Tioga pass closed for Memorial Day Weekend

Yosemite officials said earlier this week that sheets of ice on the park’s Olmsted have reportedly resulted in Tioga Pass likely remaining closed for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. As has been the recent custom at about this time of year, Yosemite crews from their side and Mono County Public Works on this side teamed up to get the pass road free of snow by the holiday weekend.

Both parties did indeed manage to plow Tioga Road, but concerns of the ice sheets causing avalanches at Olmsted Point kept the road from being given the go ahead for cross-park traffic. Crews are using charcoal (to melt the ice) and dynamite rangers said the ice has to “slide off” before the roadway can be certified safe for passage.

Due to lingering, come-and-go winter-like weather conditions this spring, setting a date for opening has been problematic at best. Park officials said they will “continue to work aggressively to make conditions ready” and that they are “disappointed” at not having better news to deliver. That news also means delays for Tioga-linked businesses hoping to get seasonal business jump-started as soon as possible.