General Conditions

A week ago the Summit was seeing daytime highs around 50°, then there were several days when the thermometer never got above 30°; now we’re back to daytime highs close to 50°. Throughout, skies have been clear and there has been a biting wind out of the northeast. Snow on the ground continues to age; it’s hard to find crusty powder even on north-facing slopes. Although there has been some melting, the snowpack continues to hold at 2-3 feet except where there’s a lot of sun. Driving up from the foothills, you can spot roadside snow as low as 4800 ft; but don’t try to ski until you reach at least 6000 ft.

There was a dusting of snow last Saturday morning; but the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory (https://cssl.berkeley.edu) reports no new snow for the 27th consecutive day this morning (there was measurable snow — about 3 inches 10 miles to the south). The season total at CSSL remains at 150 inches, compared to a median 180 inches on the same date over 1991-2020. 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 (January 30) sunrise was at 7:10 AM, sunset will be at 5:20 PM. Sunrise is drifting earlier by about 5 minutes each week. Sunset is drifting later — by about 8 minutes each week. The days are getting longer — by almost 2 minutes each day, showing up most obviously as more light in the evening.

Venus was at its easternmost elongation from the Sun three weeks ago (when it was brightest and trailing sunset by about 3 hours). It is still the brightest object in the evening sky about 35° above the southwestern horizon at sunset. At the same time and closer to overhead, you should be able to spot Jupiter, which is almost as bright. Both Venus and Jupiter are visible at Donner Summit as early as 5:15 PM. Mars was at opposition — when it is opposite the Sun as seen from Earth and at its brightest — two weeks ago. Look for it around 5:15 when it and the Gemini twins are about 20° above the eastern horizon. A week ago they were equally spaced in a straight line; now they form an “L”; Mars is the orange one at the toe of the “L”. Its “retrograde” motion (drifting west against the fixed star background) is a great example of parallax in an astronomical context.

Forecast

The daytime high temperature today is forecast to be 46°, the overnight low tonight 26°. Temperatures will drop tomorrow (high/low range 35°/32°), and the next two weeks will be snowy. The forecast for tomorrow (January 31) includes 5-8 inches of new snow during the day and an equal amount tomorrow night. There will be about half that much Saturday and half again on Sunday as temperatures warm to 40°/32°. Some of the precipitation Sunday could be rain. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday could each bring another foot of snow; then the stormy weather will relent for the February 8-9 weekend. Saturday, February 8, with partly cloudy skies and a temperature range 38°/20° could be the best day for outdoor activities in the next two weeks.

Snow Briefing

January 31 (Friday), 1 PM: Andrew Schwartz, Director of the Central Sierra Snow Lab, will give his monthly Zoom briefing on current snow conditions, prospects for the near future, and the long-range forecast. Briefings are scheduled to be close to the monthly California snowpack surveys. The following briefing will be on February 28. The Zoom link for each briefing is https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/95609193036

Intermediate Skate Skiing Clinic

February 8 (Saturday), 9 AM – Noon: If you want to improve your skate skiing, Martin Benes is offering a class for intermediates at Royal Gorge. There will be another intermediate clinic on Sunday, February 16. For more information, go to https://www.royalgorge.com/events

Sugar Bowl

Sugar Bowl is open daily 9 AM – 4 PM. Sugar Rush Tubing is open daily 10-4. Check their web site for more information (https://www.sugarbowl.com). Sugar Bowl’s dining room and Belt Room bar are open until 9 PM each night. Enjoy Raclette Night in the Belt Room 6-9 PM each Friday (https://www.sugarbowl.com/events).

Boreal / Woodward

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, Woodward, and Soda Springs raised over $100,000 for local community partners and non-profits through their Play Forever Fridays program in 2024. This initiative allows guests to purchase $25 lift tickets, tubing access, and bunker sessions, with $5 from each ticket directly supporting community organizations. The next Play Forever Friday is February 7. There are advance purchase requirements. For more information, see https://www.rideboreal.com/explore/community/play-forever. For a complete list of dates, see https://www.rideboreal.com/day-access/tickets/play-forever-friday

Auburn Ski Club

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. ASC offers avalanche awareness sessions, taught by instructors from the Sierra Avalanche Center, Saturday morning and early afternoon (February 1) for ages 9 through adult.

Royal Gorge

Royal Gorge is open daily 8:30 AM – 4 PM, currently with 70 km of trails groomed in the past 1-2 days between Sugar Bowl’s Village on the east and a loop around Kidd Lake on the west and Point Mariah to the south. Summit Station and Van Norden parking areas are both open. For more information, check http://www.royalgorge.com/home. The bar at Summit Station is open until 9 PM Fridays and Saturdays for drinks and lunch-like food items.

Soda Springs

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. See Boreal/Woodward (above) for information on Play Forever Fridays.

Donner Ski Ranch

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

Kingvale Resort

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 (https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org) forecast shows avalanche danger to be “1. Low” at all elevations around Donner Summit. The snowpack is pretty stable; exercise normal caution when entering the backcountry. Where more snow fell last weekend — farther south — the danger is “2. Moderate”. Danger is very likely to increase everywhere with a week of storms starting tomorrow, January 31.

Public Transportation

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 no chain requirements on I-80 over Donner Summit; but requirements change depending on conditions (as over the next two weeks). 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. Beware of “black” ice which is free of snow but extremely slippery for both walking and driving.