WA Pass Update

[DirtyHarry]

April 12

Week number four started with clearing of sections that had already been cleared earlier. Three of the Cutthroat Ridge avalanche chutes released over the weekend and on Monday (April 10), crews had to clear snow that buried the roadway again, below Cutthroat Ridge chutes #11, 12 and 13, before they could get back up to the Liberty Bell Mountain avalanche zone they had reached last week.

 

Snow below the Liberty Bell chutes is 40 feet deep or more in places (there are 4 BIG Liberty Bell avalanche chutes). As has been necessary in past years, we contracted with Lloyd Logging in Twisp to bring up their big caterpillars to help us tackle Liberty Bell.

 

The snow blowers got the cut from Cutthroat Ridge to Liberty Bell widened, shoulder to shoulder. At the same time, the big caterpillars made good progress on the huge piles of snow below Liberty Bell #1 and #2 until late in the afternoon when the avalanche control team pulled them out because of snow in the chutes that started sliding. The avalanche crew shot explosives to bring down the unstable snow, but without much effect. Tuesday through Thursday, the chutes were more stable and crews cleared both Liberty Bell #1 and #2 and continued working on #3 and #4, just below Washington Pass.

 

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Man, how cool would it be to be avalanche control for the DOT? Hang out on WA Pass all day, do snow science, and shoot big howitzers. Badass.

[scheissami]

Sweet.

 

Any word on a projected date the pass will be clear?

[John Frieh]

I've been watching that too... cool updates. If one had a motorcycle or bike and a better weather forecast they could bike up to WA pass or Cutthroat this weekend. Just duck the gate at MP 170... Hmmm...

 

Assuming we don't get too much snow this weekend/next week the pass should open next week.

[John Frieh]

Updates: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/2006/default.htm

[JoshK]

Weather forecast says serious snow this weekend....might delay things further.

[John Frieh]

Gate won't be open this weekend

 

Anybody got a motorcycle I can borrow?

[John Frieh]

The tentative reopening date and time is now noon on Monday, May 1st. Unexpected snow, stubborn avalanche chutes and equipment breakdowns could all affect that, but Don Becker, our WSDOT Supervisor in Twisp, is optimistic we can make that date. At the same time, he says the chances that the opening could happen any earlier very unlikely.

[scott_harpell]

It aint gonna be the first.

[Weekend_Climberz]

The last I read they were pretty sure the road would be open on the 1st. That would be pretty sweet.

[goatboy]

From website:

 

LINK

 

On Thursday afternoon (April 20), crews working from boths sides of the pass finally reached one another. Thanks to the snow blowers, crews now have one lane cut through nine feet of snow between Rainy Pass and Blue Lake.

 

Eleven crewmembers, four snow blowers, one caterpillar, one road grader, and one loader will spend this week widening the single lane out to two lanes

 

We suspended work Thursday afernoon after things started to heat up (literally). The avalanche danger shot through the roof after crews met up because temperatures were rising. As a result, two of the Liberty Bell's Avalanche Chutes (#'s 2 and 3) emptied themselves and dumped snow over the road. Conditions were not safe. Our avalanche control team will use explosives this week to try and help empty the dangerous avalanche chutes.

 

There were no new slides over the weekend, but Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker says the forecast says there could be temperatures as high as 80 degrees late in the week. "That should help some of the chutes to release. We can't open the highway until they do."

 

The tentative reopening target is still noon on Monday, May 1st. "I know this is the opening weekend of fishing season and folks would love to see a Friday reopening, but if it's not safe, we can't open it," said Becker.

[John Frieh]

April 26

At the earliest, we plan to open the pass at noon on Monday, May 1st. The avalanche danger on the pass is extremely high. Opening at noon gives us a few hours on Monday to do avalanche control and snow clean up. We are not optimistic that the snow sitting in the avalanche chutes will release this week due to the unusual layering of the snow from this winter. Instead of lots of layers of snow, most of the avalanche chutes only have two layers, and with six to 16 feet of snow in the chutes, it takes a lot of heat and explosives to release all that snow.

 

On top of the avalanche danger, two of our snow blowers are having mechanical problems and are not running. It's going to be a stretch to open the pass on Monday. We may not be able to open it until Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

We realize how important it is to have the pass open. We're working as quickly as possible to get it open. Before we open it, we want to ensure that every one will have a safe trip across the pass.