WSDOT closes 3 scenic Cascades routes for the season

December 15, 2008 5:26 pm

WSDOT announces that Chinook Pass, Cayuse Pass and the North Cascades Highway are closed for the season.

After reviewing this past weekend’s snowfall accumulations and the forecast for more snow starting on Wednesday, WSDOT maintenance crews and avalanche forecasters agreed that the avalanche risk is too great to keep these seasonal highways open.

Every year, WSDOT closes each pass for the winter due to high avalanche risk and hazardous driving conditions. All three 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 drivers get stranded, it could be many hours before anyone could find them, which could be dangerous in winter conditions.

WSDOT closed SR 504 (Spirit Lake Highway) starting at the Hummocks Trail east of Coldwater Lake on Mount St. Helens for the season. Chinook Pass, Cayuse Pass and the North Cascades Highway were temporarily closed last week before crews decided to close them for the season.

Crews closed the SR 410 gates at Morse Creek (five miles east of Chinook Pass) and at Crystal Mountain Boulevard (eight miles northwest of Chinook Pass) for the season. Access to the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort from SR 410 remains open.

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 (just north of the junction with US 12).

Additionally, SR 20 (North Cascades Highway) is closed between milepost 134, seven miles east of Diablo Dam on the west side of 4,855-foot Rainy Pass and milepost 171, nine miles west of Mazama on the east side of 5,477-foot Washington Pass.

For information on these and other mountain passes call 511 or visit:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/.