Dan_Miller

Hi all, The media is advertising snow - so before you get alarmed - Here's the forecast for the North Cascades (and the rest of our Okanogan Maintenance Area) as of mid day today - It shows things aren't bad - a little snow dusting - with everything getting wet and warmer tomorrow: As of 1100 this morning, swath of light snow was located down south near the I-90 corridor. This band of snow was looking fairly light as it tracked northward. Light snow will sweep S to N through this afternoon, but it may not have much impact. North Cascades could see a little road snow as well as the other passes, with mainly roadside slush over Loup Loup, Disautel and Wauconda. A second event is still pegged for the overnight hours, mostly second part of the night into early Wed morning. This event is a LITTLE weaker looking that it did last night. However, snow concerns for all passes and some slush down to near valley floor levels is still a concern for second part of the night. Conditions should improve S to N area early to mid Wed morning, with slow warming. North Cascades will see continue to see snow well into Wed afternoon, but snow will become very wet mid to late morning through afternoon. Most of the road snow by mid day Wed should be largely above 4,500 ft. Rest of the area Wed should be improving considerably, with no additional developing concerns for snow. I don't know how many of you have seen this on the Methow Valley Bulletin Board, but it contains some information that could be misleading: Looking for public comments - I am initiating an effort to fund winter trail grooming up hwy 20 east from where the road closes to the summit. I have contacted DOT and they have given preliminary approval pending forest service approval for avalanche control work on forest service lands needed to keep the route safe. Powderbird Guides of Utah currently consulting regarding control work - they have offered their control manual approved by Utah DOT for control work in little cottonwood canyon - would need to work through North Cascades Heli. Right now I am preparing a prospectus for forest service. Seeking cost estimates from MVSTA for leasing and operating 2 or three piston bullies. Access would be via cabs on cats and single ride heli to the summit for a long downhill skate. Questions have arisen regarding whether it is steep enough for alpine skiers to take a long sightskiing tour downhill to town. Do you know if it would steep enough? Might seek stimulas money through DOT. This would open up the only heli accessed nordic downhill skate in the country - through the most spectacular alpine scenery in the country. It would be an international draw. Comments? Here's our "official" take: WSDOT has not given preliminary approval for this activity. We have encouraged the promoters to communicate with the US Forest Service and other stakeholders. If after that coordination they still feel this is viable, they could come to WSDOT with specifics on what they are proposing. WSDOT would need to evaluate the proposal before providing any approvals, and other stakeholder approvals may likely be required too. WSDOT would not perform avalanche control for this activity. We are also unaware of any Federal Stimulus funding availability for such a project through WSDOT. (I've said this before, but here it goes again - WSDOT can only close the highway to licensed motor vehicles. We also can only control what is done within our Right of Way. Finally, our authority/mandate is transportation, NOT recreation.) By the way - the cold snap brought out a lot more "autumn leaves", but if you're going - check the forecasts on the web or call 5-1-1, first. Oh, so you don't need to ask - NO, you can't put on your studded tires until Nov. 1 Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

I just read that the USFS has repaired the Hannegan Road and it is open to the Hannegan Pass Trailhead. It's now a little less mileage to the Northern Pickets folks!

WSDOT update: Hi all, The crew got the mess cleaned up west of Rainy Pass and opened the gates at 3:15 p.m. - just about 23 hours after the slide came down. We've got lots of pictures on flickr www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/ Now all we've got to do is haul away dozens of dump truck loads of mud and rock that we pushed off onto the shoulders! Enjoy! Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Just in (Thurs., 07/30/09) from WSDOT: SR 20 North Cascades Highway closed due to mudslide A mudslide west of Rainy Pass has closed SR 20 in both directions at the east- and west-side closure gates until Thursday afternoon, July 30. Crews expect to reopen the highway about 4 p.m. They have about 300 yards of mud and debris in a 10-foot-deep swath across the highway to remove, and need to ensure the slope is stable before they will reopen the road. The gates are closed on the west side just east of Diablo (milepost 134) and 14 miles west Mazama (milepost 171) on the east side. The gates were manned overnight to make sure anyone camping or hiking in between the gates could get out. The slide was reported about 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, and responding crews began bringing in equipment and working last night. They stopped at dusk because it was too dangerous to work in the area in the dark. Crews were back early this morning. How quickly they can safely remove the debris and ensure that the slope is stabilized will determine when the highway reopens. Another e-mail update will be sent when the pass reopens. You can also check the North Cascades Web page for more information.

Really good job on handling a very difficult situation for all members of the climbing team, NPS short haul Rescuers and of course Tony Reese and Hiline Helicopters. To my mind (at least) another example of Rigorous Attitude saving the day. Let's all hope for a swift and full recovery, and a speedy resolution of the stranded climber's situation.

Up on the Stikine, it's all about the weather. Which is frequently very wet for long periods of time (hence the Icecap) even in the summertime. Obviously Alpine Dave and Dieter Klose had it pretty well sussed out. Thirty years ago on this date I sat for weeks under the Burkett Needle and only fairly briefly did we see it. Luck with the weather gods plays strongly into making ascents in the Coast Ranges. Really strong effort guys. I'm mightely impressed.

From today's (07/08/09) NPS Morning Report: North Cascades National Park (WA) Climber Rescued From Triad Glacier On July 1st, two mountaineers successfully climbed two of the three summits of a peak known as The Triad in North Cascades National Park. While descending a steep snow slope, one of them took a sliding fall of approximately 100 feet. Unable to arrest the fall, he slammed into a rock at the bottom of the snow slope, which resulted in an open leg fracture but likely saved him from free-falling an additional 300 feet below the short rock field. Due to the exposure of the site and limited options for helicopter landing sites near the climber, responding rangers were short-hauled into the site and lifted out with the man to a staging site on the glacier 600 feet below. He was then flown out of the backcountry and transferred to an ambulance. A likely contributing factor was a problem with the climber’s crampons. Wilderness district ranger Kelly Bush was incident commander. [submitted by Kinsey Shilling, Chief Ranger]

Many thanks for that info tilia!

From today's (06/02/09) NPS's Morning Ranger Report: North Cascades National Park (WA) Rangers Rescue Mountaineer Injured In Tumbling Fall On Saturday, May 23rd, a commercially-guided party of three mountaineers took a tumbling fall down Mount Shuksan’s summit pyramid while roped together. The trio had reached the summit and were descending when the accident occurred. The guide had belayed his two clients individually down the first pitches of steep snow, then descended himself. As he was doing so, he fell and, unable to arrest his fall, pulled the other two with him for about 400 feet. Luckily, there was only one significant injury – one of the clients injured an ankle and was unable to continue. Climbing rangers on patrol lower on the mountain were picked up by the park’s on-call SAR helicopter, an MD 500 from HiLine Helicopters, and flown to the accident site. The rangers were able to carry the injured climber across a section of the Sulphide Glacier, then fly her off the mountain. She was transported to a Bellingham, Washington, hospital for evaluation. [submitted by Kelly Bush, Wilderness District Ranger]

I think one has to assume that all the Mt. Baker traffic will likely end up on either the Easton or Squak Glacier routes. Doubtless, expect crowds on the southside this summer.

From today's (05/28/09) NPS Daily Ranger Rport: Mount Rainier National Park (WA) Rangers Rescue Two People In Separate Same-Day Incidents Rangers rescued a climber and a skier in separate rescue operations on Sunday, May 24th. On Sunday morning, a climbing guide near the summit of the mountain slid into a steam vent and fell 15 to 20 feet. Climbers with her reported that she had injured ribs on her left side, was experiencing difficulty breathing, and had a reduced level of consciousness. Ranger Chris Olson and two employees from one of the park’s guide concessioners headed out from Camp Muir with a litter and gear for a technical lowering; rangers David Gottlieb and Jeremy Shank departed Camp Schurman with an oxygen kit. Rangers Philippe Wheelock and Rachel Mueller, having just climbed Fuhrer’s Finger, were also directed to the scene. The climber was extricated from the vent by her climbing partners, who were part of a commercially guided climb. Her injuries turned out to be less severe than first reported. Northwest Helicopters, from Olympia, Washington, provided an MD-530 helicopter, which picked up ranger Phil Edmonds at the park’s helibase with a medical kit and took him to the summit, where they were able to land on the crater rim. The climber was then flown off the mountain and transferred to an ambulance for transport to the hospital. Acting climbing program manager Stefan Lofgren was IC on this rescue. Then, at 6:30 p.m., park dispatch received a 911 cell phone call from a skier who reported that he’d fallen and injured himself below the Nisqually Chute. After a more detailed interview, rangers determined that he was actually on the Wilson Glacier at 8,150-foot level. The man, who’d been skiing down the glacier, had suffered a broken ankle with visible deformity. Rangers Tom Payne and Phil Edmonds responded on skis from Paradise with a litter. Rangers Philippe Wheelock and Rachel Mueller skied to the scene from where they were camped above them on Wapowety Cleaver. This team skied the litter down the glacier to lower Pebble Creek. They were met by rangers Dan Camiccia, Caitlan Schauer, Sarah Pigeon, and Paul Marrinan, who helped raise the injured skier and litter up to Glacier Vista, where the carryout was continued back to Paradise. All arrived back at Paradise shortly after midnight. [submitted by R. Chuck Young, Chief Ranger]

Best way; meaning shortest, least time traveling no question Roush Creek. Most scenic, more interesting; no question via Sibley Crk Pass. Yep, I've done both a bit over the years.

Something new, FWIW. 05/06/09 Hi all, A quick note to let you know that the forecast calls for up to a foot of snow between now and tomorrow between Rainy and Washington Passes. Our maintenance folks are ready and will plow if/as needed. The temperatures are such that it will likely be slush on the pavement, but there's also an outside chance for some avalanche activity with that much heavy wet snow, so check the web or call 5-1-1 - We'll post something if there's an issue you need to know about. If anything is going to stick - it will most likely be overnight when the temperature drops. Also, check the flickr photo site - We got some pictures from the Ice Road Truckers film shoot that Dustin is sorting through and some video he's editing, too. Should be available later today or tomorrow, depending on how many times he gets interupted with "real" work! (He's the one with all the technical skills - I just get to write these e-mails.) Who would have expected a foot of snow on May 6th? Happy Spring! Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509-667-2815

04/23/09 The North Cascade Hwy. will OPEN on Friday, 8 PM, April 24TH. They annually make a big push to get the Highway open each spring for the Lowland Lakes Fishing season opener which this year is Sat., 04/25/09. It is critical to business in Okanagon County and beyond in northeastern Washington. They met their goal, partially aided by a little bit less than average northern Cascades snowfall. Hi all, You're not going to believe this! The North Cascades Highway is reopening tomorrow at 8 p.m. (depending on how the final clean and sweeping goes, it could even happen a couple hours earlier than that - so watch the pass report page and 5-1-1.) This is great news for all the fisher-folks who are heading one way or the other for the opening weekend. Two days ago, no one was predicting this could happen, but a combination of fortunate events are producing this faster-than-expected opening. First, the warm temperatures that held up work and caused more snowslides on Monday and Tuesday also melted so much snow that the snow blowers could handle the work without the assistance of the caterpillars and excavators. On top of that, the two snow blowers that the west side crew have been using were available all week. They were expected to be reassigned since the work to reopen Chinook, Cayuse, Mt. Baker and Mt. St. Helens are all starting.) Getting to keep them meant 4 blowers were working yesterday (and today) and the amount of snow that got moved in a single day on Wednesday, far exceeded what anyone imagined. Oh, there's another neat thing happening tomorrow. Early tomorrow morning, while the final sweeping and clearing is going on, a Discovery Channel crew will be filming a re-creation of a truck accident that originally happened on the ALCAN Highway. It's for an upcoming episode of "Ice Road Truckers" - so when we get the air-date, I'll send an e mail so you don't miss seeing it. I'll likely send out at least one more of these e mails to let you know when there are new pictures of the opening available on flickr and a movie of the clearing of Liberty Bell #1 on Youtube that Mike Stanford from the avalanche crew is putting together. Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815 PS: Sorry, but this means you bicyclists aren't going to have a weekend on the highway to yourselves - It's just opening too fast!

04/22/09 Hi all, The west side crew got into the Whistler Mtn. avalanche zone (MP 161) yesterday. The east side crew got to do some work after all - but it was mostly clean up due to avalanches in places they'd already cleared. The warm temperatures brought down a slide back at Cutthroat Ridge #8 ( 6-feet deep/30-feet wide) and a big slide at Liberty Bell #1 that filled up the slot they'd created, just above the roadway, for exactly this purpose - so the D-8 Caterpillar is busy today... They got one of the Kodiak snow blowers through LB 1 and LB 2 and LB 3 and 4 were shallow enough that the blower was able to get all the way up to the Washington Pass summit and back, so there's still a lot clearing and widening to do - but the crew was greatly encouraged that despite the hold ups over the last few days - they're still optimistic for a May 1st opening - and maybe sooner if everything goes perfectly from here on in. (NO PROMISES-But...!) Another note - Several bicyclists have asked about riding up there before it's open. WSDOT can only close the road to licensed motor vehicles - bikes, just like snowmobiles, skis or snowshoes are legal all the time. The question remains, as always: is is wise? You wouldn't have wanted to be below CR 8 when it came in about ten o'clock yesterday morning, and riding up there Monday-Thursday while crews are working is probably not real appealing either - so, check the avalanche forecasts and plan your ride on Friday, Saturday or Sunday when you won't encounter a hungry Kodiak (snow blower!) I'm expecting a few more new pictures to get posted by this afternoon on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/collections/72157615622442224/ Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Peas, thanks for posting that more definitive info. It gives me the impetus to believe that one may not have to ski too many miles of the road into Schreibers Meadow for a ski of the Easton Glacier at this point.

Right now, it will be many (I'd think at least 10 miles) snowcovered miles of road travel to the end of the Shannon Creek Road where the path up the ridge goes towards the Sulfide Glacier. Unfortunately I can't be any more precise than many miles. Best of luck.

04/17/09 A potential delay eh? Hi all, My west side counterpart, Dustin Terpening, got to spend the day guiding reporters and photographers up to the work zone between Rainy Pass and Bridge Creek yesterday (did you see the front page of the Times?) and his email update is below. First, however, I need to tell you that our timetable is suffering a setback. It's unlikely our east side crews are going to be able to work Monday and Tuesday due to the forecast high temperatures and the resulting elevated avalanche danger throughout the Cascades, but particularly the Old Faithful zone on Stevens and Liberty Bell zone on the North Cascades, since they're so tall. Crews are getting closer and closer as the weeks pass. As of Thursday, the west crew was beyond Rainy Pass and swooping down the highway to the Bridge Creek avalanche zone near mile marker 159. The crew on the east side was digging into to the first avalanche chute at Liberty Bell near mile marker 165. That means the crews are more or less 7 miles apart. In a normal year, crews typically meet near Bridge Creek. Not this year. The crew from the west will get to work a little farther east this year. We've added lots of new pictures and several new videos from this week. Enjoy! If you remember from Jeff's e-mail update in February, crews were surprised to find an avalanche across the highway at the Bridge Creek slide zone during their reconnaissance trip. The last time anyone had seen a slide there was 21 years - 1988. For those of you wondering what the snow depth was at Rainy Pass, it was 9.5 feet deep. The snow has been between 5 and 7 feet deep over the road east of Rainy Pass. Dustin Terpening terpenid@wsdot.wa.gov 360.757.5997

04/16/09 They're getting closer! I predict that they'll have it open by the first of May or possibly sooner, at the current rate of progress. Hi all, Got a quick note from up north - the crews made it to Liberty Bell #1 with the Caterpillar by the end of the day, last evening, and the rest of the equipment is coming up behind, clearing from fog line to fog line. They expect to make significant progress through LB1 today. This is a day or two ahead of where we thought we'd be by today. I also need to correct the "hit count" on the flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/collections/72157615622442224/ I said, 11,000 hits since the work started on March 30th - Dustin pointed out that the 11,000 was a "daily" average since the 30th - WOW! Speaking of which - along with the one line update from Becker about yesterday's and today's work - he sent some pictures of LB1 that should show up on flickr in a little while. One more note - I got an e-mail from Charles Beall at the National Park Service about National Park Week, next week and a bunch of things anyone who wants to, can participate in along their part of the North Cascades Highway - so if you're so inclined, there's a link to the NPS from our NCH home page (that's the "now available" link at the top of this page.) til next week, Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

04/15/09 Hi all, Don Becker (Twisp Supv) checked in with me to say he has some pictures from Tuesday's work, and so did Mike Stanford (Av Tech) - so we'll get those up on flickr shortly. Work proceeded well. Don says there wasn't any more new snow accumulation, but it would snow for a little while, then the sun would come out and in between, it was just overcast. The crew had cleared the highway the full width through the last of the Cutthroat Ridge chutes (12 and 13) on up to the slide at the Annex (MP 164). The D-8 caterpillar had worked most of the day cutting that 25'x 1,200' slide down to size, but it's still going to be a big job for snow blowers and excavators today. The D-8 will begin work this afternoon on the real biggies - the four Liberty Bell Avalanche chutes on the other side of the "Annex", "Hairpin Curve", or "Spiral Gulch" - depending on who you're talking to! The west side crew advanced to MP 158 between Rainy Pass and Bridge Creek and might beat the east side crew to Washington Pass at the rate they're going. Here's the flickr link: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157615892803779/ Apparently you've been checking out the new photos pretty often - the counter says it's gotten 11,000 hits since the reopening started on the 30th. You also might be interested to know that there are now 1,600 of you who have signed up to get these e mail updates. A couple of interesting tidbits associated with that are - 1-that's more than twice the average daily traffic count over Washington and Rainy when the highway is open and 2-the e mail list has a decidely international flavor - Japan, South Africa, Finland - not to mention some regular subscribers who are now getting their updates on their laptops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I ought to also include this, as well: As opposed to my counterparts who write the e mail updates for the Alaskan Way Viaduct, or the Evergreen Point Bridge or the Columbia River Crossing - the closest thing to a negative e mail Dustin or I get is an occasional grumble that the updates aren't daily! On the other hand - we get lots of thank-you or "wow" e mails that we pass along to the crews or post on WSDOT's internal intranet page. So, thank you for being "the nicest" among the WSDOT e mail subscriber groups. It makes it much easier for us to want to invest the time and effort to provide the updates and take and collect the pictures and videos. Please forgive us if an update is a day late or some pictures don't appear as soon as promised - We've got all our "regular" work to do, too! Thanks, Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

04/13/09 Hi all, I was able to reach Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker by cell phone a few minutes ago - he'll have some new eastside pictures for us tomorrow. The reason I was trying to reach him was to confirm the crews were working. On Friday, there was a question about whether the avalanche crew was going to be able to monitor the reopening crew or if they'd have to stick around Stevens Pass, should the weekend weather produce avalanche dangers on US 2. While it wasn't real pretty (wet and sloppy) on Stevens, avalanche danger never materialized and Mike and Katie are on the scene at Cutthroat Ridge with the crew. Don says they got a foot of new snow over the weekend, so the first duty was clearing the 5 miles they'd already cleared up to CR-10. That's Cutthroat Ridge Avalanche Chute #10 (of 13). CR-10 usually produces the largest piles of snow in the zone and this year was no exception. By about 11 a.m., the crew had cleared through about half of the 1,200-foot-wide slide. Becker expects they'll be through CR-10 and into CR-11 by the end of the day. The avalanche control crew's snow cat has already cut the slides there down to the 6 to 8-feet that the snow blowers can "bite". The big D-8 cat is doing the same thing to CR-12, so Don is pretty confident they'll get through those two and maybe 13 by the end of the day tomorrow. Getting from the end of the Cutthroat Ridge zone up to Liberty Bell (4 huge chutes) is a bigger challenge than normal. The lower part of "Spiral Gulch" is officially called "The Annex" - in part because when the Liberty Bell chutes come in "big" - they not only cover the highway below the chutes, but fill the gully below and cover the road on the other side - hence -the annex designation. If everything works well, Don expects the D-8 to start cutting that down to size tomorrow. As of today - the Annex is buried with a slide averaging 25-feet-deep by more than 1,500-feet-wide. At about 7 a.m. it was 29-degrees and snowing, but by noon, it was 39 and the sun was coming out. The forecast later in the week calls for certifiably warm temps on Thursday - great to work in, but that could boost the avalanche danger again... More later. Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

04/11/09--Getting Closer Hi all, Dustin Terpening, my west side counterpart ventured forth with the crew on Thursday and I asked him to send a report for you, which he did, below. It's full of links (the underlined blue text) to new batches of photos and a special treat - a you tube snow cat video when he interviewed our Avalanche Forecaster, Mike Stanford: What a difference a week makes. Conditions have definitely improved, at least on the west side. I took a field trip up to visit our crews clearing the highway on Thursday and found the temperature to be 48 degrees (20 degrees warmer), sun breaks, and several more miles of roadway cleared. Crews were now shooting snow off the highway near mile marker 157, which is really close to Washington Pass. When we met up with the crews, there was a surprise waiting for us. Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker and AV tech Mike Stanford had trekked over the passes in the Pisten Bully to check on the progress of west side crew. I got to take a quick ride in the snow cat and interviewed Mike about what they saw as they crossed through the mountains. Mike said that the snow was pretty level most of the way over and the depths weren't too bad. He did say that the it's pretty deep around the avalanche zones on the east side and that those are going to take a couple weeks to bust through. The snow was a little more than 5 feet deep near mile marker 157. It's gradually getting deeper the further east crews progress. Louie Crookshank, one of the snowblower operators, told me that the snow pack has been pretty soft and easy to cut through this year. They haven't found any ice layers like most years. Though it is really saturated and heavy. He said that Seattle City Light tested the snow and it was about 40 percent water which means it's really dense and heavy. Back at the west side closure gate, near mile marker 134, there isn't much snow left. The pavement was bare and dry with only about a foot of snow along the shoulders. A big change from last week. And much of the blue ice that had covered the rock walls along the highway last week are melting quickly and almost gone. Clearing and opening the highway isn't just about clearing snow. There are many other things to clean and clear that don't make for "sexy" photographs. For example, there were a number of locations where rock slides or fallen trees had damaged a section of guardrail or left hillsides unstable. Crews have to make numerous safety repairs to the highway before we can open it. If any of you are on Twitter, you can follow @terpening and/or @wsdot as another way to receive updates about the North Cascades Highway. And of course, to get to me: Jeff Adamson, adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov or 509.667.2815 PS: A note for next week - depending on snow at Stevens Pass forecast Sunday night to Monday, the avalanche monitors might not be able to go back up to the North Cascades until Tuesday...

04/09/09 update: Hi all, There are nine more pictures from Tuesday and Wednesday's work on the east side that have posted on the flickr site. The weather has been beautiful, but it warmed things up so much that we had work delayed both days due to natural slides that came in. As a result, we ended up keeping the rental D-8 caterpillar down in the Cutthroat zone, helping to clean up the new snow where we'd already cleared earlier in the week. On Tuesday, the slide that came down was BIG. The one that came down on Wednesday was smaller, but both caused the avalanche monitors to suspend work while they tested stability of the rest of the snow on the slopes. The net-net? We were at MP 165 when crews started working this morning. That means, they're through the Cutthroat zone's dozen chutes and should be clearing into Spiral Gulch, below Liberty Bell, today, uh, depending upon snow stability... Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Today's (04/08/09) update: Hi all, There are more new photos from Monday's work on the flickr site and there's a special treat - SNOW DOUGHNUTS! By Tuesay, on the west side, they got to MP 154 (Swamp Creek) which is about 3-1/2 miles below Rainy Pass. The east side crew is busy cutting through the slides from the 11 avalanche chutes in the Cutthroat Ridge zone (MP 168-166, near Silver Star Mountain). Last week, we made good progress with favorable weather and no equipment problems...until Thursday. When the snow started sliding and avalanche control became necessary on Stevens Pass, work had to stop on the east side. By law, our avalanche techs must monitor snow stability while the crews are working below active chutes. By Wednesday evening, they crew had gotten to CR1, but with the avalanche crew down on Stevens, no clearing work could be done Thursday. (So the Twisp crew spent the day doing regular maintenance from Winthrop to Loup Loup Pass.) On Monday, Avalanche forecaster Mike Stanford showed up with the Avalanche crew's snow cat. While he kept an eye on the snow conditions, crews used it and an excavator to cut down the snow piled up below CR1. The Kodiak snow blower can take about an 8 foot "bite" and some of the snow slides through the Cutthroat Ridge zone are twice that deep. A second Kodiak snow blower from Stevens joined the effort on Tuesday. By the end of Tuesday, they had cleared CR1 and CR2. Today, the giant rental D-6 and D-8 caterpillars are traveling ahead up to the Liberty Bell Avalanche zone and to start cutting those huge snow piles down to size. We want that section ready for the snow blowers when they get that far, sometime next week. Last week's snow that hit the central Cascades hard didn't dump as much in the northern Cascades and the weather today actually started out sunny, while it's gone from two days of sunshine to overcast and foggy down on Stevens and Snoqualmie. Obviously putting the snow shoe rabbit in charge and spotting some lucky snow doughnuts are good signs! Here's the link to the flickr pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157615892803779/. Stay tuned! Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Did anyone else happen to notice this in today's (04/07/09) NW Avalanche Detailed Daily Avalanche Snow Pack Synopsis: "Evidence of a few very large slabs that released over the weekend have been seen on Mt Rainier as well as in the Tatoosh Range. The slide on Mt Rainer was reported to have released at about 6500 feet on a steep ESE aspect with crown height ranging from 10 to 30 feet running a long distance!" Woah! I'm not sure I've ever heard about, let alone seen a crown face 30 feet high. Just how large was the debris pile?