MRNP White River Entrance Opens at Midnight

Be there.
Aloha.

MRNP website updated today says opening on the 22nd...bummer...anyone have on-the-ground data?

That was fast. Their site did say the 19th an hour or so earlier. MW8 and I were already making plans for the Grand Opening.

Now the web site says OPEN

There is a TAY literate Ranger over there messing with us and then laughing his a$$ off.

It's not opening for another week. > Hear my sad tale.
I arrived at the gate at about 9 AM to find it closed. A DOT truck was there; the driver was waiting for his boss to open the gate. Not to "Open" it officially, but to continue preparation for opening some time later. I was more than a little annoyed, having called MRNP late yesterday to confirm, then having posted on TAY information that turned out to be false. While I stood talking with the DOT guy, two more drivers arrived who had likewise acted on the wrong information (plus one foreign tourist who was ignorant of the seasonal closure).
I called MRNP, reaching the same operator as the day before. She still thought it was open. She transferred me to a ranger who advised it would open on Monday the 22nd. I fumed for a while then called back, since a confirmation seemed to be in order. A different person answered, said the road wasn't open; I urged him to have the park correct the website, he said "that's not my department"; I mentioned that cars were periodically driving up to the closed gate based on posted erroneous information, he reiterated "I can't do anything about that, thank you, have a nice day" etc.

I did get some useful information at last. The DOT supervisor arrived and told me the road would not open until the 25TH. Since the DOT seems to be the primary party preparing the road, I would take their word over MRNP's at this point. Also, in future when I want to know when the road is really going to open, I will check the DOT website instead.

I went up to Crystal for a consolation prize. Snow was on the soft side. One small steep patch gave way under me as I gained the ridge crest, which kept me off the steeper descent lines, but I did not encounter any other wet snow instability. Many cornices are posed to drop.