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4wd or chains required on mineral king with, according to the park, 2 feet of snow on the ground up there after the storms of this past week. is this true? it stuck?

Mammoth Lakes has about a foot and it stuck in town. 4wd and chains not really needed. The backcountry looks wintery...

MMSA Ski Patrol Snow Sesame Study Sensor (located at 8903") has recorded 24.4" of snow since Tuesday eve.

I now work at the MML Airport full-time and can tell ya that looking up Convict Cnyn, Morrison and the surrounding area, looks like Winter has hit the Eastern Sierra.

395 is clear all the way past Bridgeport but all the Passes are closed as of this eve.

It snowed all day at Sonora Pass, not so much further south. Looks like Tioga Pass Road was open for about an hour today. The text below is copied from the CHP website.

8:32 PM 2 SR108 - SONORA PASS - CLOSED
8:32 PM 3 SR89 - MONITOR PASS - CLOSED
8:23 PM 4 DOT ADVS SR120 WEST - TIOGA PASS - CLOSED
7:30 PM 5 DOT ADVS CLOSING SR120 WEST (TIOGA PASS) DUE TO ROCK SLIDE - ROCKS/DEBRIS IN RDWY
6:40 PM 6 YOSEMITE DISPATCH ADVSD SR120 TIOGA PASS NOW OPENED - REQ CHP TO OPEN THE GATE NEAR LEE VINING
12:16 PM 7 120 EXECTED TO STAY CLOSED FOR SEVERAL DAYS
12:16 PM 8 CT ADVS 89 EXPECTED TO REOPEN TOMORROW / 108 THE FOLLOWING DAY

Mosquito Flats buried yet? I am hoping to tag Morgan this weekend via Francis Trail. Anyone been up there since the storm?

Olancha has snow above 10K or so; the south summit ridge of Langley is white, as seen from my back deck. On the Whitney Portals webcam Thor and the upper basin look like winter. Check with"the chief" ; he may have actually gotten up in it. Even Telescope in the Panamints has a dusting....

Tioga, Sonora, and Monitor Passes are all open again. Here is a shot of the Sonora Pass area viewed from the Bircham Flat area of the Sweetwater Mountains this morning. Not a bad view from the jobsite!

The range looked a bit snowy last Thursday evening. :-/

My family and I spent Sat-Sun in the Rock Creek area and went hiking up N Fork Big Pine Creek trail Monday. Hwy 120 was open for business, though was a bit slick at high altitude from freezing rain on Monday night. On Saturday morning, as we drove by, Tuolumne meadows had a solid snow cover, but it was melting through in spots by Monday night. There was a few inches of snow at Rock Creek Lake at 9200' Saturday and it was cold at night (mid teens F) but warmed up to the 50s Sunday and snow was melting fast. The road up to Saddlebag Lake was clear Saturday and lots of people were fishing, though there was more than a foot of snow and snowshoes were needed to get far from the parking lot. At Mosquito Flat trail head (10200') the snow started immediately on the Little Lakes valley trail but was sufficiently packed that people in low cut shoes were doing fine (though I would guess had wet feet) at least to the South end of Chickenfoot Lake. I talked to a couple different parties who had made plans to climb peaks in the area (Abbot, Dade) but who had been turned around by snow, however. On Monday the N Fork Big Pine trail was clear of snow up to the top of Second Falls (9300') where we turned around. The streams were beautiful and running fast from the snow melt, and the Little Lakes and Palisades peaks were particularly beautiful with all the snow on them. Even our 10 year old girl, who claims to hate hiking, was wowed by the scenery and is looking forward to doing some backpacking up these trails next summer. I'll see if we have any good photos (kids took lots) and if so post them tonight.

Just came back from the Little Lakes region, after our Minaret plans (along with the road) were burried under snow. There was snow all the way down to Mosquito Flat on Sat, although it was melting fast. 7-8,000ft or seems to have been the serious snow level. We wanted to go up Dade, but the frustration of waist-deep postholing onto bare rock got the better of us. If you want to ski, hurry! If you want to climb, wait it out a little longer. It was deep at 11,000ft where we stopped. Tuolumne Meadows are still under snow. Beautiful combination of fall colors and snow if you want to snap some unusual shots.

Does anyone have any recent information on the palisade region or nearby? We're considering trying Thunderbolt peak on Friday. I expect some snow, but it would be helpful to know more about how much snow/ice to expect up high. We're planning to approach from the west side (southwest chute number 1), but probably won't attempt it if the conditions make the exposed class 3/4 sections a lot more difficult. Thanks

Tuolumne Meadows area Saturday has about 8" at road, 24" of coverage at 10k, but daytime temps are pretty high and it's consolidating fast. Eichorn rt and SE buttress on Cathedral Peak are both clear; Matthes is clear. Fairview has a cap, but not much and will likely be gone soon. Lembert clear. Slowshoes were used, but only minimally.

3Deserts wrote:Anyone got a look at the Inyos and Whites since the snow?

Here are the Whites as of Thursday afternoon.