Mariposa's original daily updated online newspaper
 

 

Weather: (March 19 to March 26) High temp: 56° (March 23) Low temp: 10° (March 21, 24, 26) New Snow: 0” Total settled snow depth: 44” as of March 27 Ski Conditions and Weather: It has been a warm and sunny week at Tuolumne, with afternoon highs in the fifties and overnight lows in the teens the past few days. The snow has firmed up, providing great touring conditions. Be prepared for soft-to-slushy snow by the middle of the afternoon on sunny days however. 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. Caltrans has plowed the Tioga road (Highway 120) from the road closure gate outside of Lee Vining up to the Warren Fork of Lee Vining Creek, so skiers coming in from the east side should be prepared to walk the first 3-4 miles of road above the gate before you hit the snow where you can begin to ski. Skiers coming up the Snow Creek trail from the west side report that the snow line begins just above the top of the switchbacks; the switchbacks, and everything below them, are bare ground. 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: Our second spring arrival from the avian world showed up this past week- the Dark-eyed Junco. Their tinkling musical song can now be heard all over the area. Other birds seen in the past week include the American Robin, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Townsend’s Solitaire, and Clark’s Nutcracker. Last week also brought the first Painted Lady butterflies of the spring to our neck of the woods; the main migration has not yet arrived however, we are only seeing one or two of the insects per day. Animal tracks seen in the past week include Coyote, Pine Marten, Chickaree, Mice/Vole, and Hare. No sign of any bears 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.

Sierra Sun Times Home