previous posts in 2024
10/15/2024: A board meeting will be held at 50 Tamarack Dr. on Friday 10/18 at 1:00 PM. Agenda notice of the meeting was posted 10/14 on the bulletin board at the Solar Pump House. If any member would like a copy of the agenda sent electronically, please complete the form on the “Contact Us” tab.
10/01/2024: We are changing the method of posting updates to this website! This post includes the posts from 2024 for reference. Apologies for the mess. We’ll be fixing things up soon.
Below are the posts for 2024:
09/25/2024: The water system shutdown for the winter season is planned for Saturday October 19 and Sunday the 20th. Should these dates change a notification will be provided here on the web site.
07/19/2024: A bear break in at a cabin on Easy Street was reported today. The date of the incident is not know at this time. This would be the 4th time a bear has broken into this same cabin. Once in 2022, twice in 2023 and now once in 2024. Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife have been notified. If you have such an incident please report it at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Incident site: https://apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir
07/13/2024: The annual member meeting on 7/6 was well attended with 38 folks in attendance. Weather was warn in the high 70’s but much lower than other areas in California. Bugs are also out as is pollen from the pine trees.
Just a reminder that assessment payments are due by July 31. Currently there are 21 members that have not submitted their assessment payment. Payments postmarked after July 31 will be assessed a $50.00 late fee – no exceptions!
07/01/2024: The Annual Member meeting will take place on Saturday, July 6 at 2:00 PM at the pump house location – 67 Tip Top Lane. Please bring a chair for comfort. Some packaged refreshments will be made available after the meeting.
Agenda notice of the meeting was posted 06/26 on the bulletin board at the Solar Pump House. If any member would like a copy of the agenda sent electronically, please complete the form on the “Contact Us” tab.
Just a reminder that assessment payments must be received by or postmarked by 7/31 to avoid the $50 late fee. So be sure and get your payment in.
There have not been any bear incidents at cabins that we are aware of. However, bear scat has been found at various locations in the subdivision.
06/06/2024: A board meeting will be held at 50 Tamarack Dr. on Monday 6/10 at 4:00 PM. Agenda notice of the meeting was posted 6/6 on the bulletin board at the Solar Pump House. If any member would like a copy of the agenda sent electronically, please complete the form on the “Contact Us” tab.
All roads in the subdivision are drivable except for the end at the top of Summit Dr. which still has a large snowdrift. Recent temps have been warm and windy.
05/27/2024: Happy Memorial Day to all our member Veterans and those currently serving.
Temperatures have been warm and most roads in the subdivision are drivable except for the end of Summit Dr. and some of Tip Top and Beaver Run.
Check out the “Pictures” tab for a couple pictures of the water turn-on crew between 5/16 and 5/20 and a few of Big Virginia and VL Road.
05/23/2024: The water system was approved by Mono County Health Department to begin serving water to members effective today 5/23 after the winter system shutdown. Water start-up process began on Friday 5/17 and was finished on 5/21 with water samples being submitted. No major problems this year except for snow on subdivision roads making it difficult to get around to the various valves etc. Many thanks to the following volunteers that helped in removing snow from the pump house areas and valves, system inspection, opening and closing valves, flushing, disinfecting, pumping, solar equipment re-install at the low tank; solar pump start-up and etc. Cathy Barale; David Berger; Walt Lehmann; Eric Lindquist; Steve & Mark McKee; Ross Oswald; Steve & Magee Peters; Ron Reck; and Bruce Rienhart.
Trash service pick-up will begin today the 23rd with the dumpster remaining at the winter location just off VL Road at Tip Top until the road into the solar pump area is dried out.
Subdivision roads still have snow on them in some areas with a few humps of snow but melting is continuing at a fast pace. The current exceptions as of yesterday the 22nd are: Beaver Run, the top of Tamarack, Tip Top from the Simons cabin to the top of Pinecrest; Hawthorne just before the intersection at Pinecrest; and Summit Dr. at the very top toward the low storage tank. The road by the pump house is very muddy from snow melt and using the alternate roadway adjacent to the normal roadway. Use caution and check the road out before driving to make sure. Weather conditions have been clear during the day with some winds. Temps have been down to 25 and up to the high 60’s during the day.
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05/02/2024: The annual assessment billing was sent out on May 1. Payment is due by July 31, 2024. A late payment fee of $50 will be applied if payment is not postmarked July 31 or prior. Information on Gravity winter water use and Board election policy were also included with the usual attachments. Also on the back of your payment stub is an area to update contact information should there be any changes. or to add additional information.
The water system turn-on is scheduled to start around May 17th or 18th if temperature conditions and snow melt are favorable. After the start-up process and testing of water samples etc. it is estimated that we will be able to begin serving members on Thursday the 23rd if approval is received from Mono County Health Department. Any changes to these dates will be posted here on the web site.
Snow depth on subdivision roads are still high between 1 to 4 feet depending on shading and snow melt. Parking is available at each road entrance apron – but limited to a couple of cars depending on the width of the apron. Parking at the Tip Top/Summit entrance is a little more open. Trash service pickup has not begun but disposal is available at the Tip Top/Summit entrance dumpster winter location. Please be sure to flatten any boxes to allow for maximum filling of the dumpster. Thank you!!
Opening day of fishing 4/27 for Big Virginia area lakes was good. Snow on the lakes was solid in the morning but softened in the afternoon. Shoreline melt was not present. Ice depth was around 3 feet with a snow covering of around 1 foot. Some nice fish were caught and many medium and smaller ones. Approximately 30 folks were at Big V on Saturday and Sunday. Fewer folks were on Little. Trumbull was not observed so no info for there. A few pictures were taken – check out the “Pictures” tab for a few – especially for one of a big catch.
04/24/2024: Snow on the subdivision roads on 4/23 was between 2 and 6 feet with drifts in the shadows of up to 8 feet per report received. A few pictures were also provided – please check out the “Pictures”
tab for a quick review. It was also reported that Mono County plow crew was working on clearing the road to Big Virginia Lake. Opening Day for ice fishing is Saturday 4/27 so hopefully they get the road cleared by then.
04/18/2024 (UPDATE 3;53 PM): Mono County’s plow crew made it to Rand Road and have cleared out parking areas at the various road aprons into the sub division. Check out the recent pictures provided at the “Pictures” tab. VL Road is blocked at Rand Road at this time.
04/18/2024: Mono County plow crew has made it to Dunderberg Meadow road and are hoping to make it to Rand Rd. by the end of the day. No further info available at this time but hoping to have further details later today or tomorrow.
04/15/2024: Mono County plow crew made it to just past the Helo pad by the end of last Thursday the 11th. They started back up this morning to clear VL road further. One picture from 4/11 and several from today 4/15 have been provided to show progress. They have made it to the 2nd straight away and should make further progress this week as snow levels on the lower sections of the road are thin with some bare spots. Check out the “Pictures” tab for the latest pictures. They are currently blocking any traffic past the helo pad/parking area.
04/07/2024: Mono County began plowing Virginia Lakes Road on Thursday but only made it past the bridge before equipment break-downs. They did not return on Friday. The road after the bridge area is partially clear but blocked with their loader. The remainder of the road into the subdivision still has snow except for a small bare area by the helo pad section. Snow depth on the road varies from a few feet to 3-4 feet near Dundenberg Meadow road and beyond. Snow on subdivision roads vary from 4 plus feet depending on the many snow drifts. Weather was cloudy and snowing until sun arrived Saturday morning with a low of 5 degrees and a high of 45.
03/31/2024: There has been some recent snow in the last few days but nothing major. Current snow depth at the VL Ridge weather station is 56 inches. Mono County may begin plowing Virginia Lakes Road the end of this week or the following week depending on their schedule for other projects. We are going to be notified when they do begin plowing VL Road. The gully bypass area past the bridge is low on snow but still covering the majority of ground cover. The lower parking lot is clear of snow.
03/17/2024: Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Snow level per Virginia Lakes Ridge weather station says 49 inches of snow. There probably are higher areas with drifts in the subdivision areas. We were provided with a couple pictures of the lower parking area on Wednesday 3/13 that shows a pretty clear parking area up to the Avalanche beacon testing board at the end of the parking area. Check out the “Pictures” tab to view them.
03/05/2024: Snow depth is around 62 inches per Virginia Lakes Ridge weather station. However there are drifts on VL Road per reports. Cal Trans was clearing VL Road to the parking lot this morning and expects to have the parking area open sometime Wednesday. Check out the pictures Tab for a couple pictures of VL Road entrance off 395.
02/09/2024: Snow depth in subdivision unknow other than last report on 2/6 of 43 inches. Some snow has fallen since then – perhaps a foot or so. Virginia Lakes Ridge weather station is currently not report data. Some pictures provided from today of VL Road areas and the lower parking lot. Check out the “Pictures” tab to see them.
02/07/2024: Virginia Lakes Road is currently closed and only open to the lower parking lot area. There is approximately 2 feet of new snow on VL Road in the subdivision area. Mono County is not going to plow VL Road at this time. They did not indicate that it was a permanent closure for the season.
Virginia Lakes Ridge weather station says there is 42 inches of total snow as of today – down from 43 inches reported yesterday.
Check out the “Pictures” tab for a few pictures that were updated from today 2/7.
02/02/2024: The Following information was received from Cory Gonzalez – Mono County Public Works:
02-01-2024 – 4:12 PM
Virginia Lakes Road is open to Trumbull campground gate. With the forecasted storm coming in Saturday night (2/3/24), the road could potentially drift closed, please be prepared for that.
Forecasts for snow predicts lots of snow coming. Here is what is forecast as of today:
2 to 4 inches daytime today 2/2 – Friday
1 to 3 inches nighttime 2/2 – Friday
4 to 8 inches nighttime 2/3 – Saturday
15 to 21 inches daytime 2/4 – Sunday
14 to 20 inches nighttime 2/4 – Sunday
9 to 13 inches daytime – 2/5 Monday
This would be the biggest snow fall so far this year should the forecasts come true. Currently it is reported (Virginia Lakes Ridge Weather Station Site: https://www.weather.gov/wrh/timeseries?site=VGAC1 that there is 26 inches on the ground. Winds have also been strong lately, so I would imagine that there are deeper drifts in some areas of the subdivision.
It is recommended if you have a vehicle in the subdivision area that you move it down to the lower parking lot area near highway 395.
If you need to check and see if Virginia Lakes Road is open, you can check the “Links” tab on this web site to obtain road closure information from Mono County, However, here is the link: https://www.monocounty.ca.gov/roads/page/county-road-closures
01/26/2024: Virginia Lakes Road is open to Trumbull Campground as of info received today. There is approximately 19 inches of snow with some drifts much high in the subdivision and other areas. All subdivision roads are closed and not drivable in motor vehicles. If using the dumpster be careful as there may be a live animal inside scrounging for food. Try not to us the dumpster if visiting and take your trash home to save space for full time residents. Thank you.
01/07/2024: Virginia Lakes Road is open to Trumbull campground gate per Mono County at around 2PM today. There was only around 4 inches of new snow on Saturday much less than forecast. Winds have been high with cold temps in low tens or lower. VL Road does have some ice in areas.
01/06/2024: Happy New Year! There is a snow storm coming into today Saturday which may leave up to 1 to 1/2 feet of new snow. The current total on the ground was 11 inches this morning with no new snow yet. Mono County advised that they will plow Virginia Lakes Road after this storm either on Sunday or Monday. VL Road has been icy in some areas so be careful when driving up.