General Conditions

Spring is definitely in the air.  Daytime temperatures have been reaching 60° at Donner Summit, and afternoon thundershowers have been reported.  There’s still plenty of snow on the ground, but it’s melting quickly.  The Central Sierra Snow Lab (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports no new snow since April 2; we’re holding at  354.13 inches for the season, compared to a median 360.24 inches for a ‘normal’ full season. Check local webcams at Sugar Bowl (https://www.sugarbowl.com) and Donner Ski Ranch (http://webcams.donnerskiranch.com) for up-to-the-minute views of local conditions.

Today’s (April 17) sunrise was at 6:21 AM; sunset will be at 7:41 PM. Sunrise is drifting earlier by about 10 minutes each week. Sunset is drifting later by about 7 minutes each week. The days are getting longer — by about 2-1/2 minutes each day; these rates will continue into May when we can start to feel as though it’s summer again.

Star Gazing: Roughly 40° above the western horizon after sunset (8:30 PM) you should be able to spot Jupiter, which is now the brightest object in that part of the sky. At the same time, look for Mars, nearly overhead and in almost a straight line with the Gemini twins.  All three are about the same brightness; Mars is slightly orange, separated more from the other two,  and moving noticeably to the east each night.  At midnight you should be able to spot the Big Dipper nearly overhead; the pan opens to the north and the handle stretches east.

Forecast

The daytime high temperature today (April 17) is forecast to be 53°, and tonight’s overnight low should be around 27°.  Tomorrow will be cooler (50° high/28° low), then the rest of the next week will be mostly sunny with highs in the upper 50s and overnight lows around freezing.  The following week will be cooler (daytime highs in the upper 40s) with more clouds.  There’s a possibility of rain/snow showers on Saturday, April 26.

If you want to recreate outdoors at Donner Summit, this next weekend (April 19-20) looks warmer (upper 50s) and sunnier.  The following weekend (April 26-27) will be 10-15° cooler with the possibility of showers.

Events

April 17 (Thursday TODAY), 6-8 PM: County Supervisor Forum in the Coldstream Room at Judah Lodge (629 Sugar Bowl Road, Norden).  An open, informal opportunity for community members to raise topics, ask questions, and engage in discussion on items of importance to Placer County.  Hosted by County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson.  For more information, go to https://www.placer.ca.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=49330

April 19 (Saturday), 9 AM – 3 PM: Sugar Bowl’s Pond Skim — watch (or join) skiers as they attempt to get across a temporary artificial pond, launching from a snow-covered ramp at one end.  Live music, a pop-up bar, and a snow beach viewing area.  For more information and tickets, go to https://www.suggarbowl.com/events.

April 20 (Sunday), starting at 9 AM: Various “hunts” at Sugar Bowl for Easter Eggs, a Golden Easter Egg (with an embedded ski pass), and an Easter Keg.  An Easter Brunch will be available from 7:30 AM to 2 PM.  More information at https://www.sugarbowl.com/events

April 21 (Monday), 6-8 PM: Eastern Placer County virtual transportation town hall hosted by County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson.  CalTrans and County Department of Public Works staff will provide updates on transportation projects impacting eastern Placer County.  Details, including the Zoom meeting ID, are at https://www.placer.ca.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=49320

May 3 (Saturday) 10 AM – 2 PM: Nevada County Recreation Fair (Bodhi Hive, 420 Providence Mine Rd., Bldg N4, Nevada City) — Find new ways to play in Nevada County.  There will be approximately 50 local vendors encouraging people of all ages to improve fitness and health by recreating in the county.  For more information, visit https://nevadacityca.gov/315/Nevada-County-Recreation-Fair

May 21 (Wednesday) 3-4:30 PM: A free on-line webinar about wildfire mitigation, resources available, and Firewise Communities.  Register for Truckee Fire’s Firewise Virtual Office Hours at https://www.truckeefire.org/firewise

May 23-26 (Friday-Monday): Open tavern and bar at Rainbow Lodge; for details, go to https://www.therainbowlodge.com/events.  Guest rooms may be booked at https://www.therainbowlodge.client.innroad.com

June 7 (Saturday), 9 AM – Noon: Join the Donner Summit Association for its annual Summit Clean-Up Day.  Details later.

July 12 and 13 (Saturday and Sunday): Trails and Vistas Art Hikes — A fusion of art experiences and forest immersion.  Guides lead small groups from one performance setting to the next, where award-winning musicians, dancers, poets, and visual artists present their works.  For more information, go to https://www.trailsandvistas.org.

Resorts

Sugar Bowl is open daily 9 AM – 4 PM. Sugar Rush Tubing is open daily 10-4. Check https://www.sugarbowl.com for more information.  Sugar Bowl closes for the season on April 27; check the web site for mid-week operations before April 25.

Boreal (the mountain) is open daily 9 AM – 8 PM. Tahoe Tubing opens at 9:30 AM. Woodward (indoors) is open Monday-Friday noon – 8 PM and weekends 10 AM – 8 PM. Check https://www.rideboreal.com.   Boreal’s mountain closes for the season on April 20.

Auburn Ski Club offers alpine, Nordic, biathlon and snowboard athletic programs including 25 km of Nordic skiing groomed to competition standards. Check their web site — https://www.asctrainingcenter.org — for more information.

Soda Springs Mountain Resort, including kids facilities and tubing, is open 9-4 on weekends and 10-4 Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays (with expanded operations during holiday periods). For details check https://www.skisodasprings.com. Soda Springs closes for the season on April 20.

Donner Ski Ranch, including tubing, is open daily 10-4 with all lifts running. DSR’s Old 40 Bar and Grill is open daily from 8 AM. Check their web site at https://www.donnerskiranch.com

Royal Gorge is open 8:30 AM to 4 PM daily. It has 50 km of trails groomed today. Snow is melting quickly, but open trails remain in good condition.  Parking is available at Summit Station; Van Norden Meadow parking is closed, but skiing along the south side of the meadow is possible from Summit Station or Sugar Bowl.  Check http://www.royalgorge.com/home for updates. The bar at Summit Station has drinks and lunch-like food items until 9 PM Friday and Saturday (through April 19).  Royal Gorge closes for the season on April 27; check the web site for mid-week operations before April 25.

Kingvale Resort (on the south side of I-80 at exit 171) offers tubing, sledding, and a rope tow terrain park. Their web site is http://www.kingvaleresort.com. For snowmobile tours, you can check the web site of their Kingvale partner at https://www.hlatours.com

Avalanche Forecast

The Sierra Avalanche Center forecast shows current avalanche danger to be “2. Moderate” at all elevations. There is poor overnight freezing because of high nighttime temperatures.  As a result, the potential for wet slab avalanches increases during the day.  Check the SAC web site (https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org) for details.  SAC will post its last forecast for the season on April 19.

Public Transport

Sugar Bowl is operating a free, daily, public shuttle connecting Truckee with Donner Summit this winter. Service started December 9 and will end April 20. The shuttle service makes two loops in the morning and two in the afternoon with stops at Sugar Bowl’s Mt. Judah Lodge, Donner Ski Ranch, the west end of Donner Lake (old TART stop), and the Coldstream TART stop, where riders can make a timed transfer to and from the TART Truckee Local Route. The shuttle will be equipped with exterior ski storage. No dogs, apart from qualified service animals, are permitted on the shuttle. The shuttle service will not operate when Old 40 is closed. The detailed schedule is at https://tahoetruckeetransit.com

Roads

I-80: There are currently no chain requirements on I-80 and the forecast is generally favorable for at least the next two weeks. Watch for water on the road and ice where that water has frozen. Plan ahead by following CalTrans road reports at https://roads.dot.ca.gov, then drive carefully. Public parking is available at California Sno-Park sites (https://ohv.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23055); purchase permits in advance through the web site or at vendors on approaches to Donner Summit.

General: Secondary roads around the Summit should be open with no restrictions.