Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Tioga Pass: Memorial Day weekend update

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Tioga Pass will not be open for this holiday weekend, and there is still no estimated opening date. But plowing crews have rounded the corner near Ellery Lake, making good progress toward the Yosemite National Park entrance gate.

A photo from Sunday, May 21, 2017 taken at Ellery Lake looking back east at Ellery Bowl with bikers for scale. Photo courtesy of Nathan Taylor.

Warm weather is aiding the crews as they work, but avalanches remain a hazard. As work progresses, pedestrians, bicyclists, skiers, etc. are advised to stay out of these areas (the photos in this post were taken on a Sunday, when crews do not work).

Caltrans’ progress in clearing the Tioga Pass Road from the east toward the Yosemite National Park entrance gate. Map courtesy of Caltrans District 9.
The end of the cleared area as of Sunday, May 21, 2017. Photo courtesy of Nathan Taylor.
A view west toward ice- and snow-covered Ellery Lake and the high Sierra beyond. Photo courtesy of Nathan Taylor.

For news of plowing progress from the other direction (west-to-east), Yosemite National Park’s Facebook page reports that “road crews have reached the west end of the Olmsted Point avalanche zone, which is just west of Tenaya Lake. Avalanche conditions are currently unsafe, but may improve in the next few days. Safety is the top priority, so crews will wait until conditions are safe before plowing through the avalanche chute. Meanwhile, crews are widening the plowed lanes and performing road repairs elsewhere on Tioga Road.”

Crews plowing from the west side have reached the west end of the Olmsted Point avalanche zone, just west of Tenaya Lake. Photo courtesy of Yosemite National Park.