Re: Badger Pass Road

Hey,

I was wondering if the badger pass road will be open again before they plow it all the way to glacier point, I realize the resort is closed but would like to ski up glacier point road and can't if the road is closed.

Thanks!

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ckm554
Hey,

I was wondering if the badger pass road will be open again before they plow it all the way to glacier point, I realize the resort is closed but would like to ski up glacier point road and can't if the road is closed.

Thanks!

They have not opened the road in the past until the plowing is done.

Is it still possible to hike up to badger pass ski area in order to get to the trail head for the dewey point meadow trail? Wondering what the road up to badger pass will be like in order to snowshoe out to dewey point, and if some sort of parking would be available near wawona rd and glacier point rd.

Thanks

I think it's about seven miles from the "Road Closed" to Badger Pass ski area. I would also think a walker, hiker, snowshoer?, skier, would be sent back to their car by the plowing crew or the assigned ranger.

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Old Dude

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rer1972
Is it still possible to hike up to badger pass ski area in order to get to the trail head for the dewey point meadow trail? Wondering what the road up to badger pass will be like in order to snowshoe out to dewey point, and if some sort of parking would be available near wawona rd and glacier point rd.

Thanks

This is a good question. There is no doubt that you can do this. By this I mean that you can hike up to Badger Pass.
Park at Chinquapin and hike up the Old Glacier Pt. rd... continue past the Ski Area and over Badger Pass proper...
then continue on the old road towards Bridalveil Creek Campground and exit left to Dewey Pt. trail.
The old road is easy to follow and is marked for skiing and if you have trouble following it... well...
But... I'll tell you what the problem will be... if they got past where you want to cross the road.... you may have a
8ft. vertical bank o snow to deal with. Unless you brought your shovel to dig down ... you aint crossing.
I would not recommend that you attempt to park at Badger Pass. It's a big no no. They don't even allow
you to park there after Oct. 15th. You can call and ask if you like but I've talked to a ranger about after
Oct. 15th and ended up parking at Chinquapin (actually parked near Henness Ridge Trail... but almost same)
You should stay far enough from BP road to never interfere with the plows. If you get beyond where
how far they have gotten plowing a bit then you could jump on the road and should be OK.
After May 1st when you have to get a permit from a ranger... then at some pt. they will tell you you can't
camp AT Glacier Pt.

If you should call and find anything different out... please post. (I'm usually right though)

Have fun

p.s. I wouldn't doubt some people just go and blast thru and park at BP though... I peek at
some self-reg permits when I get one and just shake my head.
Location of Entry: trail To visit: Yosemite

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I pretty much figured this woudl be a no-go. Just wanted to double check. I'm going with my wife's family (mother-in-law & sister) out to Fresno (to visit more of my wife's family), and was able to talk my wife into three nights in yosemite. My timing is just off for this hike unfortunately. Maybe next time.

Thanks again,


PS - I plan to ask when I get there, but I very much doubt I'll hear anything different.

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rer1972
I pretty much figured this woudl be a no-go. Just wanted to double check. I'm going with my wife's family (mother-in-law & sister) out to Fresno (to visit more of my wife's family), and was able to talk my wife into three nights in yosemite. My timing is just off for this hike unfortunately. Maybe next time.
Thanks again,
PS - I plan to ask when I get there, but I very much doubt I'll hear anything different.

Just to mention, one other possibility from Fresno is to go over to SEKI.

I seem to recall that they usually try to open the road down into Kings by mid-April, but only-the-marmots-know what might transpire this year.

At any rate, you might consider going down to Hume Lake (the closure gate for SR180 going down into the canyon is just beyond the Hume Lake road intersection). Never stayed there, but a National Forest campground is located near the lake:
http://www.reserveamerica.com/campgroundDetails.do?subTabIndex=0&&contractCode=nrso&parkCode=hula

The campground is officially closed until May, but the Forest Service probably doesn't care if you stay there. Dispersed camping may also be a possibility. Contact the Hume Lake Ranger District if you are interested; contact info. on this website:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/

The Hume Lake webcam currently shows local, partially snow-free ground:
http://www.humelake.org/webcams/
[Fortunately, neither the cruise ship (see the afternoon pictures for 1 April on the "Show Previous 7 Days" sequence) nor the Christian Camp people are likely to show up again for at least several weeks.]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/07/2011 01:40PM by szalkowski.

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szalkowski

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rer1972
I pretty much figured this woudl be a no-go. Just wanted to double check. I'm going with my wife's family (mother-in-law & sister) out to Fresno (to visit more of my wife's family), and was able to talk my wife into three nights in yosemite. My timing is just off for this hike unfortunately. Maybe next time.
Thanks again,
PS - I plan to ask when I get there, but I very much doubt I'll hear anything different.

Just to mention, one other possibility from Fresno is to go over to SEKI.

I seem to recall that they usually try to open the road down into Kings by mid-April, but only-the-marmots-know what might transpire this year.

At any rate, you might consider going down to Hume Lake (the closure gate for SR180 going down into the canyon is just beyond the Hume Lake road intersection). Never stayed there, but a National Forest campground is located near the lake:
http://www.reserveamerica.com/campgroundDetails.do?subTabIndex=0&&contractCode=nrso&parkCode=hula

The campground is officially closed until May, but the Forest Service probably doesn't care if you stay there. Dispersed camping may also be a possibility. Contact the Hume Lake Ranger District if you are interested; contact info. on this website:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/

The Hume Lake webcam currently shows local, partially snow-free ground:
http://www.humelake.org/webcams/
[Fortunately, neither the cruise ship (see the afternoon pictures for 1 April on the "Show Previous 7 Days" sequence) nor the Christian Camp people are likely to show up again for at least several weeks.]

Thanks for all the ideas! Now that it looks like the parks will stay open, we can make some choices.

Even when they open Tioga partially (sometimes opens early to Yosemite Creek)... they
won't allow you to park overnight and won't issue you a permit.
The route I mentioned is only about 8 miles to Bridalveil Creek bridge. The climb is only
about 1500 ft. From there it's another 2 miles and 600 ft. to Dewey.
You can get to Dewey yr. round from Wawona Tunnel... 5 miles but a stiff 3K climb.

Anyway, thanks for the idea. We've got plans for nxt wk already... but I'm gonna store this
in the files and maybe do it nxt April.

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Badger pass is closed already? With all that new snow?

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hotrod4x5
Badger pass is closed already? With all that new snow?

It always closes early April. The thing you have to remember is that plowing starts April 15th.

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Can't they plow the road and keep the ski area open at the same time?

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ERICG
Can't they plow the road and keep the ski area open at the same time?

Of course they could do that... but you need to think about how many people
would be still wanting to hike on the road to Dewey Pt., Glacier Pt., etc.
It would be a big liability for the park.
They are much better off with what they are doing and having as few people
as possible wandering around near the road.

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I've always wondered if there's a technical reason why they don't keep Glacier Point Road plowed in the winter to let's say Washburn Point? I can see why it will never be plowed all the way to Glacier Point, because that last stretch of road (between Washburn Point and Glacier Point) would be simply too treacherous even it was plowed.

But if there aren't no technical reasons (i.e. no landslide, rockslide hazard zones the road goes through), I think it would benefit more park visitors if they could drive (or ride via a Yosemite bus), in good weather days, all the way to Washburn Point. Sure, many cross-county skiers probably prefer the road not being plowed but instead groomed for their sport, but cross-country skiers would still have many, many miles of other trails to partake in Yosemite in the winter.

I wonder about this, because unless one is a good cross-country skier, or fit enough to snow-show, to let's say Dewey Point, those who visit Yosemite in the winter are not able to witness and view Yosemite Valley from its upper rim. Environmentally, I don't see any major impact (that can't be mitigated) in keeping Glacier Point Road plowed in winter farther than it is now.

Of course, if the Park Service ever decided to keep Glacier Point plowed, let's say to Washburn Point (or maybe just to the Sentinel Dome/Taft Point trailhead), there would be a lot of push-back from those who prefer the status quo.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2011 02:00AM by plawrence.

The answer is, excluding all the esoteric debate, cost.

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Old Dude

We could also try to make it more popular.