General Conditions

Winter continues to slip away at Donner Summit.  Daytime high temperatures have been above 50° on four days in the past week, and there has been no precipitation.  Ski resorts still have skiable snow, but cover is thinning.  Royal Gorge has closed its Van Norden trailhead for the season.  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 (March 12) sunrise was at 7:16 AM; sunset will be at 7:05 PM.  Sunrise is 11 minutes earlier than last week, and sunset is 7 minutes later (the same changes as last week); so the days continue to get longer by about 2-1/2 minutes per day.  After the spring equinox (Friday next week), days will be longer than nights.

Star Gazing: The Moon will be new next Wednesday (March 18), so evening stargazing will be good for the next 10 days.  Look for the spring constellations Gemini and Leo, approaching overhead in the late evening.  Orion and Sirius are easy to spot toward the southwest.  Jupiter is the bright star-like object in the middle of Gemini.  Venus is now visible 30-60 minutes after sunset near the west-southwest horizon; it will become brighter and higher in the evening sky in coming weeks.  Mars is visible before sunrise in the eastern sky; it will become easier to spot in coming months.

Forecast

Today’s high is predicted to be 56°; the overnight low tonight is predicted to be 28°.  Tomorrow (Friday) and the weekend will be similar but with a few more clouds tomorrow and slightly warmer overnight on the weekend.   By this time next week, daytime highs will be in the low 70s with overnight lows around 40°.  Next weekend (March 21-22) will be cooler (67°/36° Saturday and 58°/34° Sunday) and partly cloudy.  Chances of precipitation through next weekend are no more than 1%; but those chances increase as the following week starts.  The forecast includes a small possibility of snow (1-3 inches) on Wednesday, March 25.

Summit Calendar

March 12 (Thursday) 4 PM: The final Uphiller Evening Event — a race to the top of Mt. Lincoln at Sugar Bowl without aid from a chair lift.   For more information, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events

March 14 (Saturday) 7:30 AM: Start of the real Uphiller race to the top of Mt. Lincoln at Sugar Bowl.  Rack up as many human-powered trips as possible during a long day.   For more information, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events

March 19 (Thursday) 5-6 PM:  The March meeting of the DSA Board of Directors.   Look for an agenda at https://www.donnersummitca.com/dsa-meetings-info/  during the week before.  Directions to the meeting location will be included.

March 22 (Sunday): 10th Mountain Division Biathlon Race at Auburn Ski Club.  Rifle check is at 7:30 AM; race starts at 9 AM.  Other details and registration information at https://www.asctrainingcenter.org/events-races/biathlon-races/

April 11  (Saturday): Glenn’s Gallop Biathlon Race at Auburn Ski Club.  Rifle check is at 7:30 AM; race starts at 9 AM.  Other details and registration information at https://www.asctrainingcenter.org/events-races/biathlon-races/

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.

Sugar Bowl  has 8 lifts and 89 runs open today 9-4.  Check  https://www.sugarbowl.com for more details.  For special events, go to https://www.sugarbowl.com/events. 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.

Royal Gorge reports 33 km of groomed trails open from Summit Station and Sugar Bowl; the Van Norden trailhead is closed for the season.   Bogus Basin and Razorback reportedly have the best snow.  Telegraph on the south side of Van Norden Meadow is open to dogs.  Check https://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates.

Donner Ski Ranch has five 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 forecasts “2-Moderate” avalanche danger at all elevations today.  Their preliminary forecast for tomorrow (Friday) is the same.   Watch for softening snow on top, which could avalanche on steep slopes.  For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/

Roads

I-80: The freeway is open and in good condition.   Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov.

General: Paved secondary roads around the Summit should be in good condition.