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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 23, 2012 - 12:52pm PT
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A friend just sent this to me:
Breaking: Big Oak Flat Road Closed
Due to an overnight rockslide, the Big Oak Flat Road is closed from the Foresta Road junction to the El Portal Road junction. There is currently no access to Yosemite Valley from Highway 120. The rockslide has caused major road structural problems; a complete assessment will be made later today and more information will be subsequently provided. The road is closed indefinitely.
What happened Werner, did the Iota fall down?
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WBraun
climber
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Jan 23, 2012 - 12:55pm PT
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Don't know yet.
I've just heard it here.
There's no one here yet.
I'll go get the sledge hammer .....
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 12:56pm PT
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Just heard as well. My guess is the section below the tunnels, where it usually slides. Someone on the ground needs to go to the Rostrum and get some pictures!
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 02:42pm PT
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Unconfirmed rumors that 30 feet of roadway was wiped out by landslide just above the 120/140 junction.
This road could be closed for a long time if that's the case.
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 02:55pm PT
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http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/1510302/Yosemite-Valley-Entrance-Closed-Indefinitely.html
Yosemite National Park Spokesperson Scott Gediman says a boulder, "the size of a house," fell into the road and brought with it tree branches and several smaller rocks.
Gediman says the best case scenario is that the debris will be removed over the coming days and Big Oak Flat Road will reopen "within the next week or so." He says the worst case scenario is that there is structural damage to the road and it will need extensive repairs. Gediman says this scenario could result in the road being closed for "several months."
At this point Yosemite is calling Big Oak Flat Road "closed indefinitely."
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 02:58pm PT
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sounds like a good time to take a hike and clear some dangerous blocks off of popular routes!
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Phil_B
Social climber
Hercules, CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 04:34pm PT
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Yeah, I heard it was a big rock too, maybe 500 m^3 and it took out a ton of trees as well as a big chunk of road.
Calling Cleo and gstock! What's the true scoop? Any pics?
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 23, 2012 - 05:04pm PT
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Here's a photo from the NPS
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
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Jan 23, 2012 - 05:07pm PT
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Yikes!
Glad it happened at night when chances of someone being near was a lot less. Imagine being the first person to come upon it the next morning...
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Jan 23, 2012 - 05:24pm PT
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I remember when the road was closed for rockfall years ago (1992?). It was great. You could hike up and have a bunch of popular climbs in the Reed's area mostly to yourself.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 23, 2012 - 09:07pm PT
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Holy Cow !!
I think Owl Roof fell off.
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martygarrison
Trad climber
Washington DC
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Jan 23, 2012 - 10:47pm PT
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I remember as kids doing the iota then rolling basketball size boulders down the scree toward the cars on 120. Ranger busted us but told us just to get out of there as we were 13 or 14. Dumb ass kids.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jan 23, 2012 - 11:03pm PT
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Crikey!!
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Jan 23, 2012 - 11:13pm PT
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Goodbye Reeds.
Five and Dime.
People are crying right now.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Jan 23, 2012 - 11:29pm PT
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It would really suck for someone who got a really early start this morning and saw this in their headlights just before arriving in the Valley, having to turn around and drive all the way back.
Bad news for the Bay Area and environs North.
Good news for the pizza place in Mariposa.
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Inner City
Trad climber
East Bay
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Jan 23, 2012 - 11:36pm PT
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Is it possible to drive from Foresta down the dirt road to El Portal area?
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Jan 24, 2012 - 12:45am PT
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From C-Mac's link:
"The closed area is indicated in black. Look to the left of the "Yosemite Valley" label, and you will see where the Big Oak Flat road is closed from the junction with Foresta to the junction with the El Portal Road (and Yosemite Valley floor). Yosemite Valley is still accessible from Highway 140 and Highway 41."
And in a comment under the photo:
"...the Foresta Road is only open to Foresta; there is no access to Highway 140."
And I was just convincing a partner that one of the bonuses of doing Beyond Lunacy is the two-minute approach.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 24, 2012 - 01:46am PT
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Does this mean we can now camp at the Reed's coffee pullout? I'm in !!
Good point agent rox4brains , this would never have happened if a toothless spudboy methhead with a case of keystone lite, in a '62 Ranchero, had been first on the scene! Thnx! Those Cali gumshoes, slackerds that they are, would have missed that detail!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 24, 2012 - 02:32am PT
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I've driven that road (El portal to Foresta)in a '70 VW bus, bitd... And I agree!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jan 24, 2012 - 12:43pm PT
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Did someone leave the door open? the wind or something is whining again...
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WBraun
climber
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Jan 24, 2012 - 02:03pm PT
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Rocky -- "Idahoans don't turn around for that sh#t, we go to work and clear a lane."
I've actually witnessed this.
Me and Shipley coming around a bend Northern Idaho and rocks all over the road.
Everyone that came on that scene at that moment got out their cars and moved the rocks along with us.
Walt said "Hey people up here are cool".
Next, lower Merced Canyon just below the cookie on 140.
Rock fall right in front of us all over the road on our way to Arch rock.
One was pretty big and me and merry barely could move it after working on it for a while.
The dumb azz stupid retard people that showed up at the same time all just sat in cars and watched.
Nobody got out of their cars ever nor even tried to help ....
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Jan 24, 2012 - 04:09pm PT
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A few years back I was hitching home to Meyers from Strawberry after work. My ride was this dude Barak who worked for the FS in P-Ville and had given me a ride a few times prior.
So, we're headed down Echo into the basin and we have to stop because there is a large dog sized rock in the middle of the road. Barak puts the hazards on and we move the rock after a few minutes of work.
The whole time, traffic is piling up in both directions, nobody bothered to get out of their cars and help.
It was a lesson in the furthering of our countries laziness and disconnect from fellow humans.
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 24, 2012 - 04:39pm PT
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I'm a naturalized Californian, and I've moved rocks, dragged logs and bucked up trees to clear roads before, but I can't do that for this slide cuz the road is closed by a gate at both ends.
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Phil_B
Social climber
Hercules, CA
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Jan 24, 2012 - 05:01pm PT
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Heck, I'm a native Californian and I've helped move rocks when they were blocking the way on a kayaking run. I've not come across rocks when on climbing trips yet.
I remember one rock on 140 before the Ferguson slide totally went. We were going to go back and move it off the road if it was still there. It probably is, but I won't be moving that rock anytime soon. . .
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
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Jan 24, 2012 - 05:11pm PT
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People, help?
Last season doing trailwork, we had a climber ask if we could hold off on using our gas-powered winch until she was done climbing, because the fumes upset her breathing(we were there, set up, and already at work when she arrived, using the devise to haul hundred-plus pound rocks up the talus slope to reinforce the slope at the base of the climb she wanted)
and we had a group of CforC people who camped out on a climb and TR'd the thing for hours while we worked feet away. They apparently didn't like the noise we were making as we communicated the coordination of hauling stone piles up the slope(with the gas-powered winch) and raised their voices to be heard above us. After all - telling stories of their weekends are more important than us being able to tell someone to cut the engine because there was a hangup in the metal cable... I had to ASK a woman to move away from me as I was using the grip hoist, because she didn't seem to get the hint she was belaying in the area I was swinging the lever... And they got pissed off when I told them we needed their cooperation if they intended to saty - STFU and get out of our way!
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bergbryce
Mountain climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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Jan 24, 2012 - 07:14pm PT
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Was the second car that came upon a lot of rocks that came down just above Camp 9, just past Tioga Pass. There were probably 10 people out moving rocks to clear the road. I think the small refrigerator sized one that smashed in the guard rail on the far side of the highway had people thinking it was wise to get the $hit out of the road and get moving instead of sitting there waiting for more to come down.
I dislike Italy, had some really bad experiences there, but I don't go out of my way to talk about how $hitty I think it is in EVERY discussion. Give it up. We get it.
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 24, 2012 - 10:20pm PT
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Gettin' 'er done!
Workers today are busy clearing the debris from Sunday night's rockfall on the Big Oak Flat Road. Once the debris is cleared later this week, we hope to provide an estimate on an opening timeline.
http://www.facebook.com/YosemiteNPS
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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Jan 24, 2012 - 10:40pm PT
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four more years of what?
a bunch of tea baggers hangin around dennys?
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Gunkie
Trad climber
East Coast US
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Jan 25, 2012 - 12:33pm PT
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If he was still kicking, Evel Knievel could still get into the valley.
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scuffy b
climber
heading slowly NNW
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Jan 25, 2012 - 12:35pm PT
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Because he can read a road map?
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Jan 25, 2012 - 01:56pm PT
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Because he can read a road map?
Hahahaha111!!!11!.
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gstock
climber
Yosemite Valley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 02:26pm PT
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Here is a photo taken on Monday morning from the Wawona tunnel showing the rock-fall source area (yellow circle), runout path through the trees and across the Big Oak Flat Road, and the final boulder deposition location (look for the huge boulder at the base of the slide runout path).
Greg Stock
Yosemite Park Geologist
(209) 379-1420
greg_stock@nps.gov
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Jan 25, 2012 - 02:34pm PT
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New approach!
Straight to the choss!
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Sean Jones
climber
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Jan 25, 2012 - 02:35pm PT
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Funny, this doesn't have to be some multi month closure. They move mountains all over the world, fly to space, and so on...... the big thing is to be sure there's not more coming down. Once you establish that, you just go fix it. period.
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Mike Bolte
Trad climber
Planet Earth
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Jan 25, 2012 - 02:37pm PT
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I like that photo greg. Thanks
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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Jan 25, 2012 - 02:52pm PT
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What is cool (I think) is to see what a small circle of slide origin area can do so much damage. I can't wait to see what Lost Arrow, Boot Flake or the "trunk" on Elephant Rock will do when they cut loose!
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bearbnz
Trad climber
East Side, California
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Jan 25, 2012 - 04:07pm PT
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Greg, do ypu have a volume estimate for this event yet? As big as a house was how it was described by the Park spokesperson, but how big of a house?
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gstock
climber
Yosemite Valley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 04:30pm PT
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The large boulder that did most of the damage is about 5 x 7 x 8 m, or about 280 cubic meters (about 750 metric tons). There is an additional 200 cubic meters or so of fresh rock debris on the slope that was either shaved off of the boulder by impacts or mobilized from the cliff and/or talus slope. Ignoring another 20 or so cubic meters of debris from the retaining wall, the overall volume was about 480 cubic meters (about 1300 tons).
That is quite a bit smaller than the average US house (2700 cubic meters), but it's bigger than some of the studios I lived in in grad school!
This event was larger than anything that occurred in 2011, but is fairly typical by Yosemite standards. Consider that the largest rock fall in Yosemite's recorded history was about 600,000 cubic meters (the 1987 Middle Brother rock fall), and some prehistoric events were as large as 11 million cubic meters (!).
Greg
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Jan 25, 2012 - 04:33pm PT
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Greg - Thanks for the photo and all the great technical stuff you give us.
I'd like to volunteer for the Yosemite Trundle and Roll Department (YOSTARD).
Looks like a few loose ones up there need to be sent down just to be sure.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jan 25, 2012 - 05:21pm PT
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Greg,
Do you have any thoughts about how the "roundness" of the boulder might contribute to a longer path of destruction as it rolls downhill unchecked?
I wonder if the same mass was a flake that just dropped down in the same plane as the surface of the cliff,
if it would be expected to travel less distance,
because it might not gain the angular momentum of rolling?
This may be an insignificant factor, since it just concerns a single object impacting forest/talus.
While most big rockfalls would appear to impact rock and might yield a more elastic collision?
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bearbnz
Trad climber
East Side, California
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Jan 25, 2012 - 05:24pm PT
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Thanks Greg, interesting stuff.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jan 25, 2012 - 05:41pm PT
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Can anyone identify the climbing area in the immediate slide zone?
(I can't)
Going to be a one lane road for quite a while after they get it open.
That whole slope to the west of this tunnel (Reed's) is equally squishy. Someone in my party (who will remain nameless) knocked down a kitchen table sized boulder right into 120 a few years ago. Very fortunately, there were no cars/motorcycles/bicycles/walkers on the road at that precise minute. Four of us managed to get traffic stopped and then push the boulder off to the side. If a car/motorcycle/bicycle had run into it at even moderate speed it would have been nasty. Not even considering if it had fallen ONTO someone.
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gstock
climber
Yosemite Valley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 05:54pm PT
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Hi Clint,
Those are great questions, and we are investigating them as I write - a colleague from the Austrian Geological Survey (on "sabbatical" right now in Yosemite) is working on 3D computer simulations of this event that we can use to tease out the relative importance of boulder shape and volume, as well as the properties of the substrate the boulder moves over. I'm especially interested in how much energy was dissipated by trees in this event - people often think that trees offer little resistance, and yet this boulder did stop on the slope. So I'll let you know what we learn from the simulations.
Generally speaking, though, boulder shape matters a lot. Thin flakes will tend not to travel as far both because of their angular shapes, which get caught up more easily in the roughness of the talus, and also because they tend to break up more easily on impact. Big rounded boulders tend to roll right over talus roughness and don't break up very much.
There is good reason why the boulders that are farthest out from the talus slopes in Yosemite Valley - think Columbia Boulder, LeConte Boulder, Chapel, etc. - are really big and rounded.
Greg
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throwpie
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 08:51pm PT
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Could some of the big boulders you mentioned have been deposited by ice instead of rockfall? It just seems that something the size of Columbia would have broken up on impact.
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throwpie
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 08:56pm PT
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Now that I think of it, some of the boulders from the cookie cliff slide were pretty huge...but they didn't come from very far up.
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gstock
climber
Yosemite Valley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 09:23pm PT
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As it happens, there is very good evidence that most of the big boulders like Columbia were not deposited by glaciers. First, they are almost without exception composed of the same type of granitic rock as the cliff just above, whereas many glacial erratics are composed of rock found far upvalley.
Second, and more compelling, is the fact that we have dated about 40 of these boulders in Yosemite Valley using cosmogenic beryllium-10 exposure dating (we did this primarily for purposes of hazard assessment). Most of the notable boulders on the floor of the Valley have ages of a few thousand years (Columbia Boulder for example has an exposure age of 4,400 years), much younger than the timing of deglaciation about 15,000 years ago. So I am pretty certain that almost all of the big boulders are of rock fall, not glacial, origin. The few exceptions may be in the western Valley near Bridalveil Falls and Valley View, which do seem to be glacial (though we have not yet dated those).
The interesting thing to consider is that boulders like Columbia may have actually come off the walls much bigger and their present size is all that is left left after multiple impacts.
Greg
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throwpie
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jan 25, 2012 - 10:35pm PT
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Pleasant dreams, Camp Four
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YosemiteSteve
Trad climber
CA
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Jan 27, 2012 - 04:15pm PT
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Road to Reopen Tomorrow, January 28 at 8:00 a.m.
Yosemite National Park announces that the Big Oak Flat Road (the continuation of Highway 120) within the park will reopen tomorrow morning, January 28, 2012, at 8:00 a.m.The park's Roads and Trails Crew worked throughout the week to clear the road of debris and rocks after a large rockfall occurred late last Sunday evening, January 22, 2012.Two lanes have been re-established on the road and it will be open to unrestricted traffic tomorrow morning.
"All of the work on the road this week has been accomplished by the efforts of our Roads and Trails Crew in the Division of Facilities Management," stated park Superintendent Don Neubacher."I'd like to personally praise them for their tireless work, dedication, and skill in getting the road back open.This opening is a testament to the efficiency and fortitude of our Roads and Trails Crew."
Temporary road closures will be in place next week to allow the park unrestricted access to pave the road.Exact days and times have not been established.Visitors are asked to call 209-372-0200 for 24-hour updated road and weather information.
The road will reopen tomorrow morning with a gravel surface.Park visitors are urged to use extreme caution and drive slowly through the rockfall area.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/parknews/bofreopen.htm
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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada City, CA
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Jan 27, 2012 - 04:17pm PT
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Nice work road crew!
Thank you.
Erik
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jan 27, 2012 - 04:20pm PT
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Superb work, NPS! When I saw the pictures of the damage, I figured it would require weeks for temporary opening, and months long-term.
John
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Feb 14, 2012 - 12:21pm PT
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Any update on the road status?
The Yosemite park site lists it as "open".
Did they get it repaired in both directions?
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cleo
Social climber
the canyon below the Ditch!!!!
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Feb 14, 2012 - 12:44pm PT
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I'm pretty sure it is open in both directions (gravel) but still will need work in the future.
YOSEMITE FORUM talk today about rock falls including this one - noon in the auditorium, if you're local and free. Not by me - by Sandra Melzner - but I will be there.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 14, 2012 - 02:31pm PT
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Yep, open in both directions. And like cleo said, it's gravel for now (about a 25' section).
The Iota is still there, this thing came down a few hundred yards from the 140/BOFR Tee. I hear there was a fear it'd roll down and damage 140 too boot.
Man, that is one heck of a lane that thing carved coming down! Certainly worthy of a picture...
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briham89
Trad climber
los gatos. ca
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Feb 14, 2012 - 03:18pm PT
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they said it will be closed in the future for more permanent fixing, so check the status before you go up each time
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