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Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:59 pm
by Phil
According to their Facebook page, as of today, plows have reached Yosemite Creek. This is 5 days into this year's operations, and 20 days earlier than crews reached the same point last year.

Updates for Glacier Rd begin April 23rd.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 5:04 pm
by Justin-T
Phil, are you sure you're not reading the post from April 20, 2012? :shock:

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 9:14 pm
by Phil
:? Ooops! I hate FB. Sorry about that. I didn't see the report on the /yose website when I looked, but on FB, saw the month and day, got excited about the progress, missed the year completely.

Oh well, turns out even better; they're only cutting through an average of 2-3 feet of cover, and already close to May Lake junction. Definitely easier going and faster than last year's ops. My pack's loaded and ready to go.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:36 am
by Justin-T
They usually have those old posts more clearly marked as a memory, so we'll forgive you this time :D

The May Lake junction is roughly half way so that's quick progress, although now they're hitting the avalanche zone, so it depends how much snow is on those steep slopes to the north of the road around Olmsted Pt. But still looking good for a mid-May opening I think.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 5:21 pm
by Phil
On Tioga Rd (Hwy 120), plows are just east of Tenaya Lake as of today, cutting through 3-4 ft of cover. From the east gate of the park to Lee Vining is cleared of snow, but repairs and debris removal are still ongoing. No estimated opening date yet.

Glacier Point Rd tentatively opens to vehicles on April 28th.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 1:05 pm
by Justin-T
They're all the way through to Tioga Pass, so now its all the debris removal, road repairs etc. I'm guessing a couple more weeks might do it...

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 5:00 pm
by balzaccom
Latest rumor among some of the staff s that the road may open as early as this Thursday!

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 5:38 pm
by balzaccom
And Glacier Point Road is closed again for snow...

It's spring!

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2018 6:08 pm
by Justin-T
Latest update from today is still talking about debris removal. My graph predicts May 13, but the forecast looks to be warm and dry for the next 10 days so I'm guessing that will be pessimistic, but not by much.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2018 8:28 pm
by Phil
Last time there was a snowpack that was 67% of normal, opening was on May 15th. "Debris" is such a variable though. I have jury duty the 14th, so can't do anything about it anyhow....cutting into my backpacking season, "GUILTY".

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2018 8:44 pm
by balzaccom
Highway 120 opened today from 395 up to Tioga Pass. And Sonora Pass opened today as well.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2018 12:28 pm
by Phil
Tioga Rd will be open to all vehicles on Monday May 21st at 9am.

Go forth.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Thu May 17, 2018 7:49 pm
by AlmostThere
The rest of us will wait a few weeks and wander over once all the honking and yelling is done... and I like nighttime best.
Nothing better than having TIoga Road to yourself, in the clear moonlight.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2018 5:42 am
by Phil
AlmostThere wrote:The rest of us will wait a few weeks and wander over once all the honking and yelling is done...


What? You don't want to be the very first civilian of 2018 to make the drive?

Let's do this: We can release some doves and get a bunch of little Swiss children in lederhosen and blowing Tyrolean horns to wish us well and wave when we pass Crane Flat. Then we can pull over and all grill hot dogs at Tuolumne Meadows as we swat mosquitoes. It'll be...festive, and epic.

Re: Tioga Rd plowing

PostPosted: Fri May 18, 2018 7:34 am
by balzaccom
Not likely, Phil. Too much snow for BBQs or bugs. Give it a couple of weeks...

We drove Tioga Pass about four days after it opened a few years ago. Saw zero mosquitoes, but all of the trails had snow after the first couple miles. And stream crossings were.. interesting.