combined with clearer skies, evening star gazing should be good for the next couple weeks.  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.  Pleiades is close to overhead — a cluster of roughly 200 stars, six or seven of which can look like a small cup to the naked eye.  Pleiades is known in Japan as Subaru; it was the inspiration for the auto company’s logo.  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

The next couple days will be cold.  Today’s high will be around 23°, tomorrow’s around 31°.  Overnight lows could bottom out as low as 10°.  Expect only a few clouds both days; winds will be out of the northeast, which will contribute to the cold.  A warming trend will begin on the weekend; expect a high/low range 38°/15° on Saturday (January 10) climbing to 48°/25° next Tuesday.  Similar conditions will follow for the remainder of the two week forecast — mid 40s daytime, mid 20s overnight.  Expect only a few clouds.  There is no significant new precipitation in the forecast for the next two weeks.

Summit Calendar

January 8 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The next meeting of the DSA Board of Directors will be this evening 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 them.  An agenda has been posted at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  Directions to the meeting location are 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 are 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 (the Mountain) is fully open  9-8 daily. Tahoe Tubing is open 9:30 AM – 4:15 PM daily with a later closing at 6:30 PM on Friday and Saturday.  Woodward (indoors) is open 12-8 Monday-Friday and 10-8 Saturday and Sunday   Check https://www.rideboreal.com for more information.

Sugar Bowl reports 7 inches of new snow (past 24 hours).  The resort is open 9-4 except that uphill traffic is closed.  116 inches of snow have fallen this season at the base, 163 inches have fallen at the summit.  Check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for more details.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort is open 10-4 Thursday-Monday with most facilities (including Planet Kids) operational.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for details.

Royal Gorge reports 5-6 inches of new snow overnight and 38 km of groomed trails.  Van Norden parking remains unplowed because of flooding and nearby trails are closed.  However, connecting trails between Sugar Bowl and Summit Station on the south side of the meadow have been groomed and are open.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for more information.

Donner Ski Ranch reports 3 inches of new snow, and a year-to-date total of 132 inches.  Six  chair lifts, the ski moving carpet, and the tubing hill are open.  Hours are 9-4 on the front side and 9-3 on the back side.   Check the DSR web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com for late information.

Auburn Ski Club: ASC offers alpine, nordic, snowboard, and biathlon programs including 25 km of groomed trails.  They specialize in training for competition and sponsor events.  Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for information.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) is open for tubing and sledding.  They also offer snowmobile tours and have a rope tow terrain park.  Visit their web site at http://www.kingvaleresort.com/ for more information.

Avalanche Report

The Sierra Avalanche Center reports “2-moderate” avalanche danger at and above tree line.  They rate travel below tree line as “1-low” danger.  SAC warns of wind-drifted snow near ridge tops and in gully features as being the most dangerous areas today and tomorrow. For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

An experienced snowmobiler with a beacon and companions was killed in an avalanche in the Castle Peak area Monday.  There are many news stories on-line; google “snowmobile avalanche Castle Peak” and pick one to learn more.

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open (as of 9:30 AM, January 8) but chains are required in both directions between Baxter and the Nevada line.  Drive carefully as conditions change and there may be local sections with especially slippery surfaces.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be plowed, but wind may have led to local drifting.  Follow the precautions mentioned above.