Yosemite Photos, Video and News

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NPS Forestry Crews continues to remove encroaching vegetation, trimming
trees and removing hazard trees along the El Portal Road from Park Line
eastward to Pohono Bridge. This week work will continue from the old dam to
Pohono.  Work will continue as long as weather allows.  Traffic control
will be in place from 8:00am to 4:30pm. (L.Castro-01/24/11)

PARK AND PARTNER NEWS
Badger Pass Daily Snow Report
Date:       Saturday, January 22, 2011

Downhill Operations
Base Depth: 72” – 78”
New Snow: 0”
Snow Conditions: Powder, Packed Powder
Forecast: Sunny
Temperature:      High 51 Low 34
Runs Groomed: Bruin, Eagle, Badger, Turtle, Beaver, Rabbit, Chipmunk, Red
                                         Fox, Wildcat
Lifts Open: Turtle, Bruin, Eagle, Badger
Runs open: All
Many features (14) in our two terrain parks!!! One is on Eagle run with
boxes, rails, rollers and a jump while the Beaver run hosts four big-air
jumps, rollers and boxes. Come try them out.
Cross Country Conditions
Groomed XC trails: Freshly groomed from Badger Pass to Glacier Point on
Friday Night January 21, 2011.
XC trail snow conditions:  Excellent
Tubing Hill:   Two Sessions Per Day 11:30 – 1:30 & 2:00 – 4:00

EMPLOYEE NEWS

We've reserved the El Portal Windowless Conference Room for those of you
who might like to catch Secretary Salzar's "All Hands" broadcast on Weds,
Jan 26 at 10:30 Pacific Standard Time. (T.Hawkins-01/24/11)
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Weekly Safety Topic - Slips and Trips
This week's safety topic is Slips and Trips which can result in Falls. It
is critical with the current weather pattern of sunny days and freezing
nights that this topic is reviewed.  We have had 2 employees slip on ice in
the last few weeks resulting in serious injuries to both of them.  Please
utilize the resources in our warehouse to prepare yourself and prevent any
further injuries follow this link or sharepoint and you can view and order
shoe traction devices http://inpyosems07/index.html. Search by selecting
safety products where you will find a variety of stablicers/shoe chains
available. (C. Ronay - 1/24)
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GSA Advantage Training Coming to YOSE - Wed, March 16, 2011
If you have a purchase business line on your government charge card account
you are invited to attend this training.  I encourage you to attend whether
you are new to purchasing or not. GSA recently revamped their website and
this is a good opportunity for you to have an instructor familiarize you
with it or address questions that might have come up as a result. We'll be
meeting in the EP large breakroom and we're scheduled for 0800-1100 (but it
may not go that long).  Email or call Lorene Schafer at 379-1873 with
questions. Please RSVP to Lorene via email by Friday, 25 Feb. (L. Schafer -
1/21)

ACTING DESIGNATIONS

Vickie Mates will be Acting Chief of Interpretation and Education January
20-21 and January 25-28. She can be reached at 349-1199 or 372-0643.
(T.Medema-01/24/11)
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Jay Shields will be Acting Mather District Ranger until further notice.
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Brenna Lissoway (379-1283) will be the Acting Park Archivist while Paul
Rogers is on a detail as the Acting Regional Archivist (PWR). If you have
need to access the Archives, or have archive related questions, you can
call 379-1282 or 379-1104. (J.Bayless-07/13/10)
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Lena McDowall is Acting Chief of BRM on Monday, January 24, 2011.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Room For Rent in Midpines:  Master bedroom with private bath, garden tub
and walk-in closet for rent in a three-bedroom house in Midpines.  Large
kitchen, dishwasher, wood stove, deck with view, and garage with extra
storage.  Quiet road.  Available now, deposit, $450/month, and one-half
utilities.  (209)742-5683.
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The EPTS is back!  Mark you calendars for the upcoming presentations of the
El Portal Travel Series.  All slide-shows are on TUESDAYS at 7:00pm, at the
Clark Community Hall in El Portal.

February 1 - Karen & Paul Amstutz -- “A 3-course Feast in Asia…  India,
Nepal & Thailand”
Paul, Karen & the kids spent the Fall living, exploring, and working in
South Asia. The “main dish” was a delicious 3 months in Nepal, volunteer
teaching at a primary school for the children of Tibetan refugees. Their
three daughters attended “Manasarovar Academy,” made wonderful friends, and
studied Nepali, Tibetan, and many other subjects. They also managed to
visit friends and the Taj Mahal in India, complete two Himalayan treks,
raft the Seti River, start a birding club, ride jungle elephants, snorkel
in Thailand, and eat incredible amounts of dosas, momos, mangoes and
dalbaht!  Join us for a smorgasboard of fabulous family adventures!

March 1 - Pete Devine  -- "Yosemite's Chinese Sisters"  An exploration of
Yosemite's two spectacular sister parks in China.
March 15 - Matt Jones -- "Village Life and Mega-fauna of Malawi"  Two years
of living, working and exploring the warm heart of Africa.
April 5 - Josh Helling -- "Climbing with Pirates in Yemen"  A climbing
expedition to Socotra Island's granite spires, in the Gulf of Aden between
Somalia and Yemen.  (K.Amstutz-01/24/11)
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For Rent: Excellent condition, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 864 sq ft single family
residence on 2.5 acres at end of cul-de-sac in Lushmeadows. Pets and rental
rate are negotiable. Available now. Contact Jeff at jeff.harsha@gmail.com
or call (209) 966-3513.  (J. Harsha - 1/21)
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Housing needed: Full Time Yosemite Institute Manager and Bio-mimicry
Consultant in Search of Housing. Clean, responsible, couple with well
behaved dog looking to rent in El Portal or Foresta area. Please contact
Scott at 702.622.0799. (S. Borden - 1/21)
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Housing needed for NPS employee: Married couple with 3 year old seek
year-round housing in the El Portal, greater Mariposa area starting mid
march/1st of April. We are responsible, clean and can provide references.
Please contact Nicole at 541-829-3902, nsgoode@mac.com  (N. Goode - 1/21)
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El Portal Community Hall Association
The El Portal Community Hall Association (EPCA) serves the local community
by maintaining and renting the El Portal community hall for community
events as well as producing the ever-popular Spring Fling in April. In
November and December, EPCA and several fabulous volunteers were
responsible for creating a native plant garden to beautify the hall--if
you're curious about what was planted, check them out--most of the plants
have markers. If all goes well, the place will be in full bloom this
summer! We've also recently made it easier for you to reserve the hall by
putting our rental forms and hall calendar online at www.elportalca.org
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Looking for a way to serve your community, upgrade the hall, meet new
people, and have some fun in the process? EPCA is currently seeking board
members for a variety of open positions. Email Board Chair Todd Newburger
at tnewbee@gmail.com if you're interested in finding out more. We will have
a meeting for prospective new members on February 15, 2011 at the EP hall.
(P. Meierding - 1/21)
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Year-Round NPS employee in search of El Portal housing beginning in
February or March. 30 y/o, clean, responsible, male and one small well
behaved kitty with goog references looking to rent an apartment or share
housing in the El Portal/Midpines area. Contact steve at 209-379-2184.
(S.Del Favero-01/24/11)
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6TH STREET CINEMA is located upstairs in the historic Old Masonic Lodge on
6th Street, in downtown Mariposa. Entrance is $7 per film for non-members;
non-member students pay $5. Monthly membership is $12 allowing film entry
for $3 each.  More information is available on the website:
www.sixthstreetcinema.org
This week:
Jan. 21-22, 7:30 p.m. National Theatre Live: "FELA!"
Jan. 28-29, 7:30 p.m. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"
Feb. 12, 10:00 a.m. Met Live in HD: John Adams' "Nixon in China"
Feb. 11-12, 8:00 p.m. "Under Our Skin" (T. Arfsten - 1/21)