They be plowing the road now everyday.....

[Stefan]

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/northcascades/pass/spring04.htm

[JoshK]

Does anybody know why the SR20 snowpack would be so low? It's at average or above most other places...

[Dru]

Does anybody know why the SR20 snowpack would be so low? It's at average or above most other places...

 

ELEVATION all "snowpack" depths are elevation-relative. This year there is lots of snow high and not much low.

[JoshK]

Washington pass is at 5500 feet, so that doesn't really explain it.

[jshamster]

5500' is pretty low IMHO. 8K & above is where it's at.

[Blake]

elevations are all relative. People talk about climbing @ 11 and 12 thousand and higher all the time in Colorado, but Denver (out on a flat plain) is 5,300 feet, and Seattle, Vancouver, and PDX are @ 0 feet elev. All I'm saying is that a "Washington Pass" in colorado would be roughly @ 11,000 feet or so.

[Alpine_Tom]

All I'm saying is that a "Washington Pass" in colorado would be roughly @ 11,000 feet or so.

 

Ah. That explains it. Thanks.

[JoshK]

Still not quite a fair comparison. Denver is 5k yeah, but the rockies really rise out a higher plateau than that. The cascades are about a 7k range, relief wise, the rockies are more like 3k to 4k, and the relief is over much longer distances.

 

Anyway, 5500 for washington is high, there should be more snow than that.

[leejams]

My guess, it is further to the east then say stevens pass. It has Jack,logan,goode, and glacier peak all sucking the precip out before it gets to the WA pass area.

[mattp]

I do think it is true that Washington Pass never receives the snowpack of, say, Stevens Pass or Cascade Pass, but I think Josh is suggesting that there is less snow there than an average year. Although the DOT guy reported that it was an unusually low snow year, he went on to talk primarily about the snow deapth in the avalanche deposition zones as opposed to the total snowpack on Washington Pass. It may in fact be the case that the unusual thing is that we never really had huge midwinter avalanche cycles this year.

 

It looks to me as if we may be on target for an "average" or slightly early opening date, but nothing extraordinary. The historical closure section of the WSDOT page shows openings as early a late march, and as late as May, but mid April appears most common.

[Stefan]

They changed the website:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/northcascades/pass/default.htm

 

In addition. The road is NOW OPEN FROM NEWHALEM TO THE NORMAL CLOSURE AT ROSS LAKE TO ALL DRIVERS!

[Sabertooth]

Saweeeet! Looks like you can drive all the way to the hairpin from the east. Hmmmm, maybe I'll have to give that Early Winters Couloir a try a bit earlier.

[pete_a]

Sabretooth- just because the road is plowed up to the hairpin does not mean you can drive up there. The gate on the highway is still locked at Silver Star until the whole highway is cleared. If you're desperate to get up there before everyone else, you can park at the Silver Star gate and bike up to the hairpin.

[Sabertooth]

Didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

[ken4ord]

Dood if you make up there take photos, love to see what type of that area is in. Didn't even think of the bike option while we are waiting for the road to be opened. Hmmm maybe the following weekend.

[Stefan]

Bump.

 

They are talking of opening the road on April 8th....but it could be later.

[CascadeClimber]

I just heard it's opening today: Thursday, April 8.

 

[Minus]

On the web site it seems open, but that may well mean dick all...

[Alex]

I heard on the news this am that DOT says 10am opening, today.

 

Alex

[Uncle_Tricky]

As of yesterday, the road is open and in good condition (at least for now). Some construction was going on in places, but no delays. Lots of signs of the big fall rains--logs stuck strangely high in trees and evidence of other large rockfall (away from the road) between Newhalem and Ross Lake. Big white scars and clean new talus. Only 5 feet of snow along the road in the deepest places.