The 395 and Owens Valley-Eastern Sierra Region

Crossing my fingers the 395 opens back up this weekend!

 

It was unreal for sure. Check out the truck next to mine that hadn't moved for 24 hours. I cleared about 8" off my truck a few hours earlier.
This is the walkways in the condo complex.

The crews up there are true f-ing hero's. In addition to the insane snowfall there was a propane explosion up there yesterday that made things even worse but roads are clear.
Needless to say, conditions were once in a lifetime as it was partly cloudy to mostly Mammoth blue bird the day after this storm.
Got lucky to get first tracks off 25 and it was thigh deep.

 

Catching up on the thread -- crazy snow y'all!

But I think I've finally figured out why I keep trekking up the Owens. Why I keep seeking tidbits of history and new vantage points. And for that matter, why I keep hanging out on this thread:


I'm CAUGHT in a CROSSFIRE of EMOTION...

... FROM WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPE!!!!



Thanks, @Stuck Sucks -- this is just what I needed. My eye isn't as keen, but looks like they got an F7 A/B combo up the valley... and filmed it with... a drone??? Impressive!

 

Mammoth Mountain this morning: "It's officially the snowiest season on record! We have received 702" of snow at Main Lodge and 879" at the summit."

 

This was on Mono County Sheriff’s Office - on Facebook

 

We are all over it. Mammoth is a complete and total shit show. I'm certain at this point I can say without a shadow of doubt that snow lowers people's IQ by at least 32.7%.

 

Stop being modest. It’s at least 50%.

 

This is the driveway of the house I was supposed to be working at today.

 

Dam. Not sure I would dig my way in for fear of collapse.

 

The snow banks pretty stable even though they are well over 25' tall. It just needs a few passes with the Bobcat. The snow removal crews are so far behind and have so much broken equipment that I understand why it's not cleared yet. If it's not cleared by tomorrow AM then I'll be a little more pissed. There's no way to shovel it by hand as it's the end of a culdesac with literally no where to put the snow except up on the 25' banks. lol

 

Snow’s pretty deep up in the Lake Tahoe area also. Our cabin is uh… buried to say the least.

 

Repost from TW Live on Saturday. Went to the high desert (slightly south of 395) to gawk at the poppies/wildflowers. While there were insane numbers of orange poppies, it looked like many more are on the way (many buds). We'll revisit in 2-3 weeks.

 

This is actually west of the crest, at the SnoPark at the plowed end of Hwy 4 near Lake Alpine. I was hesitant to go in at first, having read about so many building collapses, but finally nature called … the FS was keeping it accessible, clean, and stocked.

 

So... with all the talk about Lake Tulare, I'm wondering just how much of a refill Lake Owens is going to get when the melt comes. And Mono Lake, for that matter.

 

I saw a video of the Sierra snowpack from yesterday. It has been a long time since I’ve seen that much coverage or that much snow. It’s gonna be a challenge if the summer is hot.

 

It is gonna be a wet mess this summer, and after seeing it first-hand, I beleive the higher elevations will be tough to get to this year. Rivers will overflow above the banks in the valleys (I remember years ago after a heavy snow fall NPS closing Yosemite Valley due to the Merced overflowing into structures and over bridges). Waterfalls will be running at full blast, and there will be a ton of new vegetation to turn into tinder in the coming years. Regretting all the river front RV sites I booked for an upcoming road trip up the west coast.

 

And it’s snowing now … At least I assume it is in some of the Sierra, as it’s pretty wet here on the Coast.

 

Music is obnoxious at times but this is a cool timelapse.
https://youtu.be/djV0kK4_6no

And there's this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA3_sD0rySI&t=19s

https://youtu.be/CaFhO79Lxo8

 

Just saw an Instagram reel with a 2022/2023 snow comparison. 235% more snow this year up on Kearsarge Pass. Wow. That is a ton of snow!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqgMft8Jq_R

 

It'll be deep well into summer and I imagine the mosquitoes are going to be brutal. There will be more desert camping this summer than in the past for us.