The Closing of Tioga

A high-elevation road has been open due to nice weather. No longer.

ANY OTHER YEAR: Flip to a January page in any calendar from pretty much any other year in recent memory and you'll find one fact: Tioga Road, the high-country thoroughfare through Yosemite, is closed. That's because Tioga Road, given its elevation and sometimes tricky driving conditions, is very often closed, even in seasons that do not start in "win" and end in "ter." And the snow? Oh, the snow. It gets a lot of snow. But 2012? Yeah. It has been different this year around Tioga way; the road has actually been open, which has been something of a shocker to long-time locals and visitors alike. But, the news that everyone has been (mostly) waiting for: The snow is returning, meaning Tioga closed again on the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 17.

YOSEMITE'S TAKE: People are ready for the cold, white stuff to fall. "It's certainly past time for a little winter around here," says the national park's Facebook page. And a rep says "We are excited for some snow!!!!" We love the exclamation points, and while we did love the fact that people were tooling around Highway 120 at an extraordinary time of year, faux summertime has wrapped. Happy sledding, Sierra visitors. And keep up on things at this weather/road info line.

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