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Thread: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

  1. #1
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    Here's an update on efforts to clear N. Cascades Hwy of winter snow and open it to vehicular traffic – so PNW landscapers can begin a new season of photography up there!

    As many LFers know, this spectacular road (U.S. 20 in Wash. state) travels through N. Cascades Nat'l Park before climbing over Washington Pass, connecting the state's wet (Seattle) side to its dry (desert) side. Below is a recent image, just over the pass. Looks like they've still got some work to do!

    This road closes every winter. It usually re-opens in mid-May. This year, snow removal is right on schedule – just two more weeks to wait.

    When open, the road also allows Seattle people to make it over the mountains to Cinnamon Twisp bakery (in Twisp, Wash.) where justly famous cinnamon rolls help hikers recover from trips, long and short.

    I'll be up on the Pass on day one with my Tachihara!

    Later in the evening, I bet my fingers will be very sticky, but incredibly delicious.

    Maybe I'll see some of you there...
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Washington Pass.jpg  

  2. #2

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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    That looks very inviting after 97F here in my canyon in Austin a couple of days ago. Nice snowfall up ahead there on the right.

    Nate Potter, Austin TX.

  3. #3
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    Quote Originally Posted by Nathan Potter View Post
    Nice snowfall up ahead there on the right.
    The work crews are reporting that today's warm weather is triggering, as expected, several avalanches (like the one on the right); that's good news, because until those road-side cliffs are stable, the Hwy remains closed even if the road surfaces are perfectly snow-free.

    From the snow removal reports, this sentence is quite interesting:

    ...The warm weather continued to trigger natural avalanches and prompted a decision to help that process along with some helicopter avalanche control blasting set for mid-day Thursday. It doesn't gain any new ground, but it should mean it will be safe to drive under those empty avalanche chutes in another week or so...


    Sounds like an exciting day for the helicopter pilot!

  4. #4
    ROL's Avatar
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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    How dare you suggest there are other passes besides those in the Sierra Nevada.

  5. #5
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    We LFers in Wash./Ore./Cal. are blessed w/ snowy passes accessible in early spring.

    I only wish we had more members from Alberta/B.C./Alaska whose mountain passes might put ours to shame!

    Below – as helicopters blast avalanche chutes near Washington Pass – tractors plough the lower elevations...

    Mush! Mush! (snap) Mush! Mush!! (snap, snap)
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Mush!.jpg  

  6. #6

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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    Snow removal is risky business on our local mountain passes. This worker probably had to burn his shorts after being trapped in an avalanche at Chinook Pass, east of Mt. Rainier NP:

    http://www.komonews.com/news/local/W...256742021.html

    18 inches of new snow fell over the last two days, then warm weather came, creating avalanche hazards.

  7. #7

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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    Washington pass is one of those special places. I have shot up there several times but I have not been satisfied with the images.

  8. #8
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    Heroique - I don't know if I'd want to include Calif passes in that list of yours. Only Donner (Hwy 80) is kept open year round, and sometimes nearby Hwy 50, both in the Tahoe area. Even in this particular year of extreme drought, the other passes are just beginning to open. Normally things are plowed only as far as the ski resorts, though that still give plenty of winter photography opportunity. By contrast, Colorado is dependent upon keeping most of its high passes open all year long, and the snows are generally not as deep or wet as here. Where I grew up in the Sierras, the kids from the mid-elevations had to be put up in dorms for the winter
    in order to attend school.

  9. #9
    Land-Scapegrace Heroique's Avatar
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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Opheim View Post
    Washington pass is one of those special places. I have shot up there several times but I have not been satisfied with the images.
    Do not feel alone, the scenery is overwhelming – a challenge to concentration! I remember long ago, when I first climbed the Hwy to the Pass. I had my 35mm camera, and you'd think snaps would be easy. I came home without one click.

    BTW, I recommend to anyone close-by to visit on the first day the Hwy opens, or at least the first week. Besides the winter wonderland in warm weather, you get N. Cascades Nat'l Park (on the way up from the Seattle side) all to yourself, since so few know the road is open.

    I also love going up in early October and getting lost on trails among the larches when their green needles change to bright yellow.

  10. #10
    Bob Sawin's Avatar
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    Re: Washington Pass > snow removal (Cinnamon Twisp, here I come!)

    And it's open as of Thursday May 8th!

    http://www.komonews.com/news/local/N...258516441.html
    Best regards,

    Bob
    CEO-CFO-EIEIO, Ret.

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