Current Spring Conditions Current Weather Forecast
Call 209-372-0200 ext 1, then 1 again for California road conditions inside the park.

5
/8/08 1:00pm PDST
California Road Conditions Report for Highway 41, 140 & 120
(enter "41" or "120" in the text box, or for any California road conditions)
Yosemite Weather/Climate
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Radar Image
Click for Yosemite National Park, California Forecast
 

 

Now available!
Photo prints of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada!

Go Here for the on-line store for photos from YosemiteFun.com
Now you can purchase prints from Phil Hawkins Photography in a huge variety of sizes and finishes.

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Tioga Road plowing progress
Plowing has been completed!!!


Tioga Road progress for May7, 2008:
Check it out!>> Ending Location: Tioga Pass Entrance Station. Approximately 46 miles from Crane Flat Gate.
Average Snow Depth: 6 Feet, 8 '- 9' in the parking lot at the pass.
Snow removal operations continue including widening, utility roads and spur roads.
Four avalanche zones remain.

My money is still on May 15th.

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Glacier Point Road is open!

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Gas Prices
(5/6/08, regular)

3.87 in Fresno
3.95 in Oakhurst
4.65 at Wawona
5.05 in El Portal!!

No one can figure out how they get away with charging so much more at the Shell station in El Portal.  The park service is supposed to regulate that, but for some reason they get away with highway robbery.

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Pre-season assessment of snowpack conditions

A real loose guestimate of when the backcountry might possibly maybe could open

(5/6/08)

It looks more and more like we will indeed be in for an early opening to the backcountry.  The snowmelt is clipping along at a rapid pace.  Waterfalls are at about 75% of maximum, and the sun is shining all day.  There is no rain predicted for the forseeable future...  Plowing of the Tioga Road (Highway 120) and Glacier Point road proceeding at a rapid pace.  My money is on a May 15th opening of Tioga road.

Last year Tioga Road opened on May 11.

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Tuolumne Meadows winter report

April 30, 2008
(Last report of the year)

 

Weather: (April 24 to April 30)

High temp: 62°F (April 27, 28)

Low temp:  18°F (April 25)

New Snow: none
Total settled snow depth: 6 inches as of April 30
                           

 

Ski Conditions and Weather: This will be the last winter report this spring as ski season is quickly drawing to a close. The snow is melting quickly--there are large patches of ground opening up in the meadows, many long stretches of bare pavement along the Tioga Road, and the snowplows are quickly closing in from both sides.

 

There is no estimate yet for the opening date of the Tioga Road. For the most current Tioga Road status call 209-372-0200 or go to http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm Caltrans has plowed to the park boundary at Tioga Pass, but the road is still closed at the bottom of the grade outside Lee Vining; it is unknown exactly when they will open the road to the public. You can check the status of that portion of Highway 120 at 800/427-7623 or  http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi.

 

Wilderness visitors are reminded that bear canisters are required for all overnight backcountry use in Yosemite. The ski hut will remain open for wilderness visitors until shortly before the park opens the Tioga Road to traffic. Visitors who have food or gear in the cache at the Tuolumne Meadows ski hut are reminded that all property must be removed within two weeks following the road opening date; any gear left after that time will be discarded.  

              

Avalanche and Snowpack Conditions: For the latest avalanche advisory for this area go to www.esavalanche.org for the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events.

           

Wildlife: Birds seen in the past week include Mallard, Common Merganser, Killdeer, Northern Flicker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Violet-green Swallow, Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Townsend’s Solitaire, American Robin, Mountain Bluebird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, and Brewer’s Blackbird. The Belding’s ground squirrels are coming out of their burrows for the first time this spring. We also saw a pair of coyotes in Dana Meadows this week. Animal tracks seen in the past week include Pine Marten, Chickaree, Mice/Vole, and Hare.    

 

Questions: If you have any ski related or or weather questions, feel free to call 209/372-0450 between 8 am and 8 pm. If we are out skiing, leave a message and a phone number so we can return your call. Please don’t call us with questions about road conditions, as we live 20 miles from the nearest plowed road and don't do any driving this time of year. For current park road conditions call 209/372-0200.

--Jeff and Kathi, Tuolumne Meadows winter rangers

 

The Tulomne River below Tuolumne Meadows

 

 

Tuolumne Meadows Ski Hut
Winter 2007-2008
(note changes below)

The Tuolumne Meadows Ski Hut is open for the winter season until the Tioga Road opens to traffic in the spring. It sleeps 10 and is available at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Parties should always be prepared to camp out in case the hut is full, which happens on occasion, particularly in the spring.

The ski hut is the stone building facing the Tioga Road just west of the bridge across the Tuolumne River and right at the entrance to the Tuolumne Meadows Campground. It is approximately eight miles west of Tioga Pass, and sits at about 8,600 feet in elevation. A wooden sign out front indicates "SKI HUT."

The hut has a wood stove for heat, firewood is provided, and an axe is available for splitting wood. There are electric lights and electric hotplates for cooking--unless the power goes out. An outhouse is located behind the hut and a dumpster for trash is located at the summer store just to the west. Snow will need to be melted for water and pots are provided for that purpose. Bring your own pans and stove for cooking. A large rodent-proof can is provided for storing food while staying in the hut.

The closest route to Tuolumne Meadows is a 16-mile ski up Highway 120 (closed to vehicles this time of the year) just outside the town of Lee Vining, and over 10,000 foot Tioga Pass--a one- or two-day trip under good skiing conditions, but possibly a much longer trip after heavy snowfalls. Numerous other backcountry ski routes of varying length and difficulty exist to access the Tuolumne Meadows area.

A big change this year is that Tioga Pass Resort (TPR) will NOT be open this winter. In past years, the good folks at the lodge made the ski in from the east side much easier by packing out the road, cutting through avalanche paths, and even transporting people and gear up to snow line. None of that will happen this winter. Skiers need to be much more aware of avalanche danger, snowpack conditions, and forecasted weather this winter, especially along the road east of Tioga Pass, and realize that the lodge is unoccupied and not available as a place to retreat to should you encounter difficulties.

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Stranded Hikers / 4-Mile Trail Area

(11/17/07) At 3:15 PM a 911 cell phone call reported that three hikers were stranded on the cliffs that separate Union Point and the 4-mile Trail switchbacks. The party of three had scrambled down a series of ledge systems that left them stuck with over 200 vertical feet of terrain above and below them. No injuries were reported.

Rangers responded from the valley to attempt to locate the stranded hikers. Simultaneously, a spotter with a high powered scope was sent up the Yosemite Falls Trail. Once the individuals were located it was determined that the best access to them would be from above their location. Three technical rescuers hiked to the Union Point area and traveled off trail through thick brush and rocky terrain. Due to darkness and the difficulty of navigating through the dense terrain, the spotter on the Yosemite Falls Trail used the lights of the rescuers to guide them via radio to a location directly above the hikers.

The rescuers set-up an anchor system and rappelled 70 meters with the guidance of the spotter across the valley, and located the three hikers huddled together on a small ledge. The subjects were secured with harnesses and ropes, and individually raised back to safe terrain.

The hikers were escorted back to the 4-mile Trailhead. The rescue was complete at 10:30 PM.

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Thinking of climbing Half Dome?

Read this article appearing in Saturday's (7/7/07) San Francisco Chronicle: Go Here

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Climber Fatality
11-11-07
Cathedral Peak

"On November 10th at approximately 9 AM, Peter Noble, 43, and his climbing partner started the approach hike to Cathedral Peak’s Southeast Buttress. They had not looked at a current weather forecast though they did speak with a Ranger at the trailhead about the potential of a road closure due to the weather moving in overnight. The two said they might be coming back after dark but planned to be out of the backcountry that night.

They had jackets and a sleeping bag in their vehicle and left their backpacks with some gear in them near the base of the climb. Just before dark, the men made it to a point near the summit of Cathedral Peak and decided to rappel their route. On the way down, it got dark and windy. As temperatures dropped, sleet began to fall which later turned to heavy snow. On the rappel, they had gotten a rope stuck and had to cut it to continue the rappel in the dark. On the final rappel both fell approximately 15 feet near the base of the climb but neither was injured. They were wearing light jackets, cotton shirts and pants.

When they reached the ground and started walking out along Budd Creek, they both were falling continuously and were moving very slowly. They realized they were both in danger of freezing but were stumbling and crawling down the Budd Creek drainage. At one point, the climbing partner tried to carry Noble but was not strong enough. Noble repeatedly fell down and finally collapsed. The climbing partner attempted to resuscitate him for an unknown amount of time with no success. The partner realized that he might die if he didn’t continue toward the car, so he left Noble just before dawn on the 11th and made it to the trailhead at 0730 hrs. He was shaking uncontrollably and somewhat incoherent but described the situation to a Ranger.

Yosemite initiated a rescue effort and found Noble’s body just after 10AM 1.65 miles from the Tioga Road in the Budd Creek drainage near the climbers approach trail."  ---friendsofyosar.org

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Injured Climber Rescued From Half Dome

Valley rangers received a report of an injured climber on the northwest face of Half Dome at 4:30 a.m. on August 21st. The climber, Robert Kuntz, had taken a leader fall of about 80 feet after having gotten off route. During the fall, Kuntz zippered out at least four additional protection pieces that he'd used as climbing aids. Kuntz's fall was finally arrested by his climbing rope, but not before he injured his back in a glancing blow off a protruding ledge. Rescuers were flown to the top of Half Dome in the park's contract helicopter. Two rescuers were then lowered 600 feet down the overhanging face to Kuntz's location. He was packaged in a vacuum body splint, raised to the top of Half Dome, then flown to a trauma center in Modesto.

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Hiker visiting from Japan falls to his death scaling Half Dome

A 37-year-old man died Saturday afternoon (June 16, 2007) while hiking Half Dome in Yosemite National Park with four friends, a park spokeswoman said. Hirofumi Nohara of Japan fell about 300 feet to his death while hiking a section of the rock that is equipped with cables, spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said Sunday. It's not clear why or how Nohara fell, Freeman said. Freeman said Nohara, who was in the United States on a work visa, was about two-thirds of the way up the cables, which line the last 400 feet to the summit.

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Visitor Falls Into River And Drowns

On May 19th 2007, Kiran Yellajyosula, 27, of Santa Clara and India, went hiking on the Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail with a group of friends. Yellajyosula left the trail and walked about 10 yards to the edge of the Merced River, where he slipped and fell in. Witnesses reported that they'd seen him in the river below the Vernal Falls footbridge, but that he'd then disappeared. Search efforts began in earnest when the park received a call for assistance. Search dogs alerted along the river downstream from the footbridge the following day. Although past its peak spring runoff, the river continues to run at a significant volume, and its velocity near the footbridge made it too hazardous for SAR personnel to enter the water. On Tuesday, May 29th, Yellajyosula’s body was spotted by a park ranger. The recovery, which entailed the use of a high line, took about three-and-a-half hours.

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Seriously Injured Climber Rescued From El Capitan

The park received a 911 call reporting a climbing fall on El Capitan around 9:30 a.m. on the morning of Thursday, May 17th, 2007. Initial reports were that the climber, Alexander Scola, a German national, had sustained a very serious injury and that a long blood trail could be seen below the ledge where he was awaiting aid. SAR personnel were paged and efforts to find and reach him began immediately. Scola was climbing the seventeenth pitch of the Nose Route on the south face of El Capitan when the accident occurred. He was leapfrogging his protection when he fell about 100 feet, striking Eagle Ledge during his fall and coming to rest ten feet below the ledge, hanging from the climbing rope that had ultimately arrested his fall. With the assistance of a California Highway Patrol helicopter, rescuers were on the four-foot-long by eighteen-inch-wide ledge within three hours of the call. Scola was packaged, flown to El Cap Meadow, then transferred to a waiting air ambulance. He sustained several injuries, including fractures to a femur, three vertebrae and his jaw. Rob Lewis was IC. (InsideNPS)

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The 2006 Highway 140 Rockslide

The Park Service released several photos of the rock slide, and this is the best one. Photo taken on June 4, 2006.  This slide keeps getting bigger and bigger.

 

Shot taken on May 31, 2006.  Material continues to fall; dust in the lower left corner of the shot is the result of falling rock while the photos were being taken.  You're looking at 15 acres of earth that has fallen on the highway.

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Bear-proof food canisters MANDATORY in the backcountry!
The Park Service announced today (5-11-04) revised wilderness food storage regulations in an effort to reduce the number of incidents of bears obtaining food from backpackers in Yosemite’s backcountry. Yosemite’s Bear Council endorsed this recommendation by Chief Ranger Steve Shackelton. Bear-proof canisters are required within seven linear miles of park roads. This includes the Wawona Road (Highway 41), the Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120 West), the Tioga Road (Highway 120 East), the Glacier Point Road, the Hetch Hetchy Road, and the Lake Eleanor Road. Bear-proof canisters are required within one-half mile of the shoreline of Benson Lake and above 9,600 feet (above tree line). Yosemite National Park still strongly recommends backpackers use approved bear canisters throughout the wilderness.

A map delineating the new wilderness areas requiring bear canisters can be viewed at http://www.nps.gov/yose/wilderness/bfoodstoragem.htm. Within the green shaded areas, backpackers are required to store food items, items carrying food scents, and toiletries in bear canisters.

National Park Service approved bear canisters are available for a minimal rental fee from wilderness centers, some concession outlets, and the Hetch Hetchy entrance.

Approved bear canisters for 2008:

  • Garcia Backpacker Model 812-C

  • Bearikade Weekender MKII (1766 and higher) and Expedition MKII (1766 and higher) www.wild-ideas.net/

  • BearVault 110b, 200, BV250 and BV300 www.bearvault.com

  • Purple Mountain Engineering (PME) Tahoe Model (conditionally approved)

  • CounterAssault Bear Keg (conditionally approved)

  • Ursack TKO 2.0 Hybrid (conditionally approved)  http://www.ursack.com/

  • BearVault BV350 and BV400 (conditionally approved)
     

Approved panniers (for stock use):

  • DeCarteret Aluminum Stock Panniers

  • Berner Bear Box

  • Bear Aware Panniers

  • Bear Country camping (conditionally approved)

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Winter Driving Reality!
If you are planning a winter visit, please read below...
 
 

You will not be allowed to proceed without chains or 4-wheel drive. Many people attempt to ignore this admonition, but this friendly-but-serious ranger will make you turn back. In the 20 minutes I stood taking pictures, many angry, expletive-spewing people were turned back. If you do not have 4-wheel drive...

  


...you can let these enterprising gentlemen install your chains for a fee of $25. Actually, this is money well spent; these guys know what they are doing, which will save you much pain from flapping pieces of chains chewing away at your wheel wells or fender paint, or worse, chains coming off. Plus, they work fast and you don't have to get out and get cold and wet and frustrated.

PS: You would not believe what these guys have to go through to get a permit to operate. They must pass a test of installing all the different kinds of chains available. Then, pay a fee... but during a major storm these guys clean UP!

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Chain Designations and Highway Condition ratings:
R-1  Park signs read "AUTOS & PICKUPS SNOW TIRES OK". This means chains are required for all vehicles unless they have snow tread tires. (4wdr without snow tires must chain up.) Snow tires must have a minimum tread depth of 6/32 of an inch to be legal. Studded snow tires may be used if the tires are also rated as snow tires, if not, the tires need to be chained up. (Studs do not replace chains!)
· Any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 lbs must chain up. (Usually, large vans on up.)
· All vehicles, including those with 4-wheel drive with snow tires that are towing trailers must have chains on one drive axle of the vehicle.
· If the trailer has brakes, it must also have chains on one axle.

R-2   Park signs read "4W DRIVE WITH SNOW TIRES OK". This means that chains are required on all vehicles. The exception is four-wheel drive vehicles with snow tires on all four wheels. (This is for all 4-wheel drive passenger vehicles with an unladen weight of 6500 pounds or less)
· The 4wdr system must be engaged!

R-3  Park signs read "NO EXCEPTIONS". This means that chains are required on all vehicles. There are no exceptions. (Yes "ALL" means four-wheel drives too.)

Remember, State Law requires you to carry chains in your vehicle when entering an active chain control area. Tire traction devices can be link chain, cable chain and/or spider straps.

 

 

The weather can change quickly; it was 80 degrees and sunny two days before this shot was taken, April 8, 2001. During Spring, be prepared!  

This is at the 4,000 foot elevation, just before you get to Fish Camp.

 

...and then there's this photo taken at the Yosemite National Park boundary on April 21, 2001 on Highway 41. Now, this snow melted rapidly, but for about an 18 hour period chains were required between Wawona and the valley. During the night many people were turned away by the Highway Patrol roadblocks and had to go back to Oakhurst and get a motel room. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHAINS until about the first of May.  

   

 

(vwf) :-(