General Conditions

The past week has been pretty pleasant at Donner Summit.  A week ago, daytime highs were still below freezing so snow stayed cold and dry.  Since then, temperatures have been rising to the low 40s; but overnight lows in the 20s are keeping the snowpack stable.  There is increasing freeze-thaw in the top few inches; so the snow is becoming more crusty, but it’s still good for skiing and snowshoeing.   Snow depth is typically 3 feet (but much less on sunny south-facing slopes).  The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory web site (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) is back on-line with a much improved and faster interface.  CSSL reports zero inches of new snow in the past 7 days; their season-to-date snowfall total is 119.7 inches, compared with 119.1 inches for a median winter in 1991-2020.  The season-to-date precipitation (snow plus rain), however, is 34.5 inches, which is about 75 percent above the median value.  As a result there’s still a lot of water flowing around under the snow; and there are bare spots which have never frozen.  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 15) sunrise was at 7:21 AM; sunset will be at 5:02 PM, and sunset is 11 minutes later; so the days are getting longer by about 2 minutes per day with most of the change in the evening.

Star Gazing: The Moon will be new this weekend, making this one of the best times for evening star gazing in the year.  Jupiter is close to overhead at midnight; it was at opposition (and closest to Earth) on January 10.  It is the brightest object in the night sky and can be seen all night (rising in the east at sunset, and setting in the west at sunrise).   Pleiades is close to overhead at 6 PM — 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.  Cassiopeia is a W-shaped constellation (rotated clockwise 90°) visible toward the northwest.  Look for Orion, to the south around 11 PM; Sirius is brighter and more toward the southeast.  At the same time, you may be able to spot the Big Dipper to the northeast, standing on its handle.

Forecast

We have entered a very stable weather pattern.  With some minor fluctuations in temperature and cloud cover, it will be sunny and relatively warm for the next two weeks.  Daytime temperatures will climb to 48° Sunday with overnight lows around 20°; Sunday will also have more clouds than the days before and after.  The following Sunday will also be more cloudy than days before and after.  Overnight lows for the next week (after today) will be in the low 20s; during the following week, overnight lows will be in the upper 20s.  There could be some rain/snow showers in about two weeks, but there’s no significant precipitation in the forecast until at least then.

Summit Calendar

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

February 19 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The next meeting of the DSA Board of Directors will be at the Nancy O Gallery and Glass on Donner Pass Road in Soda Springs.   Look for an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  during the week before.  Directions to the meeting location will be included.

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  is open 9-4.  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.  Backcountry access information is at https://www.sugarbowl.com/backcountry

Soda Springs Mountain Resort is open 10-4 Thursday-Monday.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for details.  Soda Springs is open on additional days during special holiday/vacation weeks.

Royal Gorge reports 61 km of groomed trails open today.  Van Norden parking opened on January 11 and there is at least one groomed trail (with dog access) from that location.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for more information.

Donner Ski Ranch reports 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 “1-low” avalanche danger at all elevations.  For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and conditions should be good for the next two weeks.  Beware of local ice and slippery water patches. Drive carefully as conditions change and there may be local sections with especially slippery surfaces.  January 17-19 is a holiday weekend for many; expect more traffic than usual.  Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be plowed and open..  Follow the precautions mentioned above.