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robreglinski
May 11, 2005, 12:26 PM
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hey guys
has anyone climbed in Toulumne recently? i am aware of the Snow "problem" but is it really a problem.
(snows never a problem in scotland :wink: although most people seem to react badly to it...... grumble..... moan.... tourists......... moan......... grumble)
how far up HW 120 could we get a car :roll: i.e. were is the road closed what areas could we access if we just walked :o . would snow chains be needed?
also having not climbed in the park before do the routes melt out quickly? i would expect them to but is there anwhere that we should aim for or aviod.
Thanks for any info :D
Rob
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dsafanda
May 11, 2005, 12:53 PM
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In reply to: how far up HW 120 could we get a car
Not very far. The park service closes the road to cars far from where you would probably be interested in climbing. If you're in to backpacking you're welcome to get a wildnerness permit so that you can ski or hike in to Tuolumne Meadows. I would think that most routes will be covered in snow. There's is still a hell of a lot of snow in high country and storms have been rolling in as of just the last few days. When you are you headed there?
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robreglinski
May 11, 2005, 1:00 PM
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we will be there in 20 days time (because im not getting realy excitited :D)
the plans were to......amhem......... stay for a wee while just moving around and being in the place can anyone give me a rough date for when the road mite be open. there has to be somone out there who can suggest that is not as bad as the winter of 1848 when 27 people died and cars were covered. would mite be able to give an indication of when we would be able to climb there (sorry bad joke but you know what i mean)
just thinking ahead so i know when to use my camp four time
cheers for any help
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dsafanda
May 11, 2005, 1:06 PM
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Check out this page...
http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga.htm
I hate to say it but I doubt the road will be open by the time you get here. Take a look at the list of previous dates on the link above. There are lots of late May/early June dates but it could easily be mid June this year. Did you have your heart set on Tuolumne? There's always the ditch. You can't be too upset about having to climb in Yosemite Valley.
Is this the type of snow you're used to driving through in Scotland? ;)
http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga1.jpg
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robreglinski
May 11, 2005, 1:17 PM
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lol yeah i saw that. :lol: :lol: :lol:
ok ill have a think about my routes again. :cry:
ok next silly question :? is how fast would the campgrounds be open after the roads are plowed. :(
is there any rangers :shock: on this site that mite be able to shead some light on the matter. :twisted:
thanks for answering some dumb questions for me :D
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boltdude
May 11, 2005, 1:59 PM
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Anyone planning on visiting Yosemite/Tuolumne this summer should assume that Tioga Pass will be closed until the 4th of July weekend.
Once they get the road plowed, there is still a week or more before they open it while they do road repairs, etc. Once the road is open, it's typically several weeks before the campgrounds are open, but some of the forest service campgrounds 10-20 minutes to the east (outside the Park) open earlier.
For those who really want details, you can check this NPS plowing and estimated opening date site, it's updated every day:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga.htm
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robreglinski
May 11, 2005, 2:35 PM
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cool thanks both of you. :D
mite cu in a few weeks you never know 8^)
Rob
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azrockclimber
May 11, 2005, 2:50 PM
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In reply to: Check out this page... http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga.htm I hate to say it but I doubt the road will be open by the time you get here. Take a look at the list of previous dates on the link above. There are lots of late May/early June dates but it could easily be mid June this year. Did you have your heart set on Tuolumne? There's always the ditch. You can't be too upset about having to climb in Yosemite Valley. Is this the type of snow you're used to driving through in Scotland? ;) http://www.nps.gov/yose/now/tioga1.jpg
holy shit!!!
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scuclimber
May 11, 2005, 6:42 PM
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[rant]I love it when people from the Midwest/East/other areas of the country/world talk about driving in snow in CA. My girlfriend who grew up in Omaha, "We never use chains, people just drive carefully." I then proceeded to remind her that they don't have hills in Nebraska. Tioga Pass is at 9900 feet. Tuolumne is at 8600 feet. This is one of the snowiest winters on record, especially recently. Tuolumne is currently under about 15 feet of snow. It takes a long time for that much snow to melt. [/rant] Nothing personal, but I hear it ALL the time.
Colin
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csproul
May 11, 2005, 6:53 PM
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as for your rant...I grew up in Colorado, and nobody there uses chains and it does snow a little bit in Colorado on a few passes higher than 9000 ft. I live in CA and I have never understood the whole chain thing either.
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lazyjammin
May 11, 2005, 6:58 PM
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Yeah july for tioga pass is what I heard too.
Does anyone know if they open up the west side from the park into the meadows before then or when they are planning on it?
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adnix
May 11, 2005, 7:06 PM
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In reply to: as for your rant...I grew up in Colorado, and nobody there uses chains and it does snow a little bit in Colorado on a few passes higher than 9000 ft. I live in CA and I have never understood the whole chain thing either. |
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robreglinski
May 11, 2005, 7:30 PM
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[counter]pardon me i am fully aware of the reports and i have the good sence to ask as i dont come from the US and i dont know what normally happens or the time frame which it happens in, this it only the thrid time i will have been in the area.
and as for chains i think you will find that if the NPS say they are neeeded then your insurace is void if you dont have them on (needed or not)
next time ill just turn up and see what happens or ill consult my seeing stone for more usfull information.
i hope you dont teach people to climb. what do you have to do end up in A+E beofre you point out that theres something wrong with the system.
you may think its silly question 101 but some of us grow up elsewhere in the world
Rob
only 20 so ive only been driving for 2 years and ive seen my fair share of winter to know when to ask for help
/[counter]
blame the exam stress
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karlbaba
May 11, 2005, 7:36 PM
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In reply to: Yeah july for tioga pass is what I heard too. Does anyone know if they open up the west side from the park into the meadows before then or when they are planning on it?
Actually, they get the road plowed to the East gate long before they reach tuolomne from the West.
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jcinco
May 11, 2005, 7:42 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: as for your rant...I grew up in Colorado, and nobody there uses chains and it does snow a little bit in Colorado on a few passes higher than 9000 ft. I live in CA and I have never understood the whole chain thing either. You need chains if the roads are really steep. Other than that they are pretty useless.
Chains are common in CA only because everyone is coming from SoCal or the Bay Area, where people typically have far-from-winter-worthy cars. Why bother buying snow tires if you spend 95% of your car time communting on nthe Santa Ana freeway? In CO, everyone I know has snow tires, so chains are unneccesary.
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lazyjammin
May 11, 2005, 7:45 PM
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In reply to: karlbaba Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 11:36 am Post subject: Re: Yosemite snow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- lazyjammin wrote: Yeah july for tioga pass is what I heard too. Does anyone know if they open up the west side from the park into the meadows before then or when they are planning on it? Actually, they get the road plowed to the East gate long before they reach tuolomne from the West.
So no one will be able to drive into the meadows until mid-july?
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sidepull
May 11, 2005, 7:58 PM
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In reply to: [counter]i have the good sence
ha!
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scuclimber
May 12, 2005, 1:19 AM
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Rob, sorry I wasn't speaking to you specifically and you are smart to ask about the snow in the Sierra before coming over. I was speaking more to people in general who come from non-mountainous areas in which it snows.
Csproul, I would venture the difference between CO and CA is this:
A. It can snow anywhere in the state of CO, thus everybody learns to drive in the snow reasonably well or they suffer the consquences, they also tend to have their vehicles more prepared to deal with the weather (i.e. better tires, 4wd, AWD, etc). In CA, a large area of the state does not experience winter snow, thus people have no real incentive to learn to drive in the snow and "wintrify" their cars (yes, that is a word :wink: ). If I lived in San Jose for example and I'd never been skiing, or up to the Sierra in the winter for any reason, I wouldn't have any experience driving in the snow, and I might drive a vehicle that isn't especially adept at snow driving, say a Lexus IS300 (I'm using this particular car for a reason). I get up to chain control on I-80 (say chains are required at Drum Forebay or Alta) and I put my chains on, and I'm fine as long as I keep it under 30 MPH or so. If I don't put chains on... my light RWD IS300 will be spinning all over the freeway trying to make it up the grade past Blue Canyon and Yuba Gap. Chains are necessary, in this case and many others.
B. Colorado is a continental climate. Snow in CO is drier, thus providing more traction the the Sierra Slush/Sierra Cement that we get in the Golden State. You have to deal with ice more, but that's a separate issue. I've noticed repeatedly in my travels in the Sierra that the farther I get above the heavy slush at snow level and into the higher elevations and colder, drier snow, the more traction my vehicle gains. Being that snow in CO is much colder than snow in CA... you get my point.
D. Sometimes it snows so hard here, that the plows can't keep up with it, especially with the budget cuts CalTrans has been hit by recently. It may snow just as hard in CO, but the dry snow doesn't stick to the road and accumulate as much. I've observed five feet of snow accumulate in under 48 hours over Donner Pass.
C. Everyone who lives in CO drives a Subaru anyway. :wink: :wink: :wink:
I'll grant that most drivers in CA are spoiled by the weather and thus when they encounter snow they are more likely to make poor decisions than are drivers from states that are more prone to adverse weather, but I would strongly argue that chains make sense for most 2WD vehicles in the mountains (even more important than the traction one gains for accelerating, is the traction gained for stopping). I was a bit long winded with this, but you said you didn't understand "the whole chain thing," so I thought I would elucidate. :D
Colin
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