[jinx'sboy]

Possible June opening..... Closure to bicycles and skiers, weekdays, during clearing..... Hi all, The North Cascades Highway. clearing begins April 10 (we hope), but heavy snowpack could keep it closed until June. The latest reopening ever was the year after it first opened, June 14, 1974. If the clearing effort takes a full eight weeks, this year’s reopening could extend beyond Memorial Day into June, too. The weather, current snow slides over the road and the full chutes that haven’t emptied yet make it unsafe to begin any clearing work earlier than April 10. The volumes of snow through the 34 mile closed section is responsible for the up to eight-week estimate to reopen. “An early opening is in time for the lowland fishing season opening, the third week in April. A typical opening is by the first weekend in May for Winthrop’s “49’er Days”. We’ve only been closed through Memorial Day once in 40 years, but it could happen this year,” said Twisp maintenance supervisor Don Becker. On last Thursday’s assessment trip, WSDOT avalanche and maintenance staff found snow over the road 25 feet high below four of the 11 Cutthroat Ridge avalanche chutes. Below Liberty Bell Mountain the three main chutes were still full but had 35 to 45 foot accumulations on the highway below them. Even Whistler, between Washington and Rainy Passes had dumped 15 feet onto the highway, three times more than recorded in the past decade. Last year clearing started on March 17 and the highway opened a month later on April 22. Avalanches closed the highway last November 21. The latest opening in the last 10 years was May 25, 2011. There is another change this year. Too many close calls as the volume of bicycle and skiers has continued to increase while our crews are working has forced closure of the highway Monday through Thursday during the clearing. You’re still welcome Friday through Sunday. We still advise checking with the NW Avalanche Center, the National Park Service or the U.S. Forest Service about the back country avalanche conditions before you go. We’ll continue posting pictures week to week on FlickR as usual (www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157678384383793), but when the clearing is complete this year, we’re hoping to produce a full video record of the reopening from start to finish edited in a movie form. Expect to hear from us again in about two weeks. Jeff & Andrea http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades

[jinx'sboy]

Wenatchee World article http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2017/mar/23/late-reopening-predicted-for-north-cascades-highway/

[jinx'sboy]

SR 20 clearing starts. From WSDOT..... Hi all, The work to reopen the North Cascades Highway began as planned this morning despite flooding on both routes into the Methow Valley. Loup-Loup Washout Repairs won't be fast or easy. Last week crews in Area 3 battled the elements to try and keep SR 153; between Pateros and Twisp and SR 20 over Loop Loop Pass, open. Friday afternoon nature won the battle on SR 20 washing out part of the roadway closing the highway at MP 221 between Twisp and Okanogan. Yesterday afternoon crews were able to get culverts cleaned and restore unrestricted traffic on SR 153 between Pateros and Twisp; currently the only way in and out of the Methow Valley. The cost to do the repairs are still being developed. Initial guesstimates are already over $700K. More forthcoming on the reopening and the flooding as we know.

[thunderhead]

All I want for spring is the road to be almost clear and gated on a sunny weekend for a bike.

[jinx'sboy]

Hi all, North Cascades Highway Reopening Update - April 14, 2017 Week one of the clearing saw the west side crew within ten miles of Rainy Pass. On the east side, crews cleared 12 miles from Early Winters information center past Lone Fir campground to Cutthroat Ridge where the avalanche zone begins. That's where the avalanche crew will join them Monday to begin the heavy lifting. We’ll continue posting pictures week to week on FlickR as usual www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157678384383793 The area between the gates is closed to everyone during the workweek but is open for cyclists, hikers and backpackers Friday through Sunday. This weekend’s forecast says Friday night to Saturday morning, expect cold and snow, but then it warms up. Check for back country avalanche conditions. jeff.adamson@wsdot.wa.gov Andrea.Flatley@wsdot.wa.gov PS: As of now, to the west of the Diablo closure gate, the highway is closed due to a couple rock slides outside Newhalem and to the east, it's closed between Twisp and Okanogan at Loup Loup summit due to a washout. (too much rain!) We’ll update @wsdot_north if the road reopens past mp 121 this weekend. (Good photos!)

[jinx'sboy]

APRIL 21 UPDATE Hi all, Week 2 is history and despite snowy/rainy weather and mud, rocks and debris closing SR 20 on both sides of the North Cascades Winter Closure gates – good progress was made. Avalanche Control Chief Mike Stanford put it this way: “Things on the east side are crazy for those guys (maintenance) with all the other stuff going on.” (Like the ongoing effort to keep SR 153 open while 12 miles of SR 20 over Loup Loup summit remains closed due to washouts.) This week crews were working below Cutthroat Ridge, cutting down 25 foot debris piles at CR 6, 7, 8 most of the week and are now on CR 10. Two caterpillars joined the party to do the cutting as a Kodiak can only swallow snow to about 8-10 feet high. Crews from the eastern region are gone now but they all got some good time and training on the new blower (which they left f)or us to use going forward. Bob Hopfield provided an update for the westside progress: “The crew has been very busy with the rockslides along SR 20 at milepost 124.1 and milepost 133.5. Drilling and blasting was required. A big thank you to 1st year Newhalem crew members, for the hours of hard work spent on the rock drill. On the clearing effort, the front end loader mounted blower made it to milepost 151 just west of Easy Pass trailhead.(about 6 miles below Rainy Pass Snow depth there is 29 inches. Weather on both sides has been cool and snowy. Forecast for upcoming week is more of the same. Until next week, Jeff and Andrea Here’s the FlickR link to the 2017 reopening album:(just got the photos – this week’s will appear in a couple hours) www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157678384383793

[jinx'sboy]

Week three 4/28 Hi all, The west side crew has cleared to within 2 ½ miles of Rainy Pass and the eastside crew is about the same distance from Washington Pass. The difference is on the west side the snow is three feet deep. On the east side, snow is 7 feet deep and the Liberty Bell avalanche zone is still ahead where there’s 45 to 55 feet of heavy wet snow on the roadway. On the westside the work is progressing well with a plow truck and the loader-mounted blower. On the eastside, the two big caterpillars have begun cutting down the huge piles of snow in the Liberty Bell avalanche zone. Weather conditions on Thursday were pretty common for all of week 3. At midday it was 38 degrees, clouds and sun with snow flurries where the crews were working at about 4500 feet elevation. The avalanche crew is always checking what's ahead. There's 9-1/2' of snow at the top of Washington Pass. Avalanche chutes still have snow in them that hasn't come down yet. We'll see what Monday brings. The forecast is dry Saturday, snow Saturday night, ice Sunday morning with some rain/snow later in the day. Monday through Wednesday, it's supposed to dry out again. Let's hope so! Crews are still hopeful to open by Memorial Day. Jeff & Andrea 2017 pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157678384383793

[Jaberwock]

Awesome! Always thought that must be an sweet job.

[jinx'sboy]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2017 Contacts: Andrea E. Petrich, communications, 360-757-5963, Burlington Jeff Adamson, communications, 509-667-2815, Wenatchee SR 20/North Cascades Highway reopening planned for May 16 Warmer weather helped crews speed up the initial June estimate DIABLO – It seemed like the winter weather might never end after record rain and snow pounded the state and delayed the reopening of State Route 20/North Cascades Highway. Finally, warmer temperatures, warm rain and sun arrived and should allow crews to reopen the road well ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. With a lot of long days, and help from the weather, Washington State Department of Transportation crews turned eight weeks of work into 5-1/2. Crews are finishing final repairs and are planning to open the highway for the summer at 11 a.m., Tuesday, May 16. “Not being able to start clearing until April 10 meant we couldn’t be open for the beginning of fishing season or Winthrop’s ‘49er Days Festival which we never like to happen,” said Don Becker, WSDOT’s maintenance supervisor in Twisp. “Crews always had a Memorial Day weekend opening as a goal, despite the estimates that told us June. Luckily, in the end, the weather was finally on our side.” The warm weather helped melt some of the snow, but those conditions also increased the avalanche risk. Safety is WSDOT’s top priority and crews used spotters and safety ditches in the snow to keep themselves protected during clearing. Some chutes still have snow, but rain over the next few days is expected to cause them to slide and get cleaned up before the highway opens. The clearing process WSDOT crews started clearing back on Monday, April 10. Working from both sides, crews not only clear snow, they also repair pavement, signs and guardrails plus clear culverts and ditches of debris to ensure the highway is safe before it reopens This year’s reopening is the third latest. You have to go back to June 14, 1974 to find the only time crews weren’t able to get this stretch open before the end of May. Open for driving and recreation Once the SR 20/North Cascade Highway gates open at milepost 134 and 171, the highway will remain open through the summer and into fall. Crews will close it when conditions in avalanche chutes become unsafe, usually a week or so before or after Thanksgiving. When the highway is closed; skiers, backpackers, snowmobilers and other adventurers are welcome to use the closed stretch at their own risk. When crews are working on clearing, the area is closed Monday through Thursday. Hyperlinks within the release: Eight weeks of work into six: wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/updates2017.htm Crews started clearing: wsdot.wa.gov/news/2017/03/23/sr-20-north-cascades-highway-clearing-scheduled-begin-april-10 Not only clear snow: flickr.com/photos/wsdot/albums/72157678384383793 Go back to 1974: wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/closurehistory.htm SR 20/North Cascade Highway: wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/default.htm