North Cascades Highway Spring 2011 Opening

[Dan_Miller]

From WSDOT's Jeff Adamson at 4:45pm 02/28/11.

 

Hi all,

 

Our Avalanche Control Team and the Twisp Maintenance Superintendent were planning to do the assessment of the North Cascades Highway on Tuesday and then it was postponed to Wednesday and now the trip is postponed until next week.

 

We've got mountain snow forecast through Thursday and the Avalanche crew can't be in two places at once, so they're going to have to stay at Stevens handling the avalanche control there for the rest of the week. (We did control work from 2 to 6 a.m. this morning and brought down a lot of snow, but there was a lot to bring down - We got 32" of new from 6 a.m. yesterday to 6 a.m. today.) You may also be aware, it's still snowing along the entire west slope of the Cascades - as I'm writing, Snoqualmie is still closed for avalanche control. (They've been getting more snow than Stevens today as the storm track is heavier to the south and coming in low - Snoqualmie is a 1,000' lower than Stevens, too).

 

When the assessment happens isn't that critical - as a matter of fact, the later it's done, the more accurately Mike and his snow wizards can make their predictions. The assessment trip is to determine how soon the clearing can begin and what resources (people and equipment) are going to be needed.

 

Oh, in answer to the question you didn't ask - it has been costing around $250,000 for the spring reopening effort. We are hoping we won't have to rent a lot of the big caterpillars (which WSDOT doesn't own) to keep the price down, but the reopening budget is secure. Despite the budget cutting the Governor and the legislature have done (are doing) - they all said no to any cuts to winter highway maintenance.

 

I'll let you know when the assessment trip is rescheduled and then what they found and what it means.

 

Later!

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

 

 

[Dan_Miller]

Just received from Jeff Adamson @ WSDOT//4:30 pm, 03/18/11

 

Hi all,

 

I'll jump to the end of the story first - It looks like we won't get started clearing the North Cascades for at least the next 2-1/2 weeks and maybe as late as sometime in the week of April 11th. 12 to 15 feet of snowfall over the last four weeks, which is about a third of an entire season's total, means there's still lots of deep and unstable snow in the mountains. Our forecaster says there's more coming next week, but it's the week after - that is, the last week of the month - when it looks like there's going to be a big (season ending, maybe?) series of snowy fronts coming. In short, it means we can't take the avalanche crew and any of the equipment from Stevens until the potential for weather to bring more snow and more avalanches is over. Usually, by the first day of spring, that's the case. This year, with La Nina, the weather is hardly following a normal pattern. For the past five years, we've actually had less snow in the North Cascades than what had been normal for the previous decade. It allowed earlier starts and faster openings. This year, may be the latest start in the last twenty years and it's pretty certain it's going to take more than four weeks to clear.

 

We had a forecast that said Thursday was going to be a dry day - a break between the avalanche chute-filling-snowfall we experienced from the weekend through Wednesday morning on Stevens. The avalanche crew borrowed the radio crew's snow cat (they had to leave their's at Stevens) and loaded up a couple of snowmobiles and headed to Twisp Wednesday afternoon. At about 7 a.m. Thursday morning, the parade started up the highway from Early Winters (where the plowing stops) under chilly, windy but sunny skies. The snow depth there was 4 ½ ft. compared with 3 ft. last year, 2 ft. in '09 and zero in '08. (Check out the pictures on Flickr -

) By about 1 p.m., battling deep and very soft snow below Liberty Bell Mountain, they turned back. The temperature was rising, increasing the avalanche danger and the snow cat was dancing sideways on the 50 to 60 feet of slush topped snow under LB 3. There are remote electronic snow pillows at the Washington and Rainy Pass summits so they already knew that there were 10+ feet of snow there. The west side crew did some investigating of their own and reported no snow at the Diablo Gate, but a big slide a few miles east, below Ruby Mountain and more snow from Whistler was deep over the road. (The Westside crew is going to try to get started clearing the Ruby Mtn. slide as early as next week if weather and other duties allow. Note: the Ruby Mtn. avalanche chute starting zone is about 7,000 ft. and the highway above Diablo where it dumps is around 2,000 ft., so it's not hard to imagine how we end up with snow depths below some of the NCH chutes that are up to 70 ft. some years.)

 

As the avalanche and Twisp maintenance crewmembers headed up, they took their annual assessment measurements. The first avalanche chutes one encounters are Cutthroat Ridge #1, 2 and 3. They all had 12 ft. of snow over the road this year compared to 3 to 4 ft. last year. CR #6, 7, 8 and 9 all had 20 ft. of snow on the road compared to 4 to 10 ft. last year. The totals below Liberty Bell Mtn. were 60 ft. for #1-2-3 and 40 ft. for LB#4. Last year they were all under a dozen feet and didn't even require the usual caterpillar work to cut down the piles to snow blower height - we did it with just the snow cat. Avalanche Chief Mike Stanford says the avalanche danger is very high and there are cornices at the top of some chutes that will have to broken loose before he could allow anyone to work on the highway below and since some of them aren't in the range of our portable artillery - we may have to place charges with a helicopter to even begin the clearing effort this year. He is hopeful that temperatures/ rain/wind might break them off naturally over the next two weeks, but. (Where are those Oak Harbor sonic booms when you need 'em?)

 

Yes, I've already been told that this is great news for cross country and bushwhackers, heli-skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers - but I'm equally sure that those of you who want the highway open for fishing season and Easter aren't happy with what I'm writing.

 

It's going to take another few days to evaluate the data, the weather and get the paperwork started for the private caterpillars and operators we're going to have to bring in to help. When that dust settles, I'll send out another e mail with the firm starting date.

 

Happy Spring! (It starts Sunday, at least on the calendar.)

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667.2815

 

 

 

 

[genepires]

thanks. it is what it is no matter what we want.

[Dan_Miller]

Another North Cascades Hwy. message from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson:

 

HI all,

 

Here's the news release that I sent out to the media a couple minutes ago:

 

Washington State Department of Transportation - NEWS

 

North Central Region - PO Box 98, Wenatchee, WA 98807-0098, 509-667-3000

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2011

 

Contact: Jeff Adamson, Communications Manager, 509-667-2815 (Wenatchee)

 

Clearing the North Cascades Highway starts April 11

Deep snow and avalanche danger forces latest start in 20 years

TWISP - It's shaping up to be the latest reopening in 20 years for the North Cascades Highway. Up to 15 feet of snow has fallen in the last month and the avalanche danger is extreme, forcing the reopening to begin later than normal this year.

 

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plans to begin clearing State Route 20 on Monday, April 11. The 34-mile stretch between the Skagit and Methow valleys has been closed since Dec. 1.

 

Last year, crews started clearing snow on March 22, and only four weeks later Tootsie Clark was serving her famous cinnamon rolls to the first drivers at the gate when it opened April 16.

 

WSDOT cannot shift the avalanche crew and snow-clearing equipment from Stevens Pass to the North Cascades Highway until the threat of snow and avalanche danger subsides. "We've received a third of a normal season's snow total in just the last month," said Avalanche Supervisor Mike Stanford. "We haven't seen this much snow in years. Right now, there's a lot of deep, unstable snow in the avalanche chutes above the highway."

 

Avalanche control was required today on Stevens Pass due to new snow overnight followed by heavy rain and warm temperatures.

 

On the annual North Cascades assessment trip on March 17, crews found snow 60 feet deep burying the road below the Liberty Bell Mountain avalanche zone. Pictures are posted on Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157626170712679/.

 

The work is expected to take as many as six weeks to complete this year.

 

For maps, pictures, frequently asked questions and a history of opening dates for the North Cascades Highway, visit the website www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades/.

 

Subscribe for reopening e-mail updates here: www.wsdot.wa.gov/emailupdates.

 

###

 

WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1. To unsubscribe to WSDOT media releases please reply and type REMOVE in the subject line.

 

That's pretty much the story. We're really hoping that this day or two of warm temps might bring down some of the scary cornices that have formed at the top of some of the avalanche chutes. The forecast we're seeing isn't generating anything like confidence that spring will be here by April 11, but it's providing enough optimism that we're setting the date (as firmly as we ever can.)

 

For those of you who venture up above the gates while the highway is closed - I'll bring to your attention a couple of new links in the left column of the NCH webpage - It was brought to my attention that the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has remote weather stations at Rainy Pass and a few miles further down the west side at Swamp Creek that were available on the web. Those links now allow you to check out the weather/snow accumulations on the west side as well as the east (Washington Pass) from the comfort of where-ever your computer lives.

 

I don't expect to be writing e mail updates until we start the clearing work from the east side on April 11 (unless something changes), but the west side crew would like to start cleaning up the big slide below Ruby Mtn., a few miles above the Diablo Gate, perhaps as soon as next week, so Dustin might be writing the first "real" updates and posting the photos.

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

 

 

 

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Nice pictures too, I sure am jealous of an annual "work" trip up in that area. Thanks for the updates.

[Dan_Miller]

Fresh in from Jeff Adamson at WSDOT:

 

Question is, will WSDOT have to pay costly helicopter time to drop explosive charges to knock down cornices, and stabilize the immense amount of new snow in nearly all the known avalanche chutes? I'm thinking yes!

 

Hi all,

 

The plan is to start the clearing on Monday!

 

Until then, SR 20 is still closed at Early Winters on the east side and at Diablo Gate on the west side. The crew will start the clearing from Early Winters to Silver Star Gate and plow the parking area out so we can stage the incoming equipment - snow blowers, graders, excavators and caterpillars. Our crews work Mon.-Thur. so Fri.-Sun. the staging area is available to you, as long as you leave our equipment alone!

 

We hope to get to Silver Star by Tuesday - then to Lone Fir Campground by Wednesday and to Cutthroat Ridge by Thursday. Once we get to Cutthroat Ridge (week 2) we're into the avalanche zone and our Avalanche crew will have to be there to monitor the slopes before any work is allowed on the highway below.

 

If we've still got avalanche issues on Stevens - the work on the NCH could be delayed.

 

You may have noted that in last week's snow slides on Stevens Pass that one of our two Kodiak snow blowers got caught in a natural slide at Old Faithful #3. It would normally be one of the pieces of equipment that would go north, but It's not going to be available until all the broken glass in the cab gets replaced, the crushed steel panels get straightened, the broken steering gear gets replaced and all the hydraulic and cooling system leaks get repaired.

 

See the photos:

 

To begin with, we'll start the work with the crew and equipment from Twisp and only one "imported piece" - a loader-mounted snow blower from the Leavenworth shed.

 

The Westside crew has been given the go ahead to begin work on Monday, too - dependent on weather/avalanches, of course.

 

So far as the weather starting to become spring-like: Not!- we've got a forecast for a potentially signficant snow event Sunday night to Monday morning, but we're hopeful that it will dump at the higher elevations and allow us to get started down below as planned, without a lot more new snow. A second event is forecast for Wednesday-Thursday - but we'll deal with that as we get closer and see if it really materializes.

 

So, to answer the question everyone is asking, "When will it open?" The answer is "We don't know." There are just too many wheels that can fall off from real wheels or caterpillar tracks to avalanche danger that has delayed us for days at a time during clearing over the past 30 years, to crew issues including having to send them elsewhere to deal with emergencies to illness - flu nearly shut down the entire operation for several days a few years ago. All that being said, just the volume of snow up there right now coupled with the wet forecast for the rest of the month promises that we won't have a "quick" reopening. Over the last several years, we've done it in about four weeks. An optimist might be comfortable with six, this year.

 

Since I get peppered with calls from reporters at this time of year, I'll share some interesting data I'm keeping handy about the NCH, Stevens and Blewett and those of you who still have your studded tires on:

 

North Cascades Significant Dates:

 

Closed: 12/1/10

 

Recent Opening Dates: 4/16/10, 4/24/09, 5/1/08, 4/26/07, 5/1/06, 3/10/05-Earliest ever

 

Noteworthy Openings: Latest- 6/14/74, Next Latest- 5/21/76, Never closed- 1977

 

Snow Data: 1/1/11- 4' Rainy, 5' WA, 3/1/11- 5' Rainy, 6' WA, 4/1/11- 9' Rainy, 10' WA

 

Stevens/Blewett - Snow Data: (roadside depth/total for the season)

 

Stevens: Jan. 1 - 4'/14' Season, Mar. 1 - 8'/27' Season, Apr. 1 - 9'/37.5 Season

 

Blewett: Jan. 1 - 4'/7.5' Season, Mar. 1 - 2.5'/11' Season, Apr. 1 - 1.5'/13.5 Season

 

Extended Studded Tire Deadlines: (RCW says 3/31, unless extended)

 

2011 -April 14 / 2010 -April 17 / '09 - Not / 2008 -April 5 / '07 - Not / '06 - Not

 

I expect to have some pictures from the crew and their take on how things went the first day by sometime Tuesday, so expect the first "real" update no later than Wednesday.

 

Let the adventure begin!

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

 

[Dan_Miller]

Another update from Jeff Adamson at WSDOT received on 04/11/11.

 

Hwy 20 is now plowed to Silver Star Creek and as a result another great ski tour becomes a little easier to access; unfortunately, still only from the Mazama side.

 

Hi all,

 

Just got a brief update from Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker on the opening day:

 

The crew got to Early Winters with a V-Plow and a Loader at about 7 a.m. - it was 25 degrees and it snowed lightly off and on through the noon hour. We started at MP 177 - the Early Winters Information Center where the late winter barricades were set up (about 7 miles west of Mazama) and were able to make a cut all the way (six miles) to Silver Star Gate at MP 171. Tomorrow the loader mounted snow blower from Leavenworth shed will start the clearing to make the path we made today, drivable from Early Winters to the gate and clear the parking area out so we can use it for staging the rest of the equipment (snow blowers, graders, etc.). Tomorrow, we'll use the V-plow to start making a cut toward Lone Fir Campground.

 

The new photos will be posted soon: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/5598996290/in/set-72157626170712679/

 

Day one is done!

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

 

 

[Dan_Miller]

This morning's (04/13/11) update from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson on the HWY 20 clearing operation.

 

 

Hi all, (Something went wrong with the e-mail system yesterday afternoon, so this update is a few hours late.)

 

On Tuesday, the eastside crew hit the starting zone (Early Winters) and it was only 14 degrees due to the clear skies (and no new snow all day!) That also meant that by 3 p.m., it was 36 degrees - almost balmy! Don Becker reports that the loader-mounted-blower worked well, and was able to clear off all the snow they broke up Monday to about halfway between Early Winters and Silver Star Gate (where the V-Plow established a cut through on Monday.) That's Duane Wolley behind the wheel of the loader/blower in the photos. He'll pick up where he left off. The party consisted of three players most of the day - the blower, a grader and the V-Plow. The plan to push on to Lone Fir Campground got held up with a new snow slide in a location Don has not seen come down in his 2+ decades on the North Cascades - off Silver Star Mtn. - and it came all the way to the road at MP 171 near the gate.

 

On the Westside, Kim Glass tells Dustin that his crew used snow plows to cut through from the Diablo Gate (MP 134) to about halfway between Canyon Creek and East Creek at MP 143 on Monday. Tuesday they worked clearing the ditches through that section to handle the snow melt and the rain that's coming.

 

It has also been brought to my attention that today is April 13 and that it was April 16, last year when Tootsie was serving coffee and cinnamon rolls to those of you in line, waiting for the gate to swing open. What a difference 50+ feet of snow makes!

 

Here are three more pictures of the eastside work on day 2, featuring the loader mounted blower: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157626170712679/

 

Jeff Adamson, adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

 

 

 

[genepires]

if I remember right, you are saying the silver star slide mentioned came right down silver star creek? A lot of forest smashed down for the slide to get there?

[Dan_Miller]

Today's update from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson (04/14/11 at 5:26 pm.) is below my brief response to Gene.

 

Gene,

Here's the pertinent portion of yesterday's WSDOT update: "off Silver Star Mtn. - and it came all the way to the road at MP 171 near the gate." I guess I take this to mean somewhere in the vicinity, not necessarily in the Creek bed itself. My suspicion is Mr. Becker was speaking in generalities i.e., below Silver Star Mtn.

 

If I read WSDOT's message correctly it only really mentions that an avalanche came down to the highway from Silver Star Mtn, not specifically Silver Star Creek per se. I agree wholeheartedly with your comment Gene, no question about that. To have come down S.S. Creek itself would have entailed massive mature forest blowdown. Really unlikely given all the forested terrain you ascend to access the normal ski tour route most folks usually take. I've been up that route perhaps 4 times over the years and find it difficult to believe it came right down the creek bed; my thought is likely east of the Creek itself. I'll stand corrected if need be.

 

Hi all,

 

Week one is history:

 

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty unexciting. Wednesday weather was cooperative - overcast, a little chilly, but no new snow. The work got started at Early Winters where the snow depth was about 4 -1/2 feet and got progressively deeper over the seven miles to the Silver Star Gate. The V-Plow was effective that far, but from the gate on, it's too deep for that tool, so the V-Plow attachment was removed from the loader and replaced with its usual scoop. The loader mounted blower attachment can't take the "bite" that the full sized Kodiak snow blowers can (about 10'), so it is about at the end of its usefulness, too. Wednesday, the crew used the loader with the blower, the loader with the scoop and a grader to finish the clearing fog line to fog line to Silver Star Gate - including the staging and parking area. Duane Wooley and Tyler Miller from Twisp have done the lion's share of the work so far.

 

Thursday was overcast, a little windy, temperature was around freezing all day and there was some snow off and on for about three hours in the morning. Work progressed above the gate, but the going was slow. Duane and Tyler used loaders with buckets and a grader to cut through about halfway to Lone Fir Campground.

 

We'll try to get a progress report on the west side work on Monday.

 

Also on Monday, a rental D-6 caterpillar arrives from Spokane which will speed the clearing operation considerably. There was some good news from the Wenatchee shop in that the Kodiak blower that got crushed is running again and if no other systems turn out to be damaged, it could be on its way north sometime next week when the steering gear and new glass gets here.

 

The following week, the big D-9's will join the party to attack the deep slides such as the 65' accumulations below Liberty Bell.

 

There are a couple new pictures on the FlickR site from today (Thursday).

 

Stay tuned.

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

Oh, you can drive to Silver Star Gate and the parking area is clear and at your service for the weekend - but try to be out of the way on Monday so they can get in and out of there with a low boy (for the D-6 cat).

[Dan_Miller]

Today's update from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson.

 

They are making good prgress despite breakdowns and continual snowfall.

 

Hi all,

 

Days 6-7-8 (end of Week 2), April 19-21, 2011

The clearing effort grew and increased in productivity with the addition of the D-6 caterpillar and the giant Kodiak snow blower from Stevens Pass. By Thursday afternoon, the highway was cleared fog line to fog line to Cutthroat Creek at Milepost 167, which translates to 16 miles for the first two weeks.

 

Not everything went well this week – Wednesday saw some delays with a flat tire on the road grader and then an air pressure issue with the Kodiak. Both were dealt with pretty quickly considering it takes a trip back and forth to Twisp just to fix a flat tire.

 

Don Becker, the Twisp Maintenance Supervisor who oversees the reopening effort every year says it was cold and overcast Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, it snowed all day.

 

The Westside crew has cleared the highway, fog line to fog line all the way to MP 150, about two miles beyond the Granite Creek Bridge (which is the boundary between the west and east regions, as if it mattered to anybody but us!) Snow depth where they’ll start Monday is about 5-1/2 feet. That crew is working with a loader-mounted snow blower, a loader and a plow. (3 new photos, posted) They cleared about ten miles from the Diablo Gate east, the first week. This week they started at MP 145 where there was about 2 feet of snow, but the clean up of the Ruby Mountain slide, as well as all the pull outs limited progress to five miles.

 

When work resumes on Monday on the eastside, the avalanche crew has to be there to monitor slope stability as the crew begins work below the first of the major slides at the east end of Cutthroat Ridge (CR #1). Assuming it’s safe to work, Pipkin Construction’s D-8 caterpillar and operator, along with the avalanche crew’s Pisten Bully Snow Cat and an excavator from Wenatchee, will join the D-6 cat, the Kodiak, the loader and the grader. (We may need a traffic control plan…)

 

Don included 7 new photos (That’s Jason Newman fueling and driving the grader).

 

Two more notes – Winthrop’s 49’er Days celebration is scheduled as usual for the first weekend in May (6-7-8) and while the highway won’t be open – you’re invited to drive around and be assured it will be as much as ever. (Note: This is only the 3rd time in 35 years the highway wasn’t open for 49’er Days).

 

You will also want to check out the changes Dustin and I made to the NCH home page – it cleaned up the left column and put the camera thumbnails in the right column. The weather stations, forecasts and links to the recreation agencies now have their own page.

 

Despite the forecast for more late-season snow, we remain optimistic that the opening will proceed smoothly, (and I’m not even going to respond to the e mail I got about whether we can have the highway open before the legislature adjourns…)

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

 

[Dan_Miller]

Today's (04/26/11, 11:12sm) update from WSDOT's Jeff Adamson:

 

Hi all,

 

Lots of activity Monday:

 

Day 9 – April 25 (Week #3)

 

 

The eastside crew started working west from Cutthroat Creek through the first of the three avalanche chutes in that zone (CR#1, #2, #3). Don Becker says “Pipkin’s D8 cat got here at 0800 and was sent off ahead to begin working CR#6. The Wenatchee excavator got here at 0930 and was put to work with Duane Wolley in the Kodiak snow blower on CR#2. Scott Reagles was operating the D6 on CR#5. Jesse Gurney was in the excavator. Mike Stanford was driving the avalanche crew’s snow cat, cutting down CR#1. Jason Newman was in the grader, clearing shoulders and pavement. John Finklestein and Brandon Levy stood avalanche watch. (check out the new photos).

 

I'm not here Thursday and Friday, but you'll still get updated on the week's progress - just from a different perspective - from Dustin (my wetsider, uh, westsider, counterpart in Burlington...)!

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

I've gotten lots of "when will it open" e mails. Truthfully - we really don't know. If the weather, equipment and crew health all cooperates, it will open before Memorial Day. If not, it won't. It's just entirely too early to make a dependable prediction.

 

 

 

 

[sprocket]

Thanks for the update.

 

Curious if cyclists are allowed on the road before the passes are completely cleared.

 

Thanks.

[fredrogers]

At least on the east side they don't like it when they are working, which is just Monday-Thursday, but they have no authority to kick you off if you are on a non-motorized vehicle.

 

Methow Valley Sport Trails posted some pics from last weekend on Facebook:

 

And for those of you who were hoping as well that the slide at Silverstar Creek opened up a decent path in tight trees, the answer is sadly, no. Just a big wet slide though the old growth.

[John_Scurlock]

I've been up there a few times recently from the ross gate. These are from yesterday at mp 151, about 1/3 mi W of the Easy Pass trail.

 

http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/134247930

http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/134247933

http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/134247935

 

I've rarely seen anyone else up there, working or on bikes. A marten ran across the road in front of me yesterday near 142. (Canyon Creek th is at about 141, so it was east of there). My advice would be to stay far away from working equipment.

 

On the west side, bike gives access to some decent hiking, at Canyon Creek (I was in knee deep snow at the 5 mi mark there the other day, on the Chancellor trail), East Bank trail, Happy Panther, and so on. Snow on these trails is a problem as soon as you get out of the valley bottoms.

 

Probably not that great of an idea to get in there with a big crowd of riders. Just my .02 cts...

Edited May 4, 2011 by John_Scurlock

[sprocket]

Thanks for the input. I thought I'd seen photos of folks riding from the eastside before it was cleared in years past.

 

It would only be me and my GF riding from Winthrop and we would stay far away from any equipment or workers.

 

We were out at Glacier NP last summer and they apparently let non-motorized travlers on the Going to the Sun Road before the pass is open and it is a popular ride for locals.

 

I had inquired with Rainier NP last year if the Sunrise road is open to bikes before they open the gate but was told it is not allowed and they would cite you for trespassing.

 

[Dan_Miller]

Today's (04/29/11, 4:12 pm) update from WSDOT's Dustin Terpening:

I attempted to place the photo links to Dustin's update email, but when I click on the links they appear only as pop-ups. I'm at somewhat of a loss as how to make them appear in a new window. Nothing in there of particular interest in my way of thinking anyway. You can go to WSDOT's North Cascades website to view them if you're so inclined:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/]WSDOT North Cascades Highway Clearing

 

Hi all,

 

It’s Dustin, from the west side, bringing you an update on our snow-clearing progress. I won’t even attempt to be as witty as Jeff, but I'll give it my best. He’s set the bar high and I’m afraid it’s unreachable. Like many of you, I definitely enjoy reading his updates.

 

 

I’m sure this comes as no surprise to any of you, but we’re still getting snow. Yup, it’s almost May and we’re still doing avalanche control in the passes. Fun times.

 

I just got off the phone with Dean Hills, maintenance superintendent out of Wenatchee. His quick diagnosis of the equipment is that it’s all running well. No major hiccups. (Knock on wood.) We’ve only had a few minor issues with a switch here and an exhaust pipe there.

 

Hills said that we’ve nearly finished cutting through the Cutthroat Ridge avalanche chutes. [img:right] [/img] We’re through CR 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. The two full-size snowblowers have a little work remaining at CR 10 before they’re through, and we have about an hour’s worth of pushing with the D8 cats at CR 11 and CR 12. Once the cats have finished pushing and cut the slides down to manageable sizes, the excavator and snowblowers can punch through pretty quickly. Then it’s on to what we call the Annex – the area where avalanches from Liberty Bell reach the highway a second time. Hills believes we should reach the Annex quickly next week.

 

We’re finding a lot of debris in the avalanches so far. While it’s not too much of a problem for the cats and excavator, it is a problem for our snowblowers. The debris breaks a lot of sheer pins on the blades of the snowblowers. Each time we break a sheer pin, we have to stop and replace it, slowing us down. For a better idea of what a sheer pin is, check out this picture first, and then look at this close-up.

 

 

A bigger bucket for the excavator is supposed to arrive on Monday. We’re bringing it in from Euphrata – it’s normally used for ditching. Supposedly, it’s twice the size of the normal bucket. That’ll help move more snow more quickly.

 

As for the west side, Gary Claybo and Gary Ward tell me that we’re all the way to milepost 152. We stopped using the loader-mounted blower Wednesday because the snow was getting too deep – more than 5 feet deep. We brought in a full-size snowblower from Stevens Pass on Wednesday and put it to work. Gary Claybo says the full-size blower should speed snow removal up a bit. However, Gary Ward thinks we’ll get slowed down once we reach milepost 155 because there’s a fairly large slide there. (You’ll have to forgive me, I didn’t get the name of that slide zone. I know, Jeff would never let that happen. Can we chalk it up to a rookie mistake?)

 

We got a few new pictures from the west side this week. [img:right] [/img]

 

Have a great weekend. Not to worry, Jeff should be back next week.

 

Dustin Terpening

360-757-5997

 

 

[Dan_Miller]

John and Fred (a Westsider and an Eastsider)thanks for the timely additions.

[Dan_Miller]

Here's today's (05/02/11), WSDOT update from Jeff Adamson:

 

Hi all,

 

If the pictures suggest it's cold and a little wet – so begins week #4 at the west end of Cutthroat Ridge. It was a bit above freezing when the crew got there. It started snowing about 10 a.m. and continued on and off after that. Wind wasn't bad – 10 mph or less.

 

The crew and equipment was spread from CR 8 to CR 12.

 

Farthest up the road (?) was Gene (the contract operator from Pipkin Construction) in his D-8 caterpillar, cutting down the huge pile of snow below CR-12. Scott Reagles (Twisp Tech II) was in the rental D-6 and Duane Wolley (T-III) was operating the Kodiak snow blower on CR-11. T-II Jesse Gurney was in the excavator, T-II Tyler Miller was in the other Kodiak and Ryan Smith (Okanogan Tech I) was in the loader widening from CR-8 to CR-10. T-II Jason Newman was scraping the floor (down to the pavement) with the road grader, Mike Stanford (Avalanche Chief) was in the snow cat, Deed Fink (Twisp Lead Tech) and Brandon Levy (Avalanche Tech) were on avalanche watch.

 

Here are the pictures so you can follow the program: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157626170712679/with/5681426240/

 

Two more things that you may be interested in:

 

Dustin did some checking on our FlickR site and found that a whole lot of people liked the photo Cliff Schwab sent to us that he took of Spiral Gulch on the Friday before we started the clearing:

 

Amazing stat #1: Your Hairpin Curve photo is ranked 4th all time on our Flickr site. This is quite the achievement when you consider we have 14,129 pictures shared.

 

Amazing stat #2: The photo just broke 10,000 views. 10,000 views in less than a month! That’s amazing. Most of our photos are lucky to break 100 views. It also has seven comments and 13 favorites.

 

The other interesting tidbit comes from Stevens Pass:

 

In the 60+ years for which we have records, this was the snowiest April ever. As of 4/28, the total was 86" (we may have picked up another couple Friday and Saturday). For the Season we're at 45 feet which is above normal, but way below the record which is nearly twice that.

 

Everybody is feeling good about the progress made from both sides last week and we're hoping for more of the same, this week.

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

 

[kevino]

Dan,

 

 

Do you have anymore current info about Chinook Pass? 4/29 was the last update the DOT website had. Thanks.

[Dan_Miller]

Today's (05/06/11) update froms WSDOT's Dustin Terpening and Jeff Adamson (the West and East side guys).

 

Hi all,

 

Monday is the beginning of week #5 and the eastside crew has cleared both lanes to Liberty Bell avalanche chute #1 (MP 165).

 

If you consult a calendar, you will note the incongruity that it’s trying to be spring in the rest of the world. For instance – yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, Sunday is Mother’s Day, there’s a bunch of spring events here tomorrow including the 49'er Day Parade in Winthrop, the Sunflower Iron and Relay Trail Run in Mazama, the Colorama Parade in Grand Coulee and the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival Grand Parade in Wenatchee.

 

Or is it still winter?

 

On Tuesday morning, Avalanche Tech Brandon Levy dug a snow pit above the big lone tree in Spire Gulch (about 5600’) and found 16 feet of snow to the ground and that the pack was still very cold -5 Celsius and very firm. He said it looked as though we will need our traditional three days of warm temps to be able to possibly get some more snow to come down out of the chutes. He was sure about the snow in the LBs but was also concerned about CR 6,7,8,10. By Thursday, he got confirmation.

 

Yesterday, we had two natural slides on Stevens Pass (Old Faithful #3 & #4) that put about three feet on the shoulder and part of one lane. On Monday, if the forecast is accurate for the freezing level to rise to 8,000’ in the North Cascades, Mike (Stanford – Avalanche Chief) says he’s going to have to do control work with the portable howitzer on Liberty Bell #2 and #3, before he’ll let anyone work under them. They’re not the only chutes that still have unstable snow in them. While snow was sliding on Stevens, it was also sliding back in the Cutthroat Ridge zone that the crew had already cleared. Most of the snow just filled the safety trough above the roadway, but enough came down between CR7 and 8 that it got to the road and required some snow blower attention to “re clean”.

 

Speaking of snow blowers – it hasn’t particularly slowed the progress - but it’s kept our mechanics occupied – this was another week of replacing shear pins on the spinners as we’re still finding a lot of hidden debris – rocks and wood - buried in the snow below the avalanche chutes.

 

The calendar has also had an effect on this year’s reopening in terms of sunshine (more direct) and daylight (begins earlier and ends later). This past week (as the flickR photos show) was cold, overcast, foggy, windy, and it snowed several times as well. At the same time, when the sun did come out – since the angle is higher and more direct, it gets hot in a hurry, both for the crew and those unstable snow accumulations in the avalanche chutes. The hope is that the chutes will warm and empty on their own (as Brandon noted). The downside is that when it warms up too fast, we’ve had to delay work some years and pull the crews off the road due to the avalanche danger. We really, really don’t want that to happen – but that’s exactly why we can’t predict a reopening any closer than “mid to late May”.

 

By the numbers – from the east, the highway is cleared shoulder to shoulder to LB#1 and LB1 itself is 90% cleared (almost ready for the Kodiaks to blow it clear down to the pavement). Caterpillars and the snow cat working ahead have cleared about 70% of the accumulation at LB#2 and about 20% at LB#3. With the snowfall since the assessment in March, the depths in the Liberty Bell zone have grown from 60+’ to 75’, which is the deepest we’ve encountered in the last dozen years, at least. (We found 70’ there in ‘05, when it took 6 weeks to reopen).

 

With that, I’ll hand off to Dustin, with the west side update:

 

Hey all! Apparently, my last update wasn’t so bad; Jeff decided to let me write some more. What a nice guy!

 

After this week’s work, we’re now just two miles shy of Rainy Pass. Louie Crookshank made it to milepost 155.5 in the snow blower where the snow is approximately 5 feet deep. Surprisingly, the snow on this side is “soft” this year, according to Gary Ward. Most years, the snow has layers of ice and/or hard spots, but not this year. So far, it’s been soft all the way to the bottom. The soft snow actually makes it easier for the snowblower to cut through.

 

While Louie was out ahead in the snow blower, Bob Hopfield and David Dillinger (better known as Goob) were back a ways cleaning and clearing ditches with front-end loaders. The ditches on the upslope-side of the highway are full of dirt, rocks and debris. We’ve got to clean them out so that they drain properly and keep water off the highway. According to Gary, some of the rocks that fell throughout the winter are half the size of cars. Those tend to leave a mark (!) where they land. A few sections of concrete barrier were damaged and need to be replaced. Along with ditching, Bob and Goob worked on clearing rocks and trees still across the road at Ruby 8 (near milepost 138). Up until now, we had just punched a hole wide enough through that slide to get the snow blower past.

 

We had no major issues with equipment this week, just a few minor things: One dump truck tossed a belt and another had an oil leak - nothing that couldn’t be fixed.

 

It snowed several times this week, but we didn’t get any major accumulations. And by the looks of things out my window right now, it’s probably snowing up there right now. There’s no snow at the gate, and you won’t find any until you’ve got 10 miles or more beyond it.

 

This is Jeff again. Regarding recreational access for snowmobiles – from the east side, I’m told that unless you plan to run on pavement for the six miles from the gate to Spiral Gulch, you’re not going to be doing any high marking below the Spires – sorry.

 

One more note. Nancy Trucano who runs the Cascade Loop Assn. put a North Cascades picture (Diablo Lake) on the cover of the 2011-12 Travel Guide and you can get all 68 pages (including the cover) for free from their website: http://cascadeloop.com/index.php?page_id=367

 

She’s also posted each week’s update and some photos on the Loop’s web site so – yes - I’m shamelessly promoting one of our partners! info@cascadeloop.com.

 

 

The challenges continue...

 

Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov (509) 667-2815

 

Dustin Terpening (The Dustin) terpend@wsdot.wa.gov (360) 757-5997

 

 

[Dan_Miller]

Friday's (05/13/11) update from Jeff Adamson and Dustin Terpening from WSDOT:

 

Hi all,

 

The week began with a forecast for warm temperatures, and as the mercury rose the snow began sliding. By 2 p.m. Monday, it was 50 degrees at 5,500 feet and the snow was sliding at Liberty Bell Mtn. and Cutthroat Ridge.

 

Before the snow started sliding, the crew had finished the clearing below Liberty Bell #1. However, the slides put an end to any more work in that area, and the new slides behind them in the Cutthroat Ridge zone is where they concentrated their work (if anyone was going to get back to Twisp for dinner)!

 

Even more slides reached the highway on Tuesday – more than 20 feet deep in a couple locations in the Cutthroat Ridge zone. There were more below Liberty Bell Mtn. too that put off any work there for the day - the crew was plenty busy cleaning up Cutthroat and the Annex – again. Everyone got home late Tuesday as a 100-foot wide by 25-foot deep slab avalanche slid down onto the Annex, which is just below Spiral Gulch (locate on the map). (Sort of our own fault in that the slide included a lot of snow that we had pushed off of the Liberty Bell chutes down into the gulch!)

 

Due to some scheduled training and other commitments, some of our team members from other Area 3 maintenance sheds got to spend a day or two revisiting winter, and some of the regular Twisp crewmembers found themselves operating different pieces of equipment. Jason Newman (Twisp) took over snow blower duty, Lonnie Fenton (Brewster) ran the loader, Scott Reagles (Twisp) was at the controls of the D-6 cat and Glen Jones (newly selected lead tech for Okanogan – congratulations!) was driving the grader.

 

Tuesday also brought Seattle Times photographer Mark Harrison to the gate. He got to spend the day taking pictures of avalanches, walls of snow, our cool equipment and our hard-working crewmembers. Reporter Jack Broom filled in the rest of the story by phone with Becker, me, Dustin, the local chambers of commerce and others for a story published on Thursday. (Check out the Time’s story – they posted Mark’s pictures and also the video he shot.)

 

By 8 a.m. Wednesday at 5,000 feet it was overcast, raining and about 43 degrees, which prompted the avalanche team to start control work in the Liberty Bell zone earlier than anticipated because visibility was declining. The howitzer successfully triggered a huge slide at LB#1, almost equaling the 75’ that was over the roadway there when crews started clearing it last week. Shots into LB#2 and 3 brought down more snow, too, but nothing like LB#1 which Don Becker described as “Spectacular!” Needless to say, the entire crew spent the rest of Wednesday and Thursday working through the Liberty Bell Mountain zone. (Locate on the map)

 

By the end of the week (Thursday p.m.), we were through LB#3 (MP 163) and making a single cut up to Washington Pass (MP 162). With the forecast for a weekend of precipitation, on Monday we’re expecting to find more snow on the pavement we’ve already cleared and more in the avalanche chutes, too. (Locate on the map)

 

Here’s Dustin’s Update from the west side

 

I decided to get away from my desk and get a firsthand glimpse of our progress on Thursday. Boy did I get lucky and pick a gorgeous day to journey up the mountain. It must have been 65-70 degrees at the top of Rainy Pass; I was in a t-shirt the whole day. I even got a little sunburn. Considering the kind of spring we’ve had, I didn’t even think about taking sunscreen.

 

I attempted something new this year: I took my (personal) Flip video camera and decided to try a video report. I played “reporter” and did a few stand-ups along the way. For those of you who might find these updates a little long-winded, you might enjoy this video version better.

 

Our lone snowblower (run by Louie Crookshank) has reached the top of Rainy Pass. I got a few nice pictures of Louie in the blower launching snow off the highway. He said that the snow isn’t flying as far as it usually does because it’s wet and heavy. Come Monday, we should be working our way down the east side of Rainy Pass.

 

It was back closer to the gate where the work was really buzzing. Multiple dump trucks and loaders were running up and down the highway clearing ditches. Let me tell you, they were moving a lot of dirt and rock, and had a lot more dirt and rock to move. The ditches along the upslope side of the highway are chock-full.

 

Jeff and I have fielded a lot of phone calls this week from people itching to cross the highway. The question we were asked the most, “When are you going to open the highway?” We had the same answer for everyone, “The hope is by Memorial Day, but we don’t have a target date yet. As soon as we know, you’ll know.”

 

It’s very difficult to pin down an opening date at this point. Yes, from the looks of the map, both teams appear to be very close to one another. They’re less than 6 miles apart, but the 6 miles between Rainy and Washington passes pose a lot of challenges (like being 4,900 to 5,500 feet in elevation). The biggest obstacles this week (on the east side) were all the new avalanches in places where we’d already cleared the highway. It was like we’d take one step forward and then two steps back.

 

Stay tuned – Tootsie says she’ll have the cinnamon rolls ready as soon as we call – not likely next week, but hopefully before the 26th.

 

Jeff & Dustin

 

 

 

 

[John_Scurlock]

Dave Adams & I rode up to Rainy today, some of you may have seen the email I sent on it. A large avalanche came down probably late yesterday in a chute at 137.7, we estimated it to be probably twenty feet deep at its deepest and looked to cover a hundred feet of the highway in places. There are two DOT loaders and the Kodiak snowblower now isolated to the east, beyond the slide. We were awestruck by the size of it. It took us twenty plus minutes either direction to get across it with the bikes. The rest of the ride was uneventful, except perhaps for the downpour the last seven miles up to the pass. The amount of snow at the pass, seven feet, is amazing considering the date and also that there is only about five feet at 155, two and a half miles to the west. I've seen recent news articles where business owners are wondering why the hwy isn't open yet. Seeing things first hand really shows what the DOT is up against.... Here is the first of six avalanche images, click 'original' to see the largest uploaded size and "next" (top right) to see the rest.

 

http://www.pbase.com/nolock/image/134743162 - yes, that is snow blocks, dirt covered. There was a lot of woody debris in it, only a few rocks. It was remarkably fragrant, smelling strongly of pitch/resin. I think it's about 47 mi RT to the pass and back from the Ross gate at 134.

[builder206]

I will pay for fuel and Hobbs time if you will bomb Liberty Bell with de-icer.

[Dan_Miller]

Today's (05/17/11) update from Jeff Adamson and Dustin Terpening with WSDOT. Happy Syttende Mai All! (Us Ballardites know what this is all about.)

 

 

Loading photo preview from Flickr There was a problem getting photos from Flickr. Try going to the web site directly: If the photos are private, you might be asked to sign-in.

 

 

 

 

 

May 17, 2011

 

 

Dustin's update from the west side

 

Remember how I said, “Come Monday morning we should be working our way down the east side of Rainy Pass?” Well, I have to revise that statement because we had a wrench thrown into our plans.

 

On our way to work Monday morning, we ran into a BIG surprise three miles east of the gate: A natural avalanche 20 feet deep and 100-150 feet wide. The slide apparently happened on Sunday beneath Ruby Mountain. It was full of what looked like giant snowballs, mangled trees and rocks. I’m not quite sure how to describe the way it looks – it’s just something you have to see for yourself. (John Sculock's photo's detail this well, see above). Unfortunately, our equipment was on the other side of the slide. Gary Claybo hiked over the avalanche to get to a loader on the other side to start clearing it. However, our clearing yesterday was limited because visibility and stability. Needless to say, we’ll be focusing our efforts on this slide for a few days before we can get back to clearing snow further east.

 

I want to take a quick moment to thank John Scurlock who kindly shared his photos of the slide with us so that we could put them on Flickr. I then saw them on the evening TV news last night.

 

On a slightly different and more fun note, some of our photos showed up in the London Daily Mail. That’s kind of cool.

 

 

 

Jeff's update from the east side

 

We ended our contract with Pipkin Construction for the D-8 and got several calls as Winthrop residents saw the low-boy carrying it through town Monday afternoon. Yes, that's good news. We only need the D-8 until we're through the Liberty Bell avalanche zone, so the D-8 coming off the hill confirmed that we are now through LB 1, 2, 3 & 4, and now working on widening the single cut up to Washington Pass. (The rental D-6 is adequate for clearing the slide at Bridge Creek - milepost 159 or thereabouts.)

 

We didn't know what we'd find on Monday morning after the heavy weekend rains: Did they wash out the avalanche chutes like LB 2 and 3 that still had a lot of snow in them; or did the dropping freezing level and snow Sunday evening fill them fuller? The answer is somewhere in between. The rain came, but it didn't wash out the chutes. It absorbed into the snow and now we've got even heavier and wetter (potentially more threatening avalanche danger) snow than we had at close of business last Thursday.

 

Nothing is confirmed yet, but the avalanche crew is watching the weather forecasts for the warmest period coming in the next week because they may need to do helicopter avalanche control in order to open the highway, even after all the pavement is cleared.

 

You all can imagine the uproar we'd cause if we kept the gates closed while the pavement is clear, especially from those who don't appreciate the avalanche danger from Cutthroat Ridge to west of Rainy Pass - note Sunday's slide. It only takes a few degrees or a couple hours of direct sunlight (or more snow!) to trigger a slide. That's why we'll try to empty them by placing charges via helicopter directly into the starting zones, if we have to.

 

NOTE: for those who have complained we're not working 7 days a week to reopen – take heart – the forecast I'm looking at right now suggests it's going to be warmest Saturday and Sunday, so avalanche and maintenance personnel could be working this weekend. We will let you know if/when the chopper flies so you can make sure you're not out there on your bikes or skis while we're blasting the hillside above!

 

As always, Jeff and I are available for your questions, concerns or comments. We're here Monday through Friday, during normal business hours.

 

Dustin - 360-757-5997

 

Jeff - 509-667-2815