Unusually Large Snow Pack Hindering Opening Of Tioga Road

National Park Service: “Yosemite National Park has experienced an unusually long, wet winter this year. Snow pack in the Merced River drainage is at 187% of an average year and the Tuolumne River drainage is at 179% of an average year. Snow densities are averaging about 50% water content. This wet weather has extended late into the spring season.

This has led to a particularly spectacular spring melt off that has Yosemite’s waterfalls flowing beyond capacity. Visitors are enjoying a waterfall season in Yosemite Valley not witnessed in many years.

It has also created a very difficult job for the National Park Service employees tasked with clearing and opening the Tioga Road. Among the obstacles they are facing are extreme avalanche hazards, excessive numbers of downed trees, and rockfalls. The dense snow pack is causing multiple machinery failures and constant machinery maintenance.

In one area of the pass, workers are unable to blast a large rockfall covering the road because it is within an avalanche zone. High Sierra avalanches tend to be ‘slab’ avalanches and occur when a whole sheet of dense snow slides on a granite face.

The Tioga Road will not be open before mid June and the opening could be later than that.

However, the Glacier Point Road will likely be open for Memorial Day weekend. Yosemite National Park management is projecting a May 27 opening date.”