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Weather: (March 5 to March 11) High temp: 58° (March 10 and 11) Low temp: 4° (March 6) New Snow: 0” Total settled snow depth: 52” as of March 12 Ski Conditions and Weather: It has been a warm and sunny week here at Tuolumne, with daytime highs in the mid-fifties followed by overnight lows in the single digits and teens. The snow has firmed up, providing great touring conditions. There are even some turns to be had on south facing slopes mid-day once the sun softens them up a bit. Be prepared for soft-to-slushy snow by the middle of the afternoon. We are beginning to see patches of bare ground open up for the first time, as well as stretches of open water along the river- spring must be just around the bend. Skiers coming in from the east side report that there are still a few inches of snow down at the road closure gate outside of Lee Vining, but that most of the road between the gate up to Warren Fork Creek has melted out and is bare pavement. So be prepared to walk the first 3-4 miles above the gate before you hit the solid snow where you can begin to ski. Avalanche and Snowpack Conditions: For the latest avalanche advisory for this area go to www.esavalanche.org for the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center and click on advisory. The ESAC site is updated several times a week and more often during weather events. Wildlife: We are seeing a lot more sign of coyotes now that the snow has firmed up and travelling is getting easier. Other animal tracks seen in the past week include pine marten, chickaree, mice/vole, and hare. No sign of any bears yet. Birds seen in the past week include Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red Crossbill, and the always noisy Clark’s Nutcracker. We are still awaiting the arrival of our first spring migrants; we’ve heard that Robins and Bluebirds are becoming common at lower elevations, but we haven’t seen them up here yet. Questions: If you have any ski related or weather questions feel free to call 209-372-0450 between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm. If we are out skiing, leave a message and a phone number so we can return your call. Please don’t call us with questions about road conditions, as we live 20 miles from the nearest plowed road and don’t do any driving this time of year. For current park road conditions call 209-372-0200. (Jeff and Kathi, the Tuolumne winter rangers

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