Competition time. The 32nd Tioga pass prognosticator. Winter closing 2021.

[tseeb]

I don't think Tioga, Sonora or Ebbetts Passes will be re-opening before the beginning of Winter. If there is no precipitation between now and then, which us drought-suffering Californians hope is not the case, a late Dec. or early Jan. re-opening is possible, but not very likely.

I drove from South Lake Tahoe to Mammoth early on Wed. AM as 9-11" of snow fell at Mammoth on Mon. into Tues and I wanted to ski it. Monitor Pass, which is over 8300' and East of the Sierra Crest was closed on my way South, but had re-opened by my return on Thurs. PM. I did not take it, even though it saves a few miles getting to nearly 8600' Carson Pass that I used to return to the Bay Area as I wanted to take advantage of less expensive gas in Gardnerville, NV and last fast food until Jackson. Picture is sunrise over Gardnerville on Wed. AM.
2863MindenSunrise.jpg
Due to record Northern CA rainfall Oct 24-25 when one location near Sacramento received over 80% of last rainfall year's rain in 24 hrs and a few received more than 50%, Firefall at Yosemite made a rare late Oct. appearance. See https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/y...rnd/index.html for details and some great photos. Following is from National Weather Service.
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[Southwest Dave]

I thought it possible that it would open a few days after they re-opened Glacier point road as the forecast was promising. However that hasn't happened so far and I have also learnt that it isn't just snow that's the problem, there are fallen trees blocking the road and I'm not sure that they will put crews to work to clear them this late in the season !

Dave.

[tseeb]

Surprisingly to me, 8734' and very narrow Ebbetts Pass and 9624' Sonora Pass both re-opened on Monday 11/15. Sonora Pass is very steep at the top on both sides so it has a lot less miles above 8K than Tioga. But snow level is current closer to or even above 9K so there is some hope for Tioga re-opening although I think Parks Service likes having less work with it closed.

In related news https://www.sfgate.com/california-pa...e-16626629.php "Tuolumne Meadows, Bridalveil Creek and Crane Flat will be closed as they undergo extensive renovations. Tuolumne Meadows will see the longest closure, as the National Park Service says that it will be shuttered until 2024, or even 2025, for rehabilitation."

[Mark Sedenquist]

Ebbetts Pass is probably my favorite Sierra crossing. It is surprising that they reopened it! Such a beautiful road.

Mark

[tseeb]

10" of snow is predicted at Mammoth by Friday this week and more is predicted for next week which probably means Tioga will stayed closed.

I drove 9624' elevation Sonora Pass on Wed 12/1 after skiing two days at Mammoth. While Mammoth had opened a few more lifts on man-made snow, natural snow was very limited below 9000'. My Honda SUV turned 276K miles (444 km) going down the W side of pass. I made it from Gardnerville, NV to Mammoth and home to San Jose on tank of gas. First is just W of Pass.
3003WofSonoraPass.jpg
Next is odometer showing 276K. I was not looking for it, but caught it just before it turned another mile.
3006_276K_Miles.jpg
I think the marks on the road were from sweeper they used on it. Sorry for the hat reflection in windshield.
3009CleaningMarksOn108.jpg


I wanted to get to So. Tahoe Mon 11/29 with an hour of daylight to checkout family cabin and rake some pine needles that are always falling, but things my 91 year-old Mother needed help with before I left piled up so I didn’t leave her house until 1:30. It was almost dark when I stopped at Silver Lake on CA-88. (I took that route to avoid Sacramento traffic and it is shorter.) Continuing toward Carson Pass, I could barely see some of the burnt trees from Caldor Fire before and after Kirkwood.

[Southwest Dave]

Yeah, it feels like we have just been waiting for the announcement for ages and was a case of 'when' not 'if'. Maybe this incoming storm will give them a nudge and they will call it for the season.

Thanks for the photos and update. (Wish I was there !)

Dave.

[Mark Sedenquist]

My brother, Dan Sedenquist, drove CA-Hwy 4 over Ebetts Pass on Friday. Still astonishing to me that it would ever be open on the 3rd of December. He reported very icy conditions on the eastern side and skim ice on all of the lakes near the pass.



And another one:


And since we all love roadtrip rides -- this is Dan's beast:


Dan just sent this one:

And writes:

Here is a shot of the ice pouring out of the rocks making a nasty sheet onto the road. Glad I didn't have to drive on it. This was near the summit.

Thinking these next two storms will simply close that pass for the winter.
--Dan Sedenquist

Mark

[Southwest Dave]

Very cool and I'm not talking about the weather ! Love Dan's photo's and his road trip ride!

Dave.

[tseeb]

CA-108 (Sonora), 4 (Ebbetts) & 89 (Monitor) closed today and the first two may stay closed into April or May. I also like Dan's photos and wonder how he is posting them larger than I can or did. (I will write to you and explain how that works -- Mark)

[Southwest Dave]

It has been confirmed that Tioga pass and Glacier point are closed for the season after significant snow fall. It looks as though the official closing date will be October 17 2021 which was the date it was temporarily closed and last open to traffic. This is an unusually early closure.

Dave.