Each spring, plowing crews set out to clear 45.5 miles along the Tioga Road. Crews must safely navigate through multiple avalanche zones. In addition to several feet of snow, downed trees and rockfall often need to be cleared from the road. This video shows footage of plowing operations in May 2023, which was a heavy snow year.
Prior to the plows making their way through avalanche zones, Yosemite's avalanche crews go ahead of the plows to assess the situation; this is especially important at Olmsted Point, the most dangerous of the zones. Each spring this task is crucial for the safety of all employees and in especially heavy snow years can be a daunting task.
After it's deemed safe to begin plowing through the Olmsted Point avalanche zone, crews make their way through with their equipment under a close watch by the park's avalanche team. In 2023, after a record breaking snow year, this didn't occur until June 21!
Along the Tioga Road, ahead of the snow plows, the avalanche team surveys, monitors, and mitigates safety concerns along the route. Crews use explosives to spread charcoal during spring plowing operations to help snow melt faster at Olmsted Point. This helps decrease the avalanche hazard in a well-known avalanche zone along Tioga Road.
Each year, significant work goes into opening Tuolumne Meadows after the plows have cleared the Tioga Road, secondary roads, campgrounds, parking areas, and turnouts. Additional work includes clearing trees that pose safety hazards, repairing and setting up the water system, sewer system and wastewater treatment plant, clearing culverts and ditches, repairing potholes and other damage to roads along with many other tasks. In years of heavy snow, the workload is even more extensive.
Every spring, both visitors and locals look forward to the opening of the Tioga Road, a high-elevation pass that crosses Yosemite National Park. Get a glimpse of what it takes to clear snow and ice from a section of the highway known for dangerous avalanches.
