Hyalite Road Report

We're planning to come on from out of town next Thursday, so any updates would be greatly appreciated. Have chains, shovels, and come-along, and are willing to help punch it through even if it requires a bit of effort.

We made the trek this morning. The road is in decent shape. It's not bad at all once you pass the reservoir and all the traffic. Leaving in the afternoon is a definite adventure. We watched the truck in front of us lose a freshly cut christmas tree out the back as we both were going in reverse to get out of the way of stubborn rednecks making an afternoon trip up. The snap of the tree as it was run over was sad and oh so funny. Happy Trails

I was up there yesterday (Sat 10th), left at 8:00 am. We were the first up the road and it was as good as can be. On the way out, around 2:00, there were people everywhere. Getting around them can pose a problem for many vehicles (especially when a guy in a jeep decides he doesn't need to move out of the tracks). With all the passing on the way out the road was pretty torn up in areas. --just leave town early and leave the canyon late and you won't have to deal with the knuckleheads. Mark Harro

I was able to get my suby up yesterday but it was a circus coming down. with all the yahoos tearing the ruts up it's doubtful vehicles without more clearance will be able to get up there for long. I was scraping bottom in a lot of places.

Got in/out Mon/Tuesday in the suby. I put the chains on last nite coming out and they helped with one drifted in area on the dam, other then that it wasn't too bad. It's definetly worth dealing with the road to get to the ice that's in!

I went in on my snowmobile yesterday. After digging three people out on our way out, we met these two guys who go their full-size pick up truck stuck somewhere after the dam and before the Main Fork parking lot. They said that the ruts were too narrow for a full size. So please beware. They were forced to call a tow truck to get them out and I do not know their status as of today. And PLEASE once you commited to going in, do NOT try and turn around anywhere but the Main Fork parking lot. I know most of us would not but this is why we were digging three people out. Also, if you do not have chanis on all four tires, don't try to go to Emerald Lake area. Everytime this winter I have gone up, I have had to dig someone out who was trying to go up there. It is a mess. No goo ruts exist up there. Signing off and tired of shoving them out, Nicole

I drove out of Hyalite canyon this afternoon and the truck that was stuck has now been cleared but the ruts are bad in the area where it was stuck. There is also another truck stuck just before the bridge and junction of the east fork road. The Road is getting worse, how long can it last? Kristoffer Erickson

[quote="kephoto"]The Road is getting worse, how long can it last? Kristoffer Erickson[/quote] Getting worse? Wow. In the 3 seasons I've spent driving the road, the ruts seem the best today (organized and pretty straight), and this was in a Subby. The ruts around the the location of the former stuck truck were a minor hinderence to our Subby but we got through. Indeed, how long will it last? Time will tell. Brad

While I admire the determination of all subby drivers to continue climbing in Hyalite despite single track road conditions, your responsibility to the rest of the people driving up and down the road when they encounter you and your low clearance "subby" seems a little disrespectful. Having driven the road into Hyalite for the last 14 years I've seen all sorts of people drive the road in just about every condition and vehicle. We all have to work together in order to pass oncoming traffic going in and out of the canyon and a Subby won't be doing so great once it's out of the single track, if it can even get out of the single track. There are many great places to climb in our area and if you don't have an adequate vehicle to travel into Hyalite, take the opportunity to start driving one of the other roads to climb. Pine Creek, Cooke city, East Rosebud and Cody all offer excellent climbing and none need a 4x4! Kristoffer Erickson

Well Said. And I've only been climbing here one year. But it is not fair to us who are fully prepared with chains, shovels and tow ropes plus drive a 4x4 to continuously have to dig others out who are way less prepared to drive out there. Not one person we dug out on Wednesday had a shovel or a tow rope!!

We ended up in the ditch about 1.5 miles past the dam on the way in yesterday morning, but self-extricated with a come-along and tow strap. It was -15F in the lot. The low we saw while driving in was -22. It was 2 when we got back to the car at 4:00 PM. The road is challenging but not awful. We didn't chain up. The road is closed today (Sunday) for a SAR for two overdue climbers. Here's hoping they are found safe and sound.

I can agree with the subie comment. We spent 4 hours digging out a subaru a couple of weeks ago and missed our oportunity to go climbing. I can guarntee with the conditions as they are you can't make it up currently in a subie...even to the resevoir.

One word can be used to describe the road right now..Soft. I was up there last night with a guy who had 37 inch tires and 36 inches of ground clearance and he made it across the damn with no issues...me on the other hand not so much. Had to turn around at 2:30AM because I had class at 8AM the next morning. But I think if a couple more people like him drove the road we could make it back into the ice!