Passes are opening up!

There's good news in the Sierra this week. Monitor Pass is now open on Highway 89, and it looks as if Sonora Pass on 108 will open early next week. The snow is also off Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4, but there is still some roadwork and paving they need to fix before they'll open that.

And just to give you an idea, that is well before these passes usually open. The figures we've seen have the Sierra snowpack at between 35 and 50% of normal, and in warm weather that should melt out quickly.

Of course, the Covid19 regulations still make visiting the mountains a bit problematic. The National Parks are closed. The National Forests are open to day-hikes, but not backpacking. And some of the campgrounds are open only to self-contained RVs. No toilets are open or operational anywhere.

We can only hope that things will get better!