Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Storm Hits Valley Hard; More Rain On The Way.

The Ahwahnee Meadow camera is up and stunning:
http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams
If not for these extreme natural phenomena, Yosemite would not be what it is. John Muir it seems did not even consider them so extreme. He once wrote that but for civilizations' losing their primordial connection with the mountains, the Donner Party should have thrived in any Sierra winter.

Violent enough up on the Crest?

From the Bee: Chains required.

"Chains are required this morning several area highways, according to the California Department of Transportation.

On Highway 168, the requirement begins at the top of the four-lane section. On Highway 180, it starts 9.3 miles west of the Highway 245 junction.

Roads into Yosemite National Park also remain closed today."

so how long does it on average take after a storm for avalanche conditions to subside? I am sitting at home delaying my departure to the Sierras each day by another day, looking at more snow on the way. (I am 2000 miles out, so this is a costly choice to make)

current forecast is more snow through Sunday (Yosemite area), and then cold and windy. what does that mean for snow changes?

I'm about to cancel the trip for now and try back in 2 weeks or so, which would be a bummer, since there's that April Fool's Day group going up the MR I wanted to join, although with this weather right now that trip may really be a fool's thing to do :-)

You could try to PM dmatt. Please add wagga & Stevec.

The XC community at Glacier Point are all home safely.

"All 37 skiers marooned in the Yosemite backcountry near Glacier Point have made it out to safety, reported Cari Cobb at headquarters for Yosemite National Park.

"They all did make it out and they're good to go," Cobb said.

Cross-country skiers on overnight expeditions were marooned Sunday by a blizzard with high winds and up to six feet of powder snow. A group of 21 broke trail for 10 miles, taking turns at the lead position, to eventually reach help at Badger Pass Ski Area, according to Sandra Ann Harris, who posted details of the ordeal on the Chronicle's Slope Dope.

Another 16 people, including seven Stanford students on spring break, later made it out by various means, Cobb said. "We laid in tracks with a snowmobile and most were able to ski out on the tracks," Cobb said. "A few we helped via Snowcat or snowmobile, about two to three miles out."

Yosemite National Park remained closed Wednesday, with all roads in the park shut down except for "essential travel," Cobb said, with mudslides, rock falls, downed trees and more snow and ice accumulations during the ongoing series of winter storms. Electricity has been down all week in Yosemite, with a generator making headquarters functional, she said. Power is not expected to be restored until Saturday evening and there is no tentative date to reopen the park to the public.

At the Badger Pass Ski Area, the kitchen was transformed into a rescue center, Harris detailed in her report. Propane provided heat and the skiers with their sleeping bags used the floor as a campground until they were evacuated Monday afternoon.

On clear winter days, the cross-country ski trip from Badger Pass out 10.5 miles to Glacier Point (7,274 feet) and a ski hut is an epic trip, with a pay-off view where you tower 3,000 feet over the valley floor, directly across from Half Dome."

Valley rain won't go away.

"Roads into Yosemite remained closed Wednesday, but the park could be opened for day use today, depending on the amount of snow falling overnight, said Kari Cobb, park spokeswoman."

But this story is contradictory.

"Cobb said this is the first time the park has been completely closed for more than one day since 1997, when flooding in January caused the park to close for two months.

Highway 120 is currently closed because of the heavy weekend snow, and Highway 41 is closed because of downed trees."

Same situation as you, kind of. I've been pushed off the mountain 3 times before and my buddy and I were finally looking forward to another attempt on April 2nd. I'm concerned about the avy danger too, especially since I'm no expert at reading conditions. Luckily for us, we have the option of heading up and turning around if its bad. Much more difficult from 2000 miles away. Hope it works out for you, whatever decision you take.
Brad

Yosemite roads opening.

I feel sorry for all the PCT thru hikers that will be starting in a month. They are sure to encounter major snow on those SoCal mountains.

check out this table of snowfall per month since 1970

http://patrol.mammothmountain.com/MMSA-SnowSummary70-Current.htm

589 inches in Mammoth so far, and plenty of time to push it over 600.

also only march 1991 had more snow in March than this year.

Fishman, I thought you were heading out this way. Your IP shows you back in WI still. ...edit: I see you ARE in the neighborhood. You must be connecting via a VPN. (Virtual Private Network).

yeah, not gonna type any passwords without encryption via public wireless. Had to log onto my server to upload images.

The wonders of modern technology! I hope that you keep us up to date with Mousie's Great Western Adventure.

589 inches is also more than any other year's total snowfall on that chart -- and there are two more months of snowfall yet to go this season (June is negligle and all July readings were 0.0). Sounds like there may be good skiing until Independence Day again.

CaT

Fix for rockslide to delay Highway 140 traffic through Yosemite.

Mousie did a little warmup hike today:



road is fine up to the first campsites, after that the snow begins and gets deep very quickly.

I'll be in Yosemite in a couple of weeks, send a TR. Couple days at Wawona (probably miss the PBS John Muir premier) couple days in Little Yosemite Valley/Lake Merced for an HST tune-up (conditions permitting) then back to the Valley for Muir birthday, "My FIrst Summer" book signing and Earth Day.

Read this story.

"While the helicopter was circling, Schlichting and Spencer began transporting the patient in her patrol car, hoping to somehow meet up with an ambulance. Pushing through over two feet of snow and maneuvering around stuck motorists, Schlichting drove until she encountered a tree across the road. Using hand and chain saws to clear trees and debris, she slowly made her way down the road, while still maintaining patient care, which included administration of emergency cardiac medications. She was assisted by NPS forestry tech Brian Mattos and NPS fire personnel Taro Pusina and Eric Neiswanger, whose sawyer expertise was invaluable in clearing approximately 15 trees in very difficult conditions."

Old news, but WOW!

Wow is right. Worth reading the whole story in detail. And recognition of all SAR, EMS, and PG&E crew involved. The 15 trees are the least of it. Read on , , ,