No time soon?

Fairly recent photos of the Tioga Pass Entrance Station and the Tuolumne area:
https://www.facebook.com/YosemiteNPS/photos/pcb.1257302477651365/1257301797651433/?type=3&theater

Hopefully by mid-June, but I'll guess early July. Who knows if there will be other storm systems between now and then.

Beside storms, it also depends how warm the temps will be from now until summer. Cold temps: it won't be opening until July. Very warm temps: it could still open before the Memorial Day weekend.

My guess: it'll open in late June: Thursday, June 22nd.

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Leave No Trace

June 31st. That's the Friday before the July 4th weekend.

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Dave
June 31st.

You sure it won't be the 32nd?

I thought I checked.... oh well.... The road crews will try very hard to get the road open at least by the Friday before the big July 4th weekend. They understand that the businesses on both sides of the pass rely heavily on that holiday traffic. Everyone else has to understand that the safety of the road crew is the most important.

I'm hoping on Friday June 16..

It often comes down to how many road repairs need to be made.

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Dave
It often comes down to how many road repairs need to be made.

That's what I'm thinking too. I think it's very likely that there will be a lot more down trees that they'll have to remove before opening the road to the public.

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Leave No Trace

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Dave
It often comes down to how many road repairs need to be made.

There have been some wind events this winter. Down trees won't help with getting the plowing done.

Lots of heavy, wet, snow, saturated soils, all make for a lot of down trees.

How do you remove a tree that's fallen across the road, when there's 5' of snow below it, and 5' of snow above it?
I can sure see a few of those really messing up your daily plow milage!
And that's assuming you don't damage anything while finding out it's there.
They must shear a lot of pins!

So High Sierra Camps, Tuolumne Lodge, and White Wolf openings later in July?! Wow.

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Paris92
So High Sierra Camps, Tuolumne Lodge, and White Wolf openings later in July?! Wow.

During some heavy snow years in the past, some HSC have remained closed for the whole season.

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Leave No Trace

Probably likely if the rains continue. Expecting a very late Spring in the High Sierra this fall. With epic mosquitoes...

Spring rains up in the high country would help facilitate the snow melt, speeding up the opening of Tioga Road and the High Sierra Camps.

What won't help are cold winter snow storms in spring, which can occur too.

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Leave No Trace

Right now there is about 65" of water content at the Tenaya Lake snow pillow. How long before the avalanche conditions clear at Olmsted Point? That's one of the main issues. Could be well into July.

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Old Dude

It looks and feels like it's going to be a warm Spring. Tioga Pass will open on the 8th of June!

yes, warm spring, but still a LOT of snow

I'll guess Jun 22

and no HSC this year



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2017 12:27AM by qumqats.

Monday June 26 (wishful thinking)