Results for the April snow survey show that the Merced River basin snowpack is at 53% of average while the Tuolumne River basin is at 52% of average for this time of year. Last year, the Merced was at 47% while the Tuolumne was at 43%, but the distribution of snow is much different this year. Last year, the snowpack was fairly consistently about 45% of average at all surveyed elevations. This year, the snowpack is about 70% of average down to around 8,000 feet, but drops off substantially below that. So, those early-June high-elevation backpacking trips that might have been possible last year will probably be much snowier this year.
