Date:
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Contact:
Mike Westbay, WSDOT Communications (509) 728-4712 (Yakima)
Greg Phipps, WSDOT Communications (206) 949-8078 (Seattle)
TRAVEL ADVISORY Nov. 29, 2007
WSDOT Closes Two Scenic Cascades Routes for the Season
SR 410 (Chinook Pass) and SR 123 (Cayuse Pass) Closed Until Spring
YAKIMA – WSDOT closed Chinook and Cayuse passes for the season Thursday after reviewing a snowy forecast and assessing the avalanche risk.
WSDOT avalanche forecasters studied the stability of the different layers of snow and determined the avalanche risk is too great to allow traffic to safely cross Chinook Pass. Five more inches of snow fell in the past 24 hours on top of the 23 inches already resting on the slopes above Chinook Pass. The snow pack is threatening to slide down onto the highway.
At 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27, crews temporarily closed the SR 410 gates at Morse Creek (five miles east of the summit) and at Crystal Mountain Boulevard (eight miles northwest of the summit) until Thursday’s decision to close for the season. Access to the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort from SR 410 remains open.
Additionally, WSDOT and Mount Rainier National Park staff agreed to close SR 123 (Cayuse Pass) for the season. SR 123 is closed within Mount Rainier National Park from the 4,675-foot Cayuse Pass summit at the junction of SR 410 and SR 123 to Steven Canyon Road.
WSDOT closes each pass for the winter due to high avalanche risk and hazardous driving conditions. Both passes have numerous slide areas that pose significant danger to travelers, WSDOT maintenance crews and park staff.
The combination of avalanche danger, mountainous terrain, lack of cell phone service, inclement weather, and the low number of vehicles, make driving these passes in the winter a potentially hazardous endeavor. If someone had a problem, such as going off the road, it could be many hours, or days, before anyone could find them, which could be fatal in winter conditions.
For information on these and other mountain passes call 511 or visit:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/.
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