Warm Weather

Submitted by JoJo on Sun, 01/06/2008 - 13:14
I've not been able to make it up Hyalite this weekend. What has the warm weather and wind done to the road? Below the Reservoir? Above the Reservoir? Thanks in advance for the update.

The road is still in great shape but unfortunately two snow drifts, one at each end of the dam, prevent access to vehicles without high clearance. Nothing a hour of shoveling couldn't fix but really a show stopper for low clearance vehicles. Snow fences might be useful here for the future, (to prevent the snow drifts from forming in the first place), if that would be ok with the relevant authorities!? Alex

we drove in about 9:30 this morning. There was a Subaru wagon just ahead of us so the drifts have been scraped. Road below the res. is slick ice, above it's perfect.

The road up to Pine Creek had long stretches of solid drifts up to two feet on Friday Feb 1st. F-150 got only a few yards past the farmhouse just after the turn-off, but the rancher was using an augur on the flats to the switchbacks, at 5:30 PM. Crusty snow for easy walking on the road, not bad at all. Trail is mostly about 6 inches deep, pretty easy going, then some mid-thigh wallowing up to blue and green gullies. Armpit deep in one place coming out, after sliding down the chute. Blue & green gullies are both huge. A fair amount of wind-loaded snow above both.