In 1852, Leroy Vining led a group of prospectors over the mountains in search of gold beyond Tioga Pass. Today, in a town bearing his name, businesses depend on Tioga Road to bring them gold.

"The road is our lifeblood," says Bill Banta, 53, owner of the Best Western Lake View Lodge in Lee Vining. "When the road is open, our occupancy is 100%. When it's closed, we're at 5%."

Tioga Road usually opens around Memorial Day every spring, but this year, because of heavy snowfall, traffic did not start moving across the pass until June 24.

"We lost the whole month of June this year, and that's one-fourth of our income," Banta says.

Lee Vining comes alive when the road opens. Travelers from California head over Tioga Pass to enjoy the recreational activ- ities and wide-open spaces of the eastern slope of the Sierra. Westbound motorists pass through on their way to Yosemite.

"A lot of people come through here in the spring thinking they can use Tioga Pass," says Banta. "When they find out the road is closed, it messes up a whole day of their vacation."

Banta estimates half the travelers who come through Lee Vining are from foreign countries. Many fly into San Francisco, visit Yosemite National Park by car, then head across Tioga Pass en route to Las Vegas. Area residents also use Tioga Road as a shortcut across the mountains.

Banta saves several hours by using Tioga Road on trips to visit his sister in San Luis Obispo or participate in shotgun shooting competitions in the San Joaquin Valley.

"Fall is the best time to visit Lee Vining," he says. "Crowds are down and the weather is nice. You also have a better chance to see some bighorn sheep. You never see them in lambing season, but in early spring and in the fall they come down to a mineral lick near the road at the 8,500-foot elevation."

As much as he would like to see more people come to Lee Vining, Banta says it isn't realistic to keep Tioga Road open in winter. But he says there is one way it could be safely opened a little earlier in the spring.

The original road bypassed Olmsted Point, he says. The old route could be improved and used as a temporary detour around the Olmsted Point avalanche chute.

"That would solve the safety issues and allow them to open the road a few weeks earlier," he says.