Snow falls among winter dormant trees in a Yosemite meadow
I have known for a month or so that I’d be in Yosemite for the last full week of February. That lead-in month was a very strange one for California weather. We had virtually no precipitation, and warm temperatures often made if feel more like summer than winter. These are not happy conditions for wintertime photography in the park, when a lot of the plant life is dormant and when snow and storm clouds usually provide more interesting conditions.
But immediately upon my arrival — literally the first moments I spent in the Valley — the weather changed. Not only did winter weather return, but it did so with a vengeance, and temperatures dropped much lower than would be typical for the date. On most days of my stay there were at least some clouds and on several days there was snowfall. The day I made this photograph brought the most daytime snow. In the afternoon a weak front worked its way into the Valley, and there were periodic snow showers. I headed to a tree-filled meadow when this shower arrived, and there I photographed juxtapositions of the interestedly shaped trees silhouetted against the falling snow.
Winter sunset light on a granite face and distant mountains fade into falling snow
I spent the last week in Yosemite National Park, as an artist-in-residence sponsored by Yosemite Renaissance. (Thank you!) I stayed in the Wawona area and made the drive to the Valley every day. It was wonderful to have a full week in the park and, especially, in the Valley. I spend a lot of time in Yosemite, but most of it is in the high country during summer and into the beginning of fall, so having this unbroken block of time in winter was a special treat. Making it even better, I got some weather luck. Recently California has again been in drought conditions, and last month we had record high temperatures that often felt more like spring or even summer. But I arrived to find cold (at times very cold) conditions, and a series of weak cold fronts brought snow to the Valley.
If I recall correctly, I had spent much of this afternoon photographing in the eastern part of the Valley, and as the weather closed in the light there began to die. I finished up my work in that area and prepared to depart for Wawona, but leaving enough to time to stop along the way should interesting light appear. In fact, further to the west the skies were trying to clear, and intermittent light made its way through breaks in the clouds to spotlight various areas. I stopped here and waited a few minutes, at which point almost the very last light of the day cut across the edge of the El Capitan monolith as the snow storm closed in on the upper Valley.
UPDATE: As of 2020 I am no longer posting annual updates concerning this subject — and I am editing older posts on the subject in light of the need to be more responsible about not encouraging the onslaught. I also no longer recommend going to the Valley to see it. Unfortunately, too much exposure (yes, I played a part in it, unfortunately) has led to absurd crowds, traffic jams, littering, destruction of areas in the Valley where too many people go to see it… and the park has increasingly — and appropriately — cracked down. Parking options have been eliminated, at least one viewing location has been closed. Good news! The rest of Yosemite Valley is still there and often exceptionally beautiful at this time of year.
Horsetail Fall, Early Evening
Every winter, for roughly a week or so starting just after mid-February, the sun and various geological features line up so that sunset light falls on the seasonal and ephemeral Horsetail Fall near the east end of the face of El Capitan. Sometimes the light of the setting sun may illuminate this waterfall from behind and briefly make the waterfall and its misty spray glow in sunset colors.
Since it is that time of year again, I’m going to briefly share a few bits of information and perspective about Yosemite Valley’s Horsetail Fall. For more, see an earlier article.
But before you get too excited…
This is another extremely dry winter in California, with Sierra snowpack far below normal. There is very little snow in the drainage the feeds the fall, and forecasts suggest that it will remain dry. In other words, there probably won’t be enough water to start the fall.
The “event” has gotten out of control as thousands of people showed, parking everywhere and trampling through forests. The park service decided that something has to change. This year access to the typical viewpoints will be more difficult, with extremely limited parking (by advance permit only), and roads near the viewing area will be closed to parking or shut down completely. If you don’t have one of those permits, you have a long walk ahead of you… and probably a long return walk in the dark.
Third, what you see in photographs (including my own) is not what you are likely to see in person.
My best advice this year? Probably don’t bother. Between the uncooperative weather and the access restrictions, you are perhaps more likely to experience a #HorseFailFall than Horsetail Fall.
Also, while seeing this phenomenon can be special, it is but one of many, many special experiences to be found in the Sierra. Too often these days, social media convinces use that such experiences are Super Mega Peak Astonishing Ultra Wonders. This poses some dangers, and you should consider resisting. It falsely transforms quiet, contemplative experiences into the equivalent of a sports event, unfortunately creating greater distance between observers and the experience they crave. It also brings crowd that threaten the very places that they come to see.
Perhaps consider something else?
Fortunately, winter in Yosemite Valley has a whole lot to offer besides this event. Fog often forms in quiet meadows at dawn, clouds frequently float among cliffs and peaks, you might get lucky and see some snow, some wildlife is much easier to see in winter, the crowds are generally a lot smaller, and some interesting events take place, such as the Yosemite Renaissance Exhibit opening near the end of the month in the Visitor Center Museum Gallery. (I’ll be in the park during this period as a Yosemite Renaissance “artist in residence,” photographing and attending the opening of the exhibit.)
Two of my photographs (seen below) were selected to be part of AVIAN: Birds In A Changing World, a current exhibit featuring work by more than 40 artists — photographers, painters, sculptors, ceramicists, and much more.
“Black-necked Stilt Taking Flight” — A black-necked Stilt takes off from a California Central Valley pond
The show is open now and continues through January 14, 2018 at Gallery Five at Gallery Row in Oakhurst. Inquiries sales from the exhibit may be directed to the gallery by phone at 559-683-5551 or by email admin@sierraarttrails.org.
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Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
