Re: High Sierra Camps to remain closed for 2017 season

According to the Aramark website, all High Sierra Camps will be closed for the 2017 season:
http://www.travelyosemite.com/lodging/high-sierra-camps/

Corroborated by a posting on twitter:
https://twitter.com/sly_wit/status/872929338043256832

I wonder if that means Tuolumne Meadows HSC/Lodge will not open also.

Tuolumne Lodge is not part of the High Sierra Camp system any longer. Different vendor. They have not yet cancelled their reservations.

It's the same vendor: Yosemite Hospitality (AKA Aramark) that operates the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite and the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge.

According to Yosemite National Park (NPS) tweet, it was Yosemite Hospitality's decision not to open up the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite this year:

https://twitter.com/YosemiteNPS/status/872907534784372736

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Leave No Trace

OK. Let me rephrase that. Aramark does run both concessions, but they handle Tuolumne Lodge and White Wolf as part of their regular holdings, and the (other) High Sierra Camps from a separate part of their reservation site. The High Sierra camps are away from the road, and have special supply and septic problems. White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows are on the road.

The High Sierra Camp reservation site says it's closed for the season. Tuolumne Meadows reservations just don't have any dates availability, and my buddy who has reservations there in July has not yet been informed that he can't come.

As a side note, the High Sierra bunch always had a big block of Tuolumne cabins set aside for the night before their trips began With this cancellation, there might be a number of cabins becoming available.

When I talked to Aramark, they said it was an NPS decision.

WOW! what a story for the conspiracy theorists. not much of an explanation is it... 'closed due to conditions'. is snow expected to stay all through summer? seems more like they can't be a***d to implement a contingency plan for when the snow does go. but what of all that profit they are throwing away? I hear you say. ten cents on every item in the valley shops will soon take care of that, and anyway, mule packers can always find work snow shovelling.
one of the endearing memories from Yosemite trails is guessing, by the decomposing condition of poo, or the strength of mule pee, how long since the last mule train passed that way, and in which direction, not always easy.
cynical? dead right, after all, this is corporate business being discussed.

If you/one take(s) a look at some recent video postings from PCT hikers you get a good understanding how it looks like in the High Sierra right now. Yes, summer is still a few days away and snow might melt rapidly but there's a good chance that there'll be snow in many places and patches well into August (the more experienced hikers and users of this forum will be probably agree).

Given the fact that the HSC season is short anyway it makes sense from a business point of view to keep them closed. Having said that I feel for everyone who had their trips cancelled.

Here are some videos that I found interesting (I'm not affiliated with this guys in any form or shape):

PCT conditions 1
PCT conditions 2



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2017 08:39AM by Half Dome Hiker.

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pines
WOW! what a story for the conspiracy theorists. not much of an explanation is it... 'closed due to conditions'. is snow expected to stay all through summer? seems more like they can't be a***d to implement a contingency plan for when the snow does go. but what of all that profit they are throwing away? I hear you say. ten cents on every item in the valley shops will soon take care of that, and anyway, mule packers can always find work snow shovelling.
one of the endearing memories from Yosemite trails is guessing, by the decomposing condition of poo, or the strength of mule pee, how long since the last mule train passed that way, and in which direction, not always easy.
cynical? dead right, after all, this is corporate business being discussed.

I looked at the Badger Pass cam this afternoon and the slopes have snow on them again. This winter is the winter that never seems to end so who knows, there might be enough snow that the camps can't be accessed until late July and by that time, financially it would not make sense to go through all of the work to get them ready for such a short season. My son went skiing three days in Squaw Valley, his last day being June 1st and they are hoping to be open every weekend from now until who knows when. At 8200 feet there were still building associated with the ski area that you could only see their roofs, the snow was so deep.

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phantum
http://www.travelyosemite.com/news/2017/summer-closure-information-and-faq/

OK, I understand about the soggy ground etc but from the link:

"The High Sierra Camps and White Wolf Lodge will not open this year due to record snowpack and lack of access to water for bathrooms and kitchens."

Lack of access to water ?? Why would access to water be any different this year ? Seems like they would have adequate access to water.

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The Other Tom

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phantum
http://www.travelyosemite.com/news/2017/summer-closure-information-and-faq/

OK, I understand about the soggy ground etc but from the link:

"The High Sierra Camps and White Wolf Lodge will not open this year due to record snowpack and lack of access to water for bathrooms and kitchens."

Lack of access to water ?? Why would access to water be any different this year ? Seems like they would have adequate access to water.

If the water comes from nearby rivers, creeks or streams, too much snow runoff can make the water too turbid to be properly filtered and made safe for drinking.

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Leave No Trace

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plawrence

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The Other Tom

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phantum
http://www.travelyosemite.com/news/2017/summer-closure-information-and-faq/

OK, I understand about the soggy ground etc but from the link:

"The High Sierra Camps and White Wolf Lodge will not open this year due to record snowpack and lack of access to water for bathrooms and kitchens."

Lack of access to water ?? Why would access to water be any different this year ? Seems like they would have adequate access to water.

If the water comes from nearby rivers, creeks or streams, too much snow runoff can make the water too turbid to be properly filtered and made safe for drinking.

That may be the case for Glen Aulin, but the others get their water from lakes (?) or springs (?), I think ? Anyway, they're closed.

More to this than just snow on the ground. Soggy trail and campsite conditions will likely be around through the limited season. Heavy usage by campers and support staff could be impractical or potentially damaging. Water and sewage systems could be affected. And they'd hardly get camps up and running before they'd have to start shutting them down again. Sucks for people who won their lottery reservations!

The "lack of access" description may be a semantics issue -- this is Aramark's first shot at it. The last season with concerns about a heavy winter was 2011:
https://yosemitenews.info/forum/read.php?3,36869,37045

I assume due to the amount of snow and runoff at higher elevations some of the trails would be hidden and difficult to travel along in many places. Probably lots of opportunities for lost hikers factored into the decision.