This view of the locomotives behind the bucker snowplow conveys some sense of the great depth of snow in April 1867. Continuous weather records for Donner summit—a thousand feet higher than Cisco—go back only to 1878-79. Since that time, only the winters of 1879-80, 1889-90, 1937-38, and 1951-52 have seen snowfall totals over 60 feet at that location. With 49 feet of snow at Cisco in 1866-67, it is likely that Donner had over 60 feet that season as well. The 1867-68 season was equally bad.
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