The NPS has announced the cables on Half Dome will be in place and open for the season on Friday, May 24, 2013, weather permitting. If you’re one of the lucky ones who got your permit early this is great news! If not you can still try for the daily lottery (see below) to get a permit, if there are any left.

NPS: Approximately 50 permits will be available each day by lottery during the hiking season. These permits will be available based on the estimated rate of under-use and cancellation of permits (the exact number may change through the summer). The daily lotteries will have an application period two days prior to the hiking date with a notification late that night. (So, to hike on Saturday, you would apply on Thursday and receive an email notification of results late on Thursday night. Results will also be available online, or by phone the next morning.) The application period will be from midnight to 1 pm Pacific time.

At least one person was killed over the weekend in one of two rockslides Sunday on El Capitan. The fatal slide occurred about 9 a.m. The person killed was apparently climbing the south face of the iconic stone. A second rockslide occurred about seven hours later, according to witnesses.

The body of Kenneth Stensby was found by searchers at the base of Vernal Fall Monday evening.

Stensby was believed to have been fatally injured after falling from the top of the Vernal Fall. His death marked the first accidental fatality at the park this year, spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.

Although Vernal Fall does have a guard rail and signs warning of the dangers the granite cliffs along the top are treacherous and slippery even when dry. Visitors should always exercise extreme caution and common sense when scrambling on rocks or approaching cliffs.

Our deepest sympathies go out to Stensby’s family.

If you were in Yosemite National Park last weekend and hiked the Mist Trail you could help find a missing hiker.

Yosemite National Park Rangers are asking for everyone’s help in the search for 73 year old Kenneth Stensby, who set off on a day hike early Sunday morning, May 5, on his way to Vernal Fall. Stensby, an avid hiker from Edina, Minnesota, had been in the park for several days and was staying at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

Officials say Stensby left a note early Sunday morning informing the hotel staff that he was leaving for the hike early and expected to be back at the hotel by noon.

His pack (pictured below) was found at the railing at the top of Vernal Fall.

If you hiked the Mist Trail, or the John Muir Trail to Vernal or Nevada Falls on Sunday, please email the NPS information about when you were on the trail and what time you were at the top of Vernal Fall. Any photos you might have will also be helpful. You can email your information to StensbySearch@Yahoo.com. You can also call the NPS with any information at (209) 372-0432.

Hodgdon Meadow

On Wednesday, April 17th, the Hodgdon Meadow group campsites open for the season, and the entire Hodgdon Meadow campground will be available only by advance reservation (through October 14.)

Wawona Campground

On April 17th, the back loops of Wawona Campground, and the Wawona horse camp will open for the season, and the entire campground will be available only by advance reservation (through October 6th).

I know you’ve been dying to know when it will open so wait no more. Tioga Pass opens May 11th!!!

Factors that affect plowing and opening of the Tioga Road include:

• Avalanche zones (26 potential areas). The Olmsted Point avalanche zone requires a lot of work, including application of charcoal over the snow to help with melting and blasting the snow slab to make it safer for personnel.
• Heavy snow pack slows the whole operation.
• Trees that have fallen across the road and been buried in the snow. These can cause substantial damage to the equipment and result in a stop to all operations until they’re cleared.
• Rock slides buried by the snow. These can cause substantial damage to the equipment and result in a stop to all operations.
• Snow storms during the opening require a stop to Tioga Road operations and in order to plow and sand the park roads.
• Road repairs and ditching and brushing operations once snow has melted back enough.

We are greatly saddened by today’s events in Boston. Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the families of the victims of this tragedy. Though we didn’t know them, they’ll forever be in our memories. God bless you all.

If you’ve been waiting to get through Tioga Pass well, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. But the good news is some of the trans-sierra passes will be opening soon. Good news for the residents of Bridgeport and the Eastern Sierra

Union Democrat: The Central Sierra highway passes are edging toward full opening, most ahead of schedule, due to the low amount of snowfall this winter, according to Caltrans and the National Park Service. Highway 4 was cleared Wednesday to the closure gate at Lake Alpine, and is predicted to open fully through Ebbetts Pass by the end of April. The average opening date is mid- to late-May. Highway 89 was opened over Monitor Pass on Wednesday, about a week before average. The highway remains closed at Lassen Loop, which typically opens one to two months later. Highway 108 was opened Friday to Eagle Meadows, and may open farther to Kennedy Meadows this week. It’s unknown when Sonora Pass will fully open, but so far progress seems ahead of the average mid-May schedule. Highway 120 is predicted to open over Tioga Pass at its usual end of May date.

So, what are you doing for National park Week? Nothing? How'd you like to go visit your favorite national park (Yosemite, of course) or free?

This year Yosemite National Park will be celebrating National Park Week and Earth Day beginning on Saturday, April 20, through Sunday, April 28, 2013.

If you've never been it's a great time to bring the family. There are lots of fun, special events planned, interesting things to check out, fun learning activities, and it's all in Yosemite so you have the natural beauty of one of our greatests national parks. Plus, if you visit between Monday, April 22 to Friday, April 26, 2013 your entrance fee will be waived.

This year's annual celebration will include events and activities throughout the whole week. Events and activities include:

Friday, April 19

• 2:00 p.m.: Earth Day Bike Ride
• 7:00 p.m.: Earth Day Family Night

Saturday, April 20 (National Junior Ranger Day and Earth Day Celebrations)

• 9:00 a.m.: Ansel Adams Photography Walk
• 9:00 a.m.: Stewardship Project
• 10:00 a.m.: Climbing Trails Restoration Project
• 10:30 a.m.: Earth Friendly Product Fair
• 10:30 a.m.: Earth Day & Junior Ranger Day Village Celebration
• 10:30 a.m.: Earth-Lovin' Lil' Ones
• 11:30 a.m.: Sustainable Salad Bar Tasting
• 12:00 p.m.: Universal Waste Collection
• 1:00 p.m.: Earth Day Cupcakes & Lemonade
• 1:00 p.m.: National Volunteer Day Trash Pick-up
• 1:00 p.m.: Photography Class
• 3:00 p.m.: Fine Print Tour
• 5:30 p.m.: Naturalist Stroll: Poetry and Parks
• 8:00 p.m.: The National Parks: America's Best Idea Showing

Saturday, April 20 (Junior Ranger Children's Stage Events)

• 10:00 a.m.: Junior Ranger Walk.
• 11:00 a.m.: Children's Yoga
• 11:45 a.m.: Wee Wild Ones
• 12:30 p.m.: Live Earth Music for Kids
• 1:15 p.m.: Children's Storytelling
• 3:00 p.m.: Junior Ranger Walk

Sunday, April 21

• 7:00 p.m.: Chasing Ice Documentary Showing

Monday, April 22

• 8:00 p.m.: National Parks in the Sky

Tuesday, April 23

• The National Park Idea Started… Here

Wednesday, April 24

• 8:00 p.m.: This is America

Thursday, April 25

• 8:00 p.m.: What's Wild in Yosemite

Friday, April 26

• 8:00 p.m.: Primeval Ponderings: A Meander Through the Wilderness

Saturday, April 27

• 8:00 p.m.: Yosemite by Ear

Sunday, April 28

• 8:00 p.m.: Untold Stories from America's National Parks

For more information and a description of all events, visit: www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/guide.htmand click on the current "Yosemite Guide" link, or call 209-372-0200.

The Merced Wild and Scenic River Draft Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, wow that’s a mouthful, is the NPS plan for the Merced River corridor. The plan will affect lots of facets for visitors in the park including hiking access, climbing access, parking, lodging, camping and roadways. That’s why it’s important to make your voice heard. Currently the planning phase is still open andavailable for review and comment until April 18, 2013. That’s only a week but more than enough time to check out the plan and voice your opinion. Do not be dissuaded by what you’re reading in the media. Grab a copy of the plan and read for yourself.

For a copy of the plan and a complete description of all alternatives, please visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/mrp. htm (MRP). Comments can be made at the public meetings or through the Planning Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/mrpdeis. Comments made through the PEPC website are the preferred method of submission. Comments can also be sent via email to yoseplanning@nps.gov, via fax to 209-379-1294, or via U.S. mail to:

Superintendent
Yosemite National Park
Attn: Merced River Plan
P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389

Yosemite & The Epic Sierra from Tony Rowell on Vimeo.

Tony Rowell: I am a photographer and filmmaker inspired by the stunning photography of my father renowned photographer and mountaineer Galen Rowell. This short film features time-lapse footage that I captured of numerous iconic landscapes in Yosemite National Park and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains. In 1973 my father Galen was the first person to shoot color photos of sunset light on Yosemite’s Horsetail Fall. This natural phenomenon is often referred to as the “Firefall,” a name that pays homage to the manmade firefall that once took place in Yosemite. In February of 2013 I visited the park several times during a two week window when the sun’s rays illuminate the seasonal waterfall. In this short video I share the footage that I captured of the Firefall as well as a rare nighttime lunar rainbow in the mist of Yosemite Falls known as a Moonbow. The majority of this video was shot in Yosemite and The Epic Sierra during 2012-13 under the countless stars of the Milky Way and by Moonlight on partial or full moons evenings.

If you like the video you can grab the whole narrated film “Sierra Starlight” from the Bishop Visitors Center.
http://www.bishopvisitor.com/onlinestore/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=51.

According to the state Department of Water Resources the water content in the state’s snowpack is 66 percent of the average for this time of year and only 57 percent of the average amount for the entire winter season. according to the state Department of Water Resources.

The survey found the snowpack “has not kept pace with the calendar” and it is “unlikely” late-season storms will make up a deficit in water supply.

Based on snow survey results, electronic readings for the Central Sierra Nevada mountains show 67 percent of average water content to-date and 58 percent of the seasonal average. The survey put the Northern Sierra at 70 percent to-date and 62 percent for the season. The Southern Sierra is at 60 percent to-date and 51 percent for the season.

Dry winter conditions mean lower flows in rivers, creeks and waterfalls throughout the park and an increased fire danger.

The Lyell Glacier in Yosemite National Park. Photo by Fred Sharples via Flickr.

Conspiracy theorists will yell “there’s no such thing”, while climatologists are saying “I told you so” but for whatever reason, climate change or what-have-you, the The Lyell Glacier, the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park, has stopped moving.

Normally, glaciers move and grow in a downhill direction. This is how they’ve carved out the landscape of Yosemite for thousands of years. The lack of motion by the largest glacier in Yosemite is indeed something to take note of. Glaciers form by the accumulation of snow, and move downhill by flowing and sliding down a slope. A glacier’s health is determined by the amount of winter snowfall it receives compared to the amount of melting it does in the summer. The movement of a glacier is primarily determined by the glacier’s thickness and steepness of the slope on which it resides. Because they are sensitive to environmental conditions, glaciers are important indicators of climate change.

Find out more about the glaciers in Yosemite National Park by watching this episode of Yosemite Nature Notes.

The Lyell and Maclure Glaciers have been tracked by as far back as John Muir. Tracking a glacier involves pounding a stake in at the edge of the glacier and seeing how far it moves over a four year period.

Data collected from the stakes placed on the Lyell Glacier showed that no movement has occurred in the last several years. Earlier research on the glacier showed that it was moving in the 1930′s. Stagnation has therefore occurred since that time, perhaps within the past decade. In addition, the Lyell Glacier has decreased in size by about 60% since 1900, and has thinned by approximately 120 vertical feet. This thinning of the glacier is most likely why the glacier has stopped moving.

“The Lyell Glacier has historically been recognized as the largest glacier in Yosemite National Park and the second largest in the Sierra Nevada,” said Yosemite National Park Geologist Greg Stock, who co-led the investigation with Robert Anderson of the University of Colorado. “However, the lack of movement suggests that the term ‘glacier’ no longer accurately describes this feature.”

The team also measured the Maclure Glacier, which is adjacent to the Lyell Glacier. John Muir first documented movement of this glacier in 1872. The research team mimicked Muir’s measurements in 2012 by measuring stakes over the same period of the melt season. Despite a similar amount of ice loss as the Lyell Glacier, the team found that the Maclure Glacier continues to move at the same rate as that measured by Muir, about one inch per day. Although the Maclure Glacier has also thinned substantially, it is still thick enough to move and flow.

If you’ve been wondering what to get that special someone for Valentines Day this year, tell them you’re going to be a day late. On February 15th the next window for campground reservations, July 15th through August 15th, will open up. That’s the window that usually offers the best weather, the most trails without snow, and there’s usually still some water in the waterfalls.

Reservations can be made up to 5 months in advance (and it’s recommended because they go like hot cakes) but MUST be made at leat 1 day ahead of arrival, permitting there’s any spots left. Typically, all Yosemite campsites will be reserved within 20 minutes after they go on sale.

New dates are released in blocks, 1 month(s) at a time. Check out the table below from recreation.gov to see when the blocks open up.

For more information on making your reservations visit recreation.gov

Remember, if you don’t get a campsite you can try your luck at one of the first-come, first-served campgrounds but they fill up pretty fast as well. There’s also plenty of forest service campgrounds outside the park but you may be required to drive a bit to get to the Valley. If you’re coming up from LA via 395 I recommend Aspen Campground. It’s outside the park, considerably less painful on the wallet, a short drive from Lee Vining (bbq, yes I said bar-b-que), Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes and Bodie (a real life ghost town). It’s just down the hill from Tioga Pass and the Yosemite High Country. And it has ample fishing opportunities for anglers young and old alike. I’ve used this campground for several years as my FOB (forward operating base) for shoots up and down the Sierra and in Yosemite. The big bonus is when you get back from hiking for 12 hours you can head down the hill to the stop-n-rob and get a Häagen-Dazs.

Here’s a video if you decide to steer clear of the Yosemite crowds.