5/27/11, "Heavy snows spoil weekend holiday plans in West," AP, S. Paulson
"Ski resorts are bustling with activity. A key highway into Yellowstone is closed because parts of the road have seen more than 25 feet of snow. And campgrounds are feverishly removing snow from campsites to clear the way for visitors.
Welcome to Memorial Day weekend in much of the West.
The traditional kickoff of the summer season will have a decidedly wintry feel in the Rocky Mountains, as well as California's Sierra Nevada, because of a lingering record snowfall.
Epic snowpack in parts of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and California is forcing many tourists to abandon the annual rites of launching their summer holidays with a camping trip. Others plan to take advantage of prolonged skiing and snowshoeing this strange spring....
Rocky Mountain National Park's popular Trail Ridge Road is closed because of 17-foot snow drifts. Normally, holiday motorists can cruise at altitudes surpassing 11,000 feet but not this year.
In Oregon, some resorts were still trying to dig out cabins - let alone campgrounds - from snowpack.
Yellowstone National Park has just one campground open. "We're telling people to be prepared for snow," said park spokesman Al Nash.
In other parts of Wyoming, officials have extended winter closures of wildlife management areas to campers. The reason: To protect wildlife from humans because animals are still searching for food at lower elevations.
The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center is fully staffed to warn outdoors enthusiasts.
"May snow depths are deeper than anything we have seen in the last 45 years," said avalanche center spokesman Bob Comey.
In California, a historic Sierra Nevada snowpack is making Yosemite National Park's springtime cascading waterfalls especially beautiful - and dangerous, with several accidental drownings already of people who failed to keep away from thundering waterfalls and swollen creeks and rivers.
Farther north, some popular campgrounds in Tahoe National Forest aren't expected to open for several weeks.
While the snow is bad for some campers, it's great for skiers in Colorado and elsewhere. Aspen is reopening 136 acres of trails for skiing this weekend, and Arapahoe Basin has extended its closing dates beyond June 5.
"We're getting amazing ski traffic for this time of year because of this snowpack," Dostie said of the conditions in the Lake Tahoe region
- along the California-Nevada border."...
------------------------------------------------------
"In this May 18, 2011 photo provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation, a sign for Independence pass is nearly obstructed by snow in Colorado near Mt Evans. Trail Ridge Road is closed because of snow, Aspen-area cyclists had to cancel their Ride for the Pass over Independence Pass for the first time in 17 years and campers are being warned there is still 16 feet of snow in the Routt National Forest. While other states like Montana worry about flooding, Colorado is still coping with record snows. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Transportation, File)"
----------------------------------------------
Where do we go to get billions in tax dollars back from the global warming cartel ? ed.
via Drudge Report
No comments:
Post a Comment