General Conditions

Pleasant weather continues at Donner Summit; but conditions are about to change.  It’s been sunny, and daytime high temperatures have been around 50° for the past week; overnight lows have been in the upper 20s.  That’s enough to freeze the upper snowpack each night; but melting and runoff resume in the morning.  The Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports no new snow in the past 7 days.   The CSSL season-to-date snowfall remains at 122.4 inches, compared with 191.5 inches on the same date for a median winter in 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.  There’s still adequate snow cover at Donner Summit resorts.

Sunrise/Sunset: Today’s (February 5) sunrise was at 7:04 AM; sunset will be at 5:27 PM.  Sunrise is 6 minutes earlier than last week, and sunset is 9 minutes later; so the days are getting longer by about 2 minutes per day.

Star Gazing: The Moon was full on Sunday (February 1) and will be at last quarter on Monday (February 9).  Evening star gazing will be good for the next couple weeks.  Jupiter was at opposition on January 10, but it’s still very bright and close to overhead before midnight.  As the sky darkens immediately after sunset, you should be able to spot it 30-40° above the eastern horizon.  It’s the first star-like object to appear and is the brightest object in the evening sky.  At about 10 PM Jupiter is close to overhead.  Use the “pointers” in the Big Dipper to find the North Star.  Then draw a line from the North Star through Jupiter to Sirius (the “Dog Star”) toward the south.  The line is almost straight.

Forecast

Our month-long dry and very stable weather pattern is drawing to a close; it will be more like winter by this time next week.  The CSSL temperature is already above 50° today; but expect increasing clouds this afternoon and mostly cloudy tomorrow.  Saturday should be sunny again, but there will be a return to cloudy on Sunday.  High temperatures will be in the mid 40s through the weekend with mid to upper 20s overnight.  Snow showers will move in Monday afternoon and temperatures will continue to drop.  Expect highs in the low 30s by the beginning of Presidents’ Weekend, overnight lows in the teens, and snow showery weather through at least February 19.  The forecast shows a few inches of snow most days February 9-19 with half a foot possible on some days.

Summit Calendar

February 5 (Thursday) 4:30-7:00 PM: Placer County Resource Conservation District, in collaboration with several other agencies, is hosting a Landowner Fuels Reduction and Prescribed Fire Gathering at Sugar Bowl’s Judah Lodge.  Admission is free.  Learn about safe and effective ways to burn for fuels reduction.  Also learn about programs and grants to support these activities (Truckee Fire’s grant program opened on January 20; there is more information at https://www.truckeefire.org/grants).

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 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.  February 6 is a Play Forever Friday with tickets for both the Mountain and Woodward at $35; $5 goes to a local charity.

Sugar Bowl  is open 9-4.  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.  Soda Springs is open on additional days during special holiday/vacation weeks.  Check  https://www.skisodasprings.com/ for details.

Royal Gorge reports 45 km of groomed trails open today.  Van Norden parking is open but there is no grooming of trails on the north side of the Meadow until further notice.  Pass holders can use the Bill Patterson West trail to connect with Telegraph on the south side of the Meadow to reach the Merrill Family Hut and Sheep Pens; that route is also now open to dogs (with passes).  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for details.

Donner Ski Ranch has six chair lifts, the ski moving carpet, and the tubing hill 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 offers alpine, nordic, snowboard, and biathlon programs including 25 km of groomed trails.  ASC specializes in training for competition and sponsors 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 through the weekend.  Beware of local ice and slippery water patches, especially in the morning.  As snowy weather moves back in early next week, expect more problems.  Traffic will increase approaching the Presidents’ Day holiday weekend.  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.