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Preston
25-Apr-2013, 12:53
Good news regarding the higher trans-Sierra passes...

Highway 108 Sonora Pass was opened for the spring and summer season on Wednesday, April 24, and today Highway 4 Ebbetts Pass opened.

Yosemite National Park has stated that Highway 120 Tioga Pass is scheduled to open around Saturday, May 11.

These are pretty early openings for these high passes. Mornings will still be pretty chilly and snow melt runoff over the roads may freeze during the night, so travel with caution if you're headed up.

--P

Drew Wiley
25-Apr-2013, 13:14
Thanks. I'll try an early run of at least day hiking pretty soon.

John Kasaian
25-Apr-2013, 15:02
Yippee!

Kodachrome25
1-May-2013, 11:31
Excellent! I am in the Sacramento area with my wife, cat and camper for a few weeks, brought my crampons, axe, gaitors, etc.

Drew Wiley
1-May-2013, 11:53
Most of what you're going to get this time of year won't warrant crampons. You want to hike AM before the snow gets mushy. A snow basket on your axe or sticks helps, and you'll want a long axe, because it will sink in, plus you need enough
length to probe for holes around trees and weaknesses in snow bridges. But a lot of areas below 8000 ft are probably already
snow-free, except for drifts on shaded slopes. And watch out for those weak cornices overhead! I just came down with a cold,
so hope to have my energy back up later in the month to head up there. There will be pockets of mosquitos in soggy mdws
around 7,000 ft, but probably not many above that. I have enough cats to probably pull a sled.

Kodachrome25
1-May-2013, 12:32
Huh...and to think it is 29 degrees and snowing at home. It's going to take two months to get the the melt off that the Sierra is at now...

Drew Wiley
1-May-2013, 12:59
It's an odd year. A heavy mid-winter snowpack that will determine conditions way up high in the cirques, but lower than normal snowfall during the Spring. So one might encounter completely different conditions in mid-elevation mtns east of Sacto - Tahoe area, for example - versus the much higher elevations further south. You can pretty much tailor your conditions any way you like it... just watch out for high runoff anywhere. Streams are always dicey early on. I'm sure getting
itchy for at least a brief tuneup backpack, that is, in the mainly "pre-mosquito" season. ... but they should die down by Aug
most places anyway. Nothing clears up the tail end of a cold or virus like a good dose of adrenalin in that pure high air!