HWY 20 possible opening

kam
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18 Feb 2005 09:42 #170964 by kam

HWY 20 possible opening was created by kam

..aahh, the benefits of low snowpack

www.wsdot.wa.gov/northcascades/

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Alan Brunelle
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18 Feb 2005 10:40 #170966 by Alan Brunelle

Replied by Alan Brunelle on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Is that 1972 opening date listed a typo? September was the opening date? Will be nice to get access, but rather grim assessment of being the earliest date to be opened for reasons that we all know. I thought that there was one year the the road never closed. Does that not count?

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hyak.net
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18 Feb 2005 13:59 - 18 Feb 2005 14:04 #170967 by hyak.net

Replied by hyak.net on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Is that 1972 opening date listed a typo? September was the opening date? Will be nice to get access, but rather grim assessment of being the earliest date to be opened for reasons that we all know. I thought that there was one year the the road never closed. Does that not count?

The 1976/77 season it never closed. That year Chinook and Cayuse also stayed open through the winter.... I think the 76/77 year is still considered the worst season on record for snow in the past 40 years. We had some real lean winters in the 1940s as well as the 1940s was the worst decade on record for snowfall in WA. but I doubt any of us were around, or at least old enough to remember those years.

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hyak.net
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18 Feb 2005 14:07 #170968 by hyak.net

Replied by hyak.net on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Is that 1972 opening date listed a typo? September was the opening date?

(from the DOT website) Highway 20 history The North Cascades Highway was completed September 2, 1972, connecting the Skagit River Valley with the Methow Valley.

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gusk
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23 Feb 2005 04:54 #171000 by gusk

Replied by gusk on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

I heard that before the last snowfall, the road was bare all the way to Rainy Pass. Anyone heard/got any details on what it's like now?

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Gregg_C
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27 Feb 2005 04:34 #171050 by Gregg_C

Replied by Gregg_C on topic Highway 20

Here is the latest word on the NC Highway opening up... www.wsdot.wa.gov/northcascades/

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Michael
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28 Feb 2005 16:24 #171076 by Michael

Replied by Michael on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

It definitely seems like the road should open very soon. Corinne and I were up there bking this week end beyond the gate at Diablo Lake Overlook. The first 8 miles or so, the road is covered with snow...making biking a lot of fun ;D:

But as soon as the road made a turn and is more in a North-South orientation, it was completely bare. There were only a few rocks on the road and these should be very easy to clean up...

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gusk
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01 Mar 2005 02:30 #171078 by gusk

Replied by gusk on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Thanks for the photo, Michael. I was planning on trying the same ride on Sunday, but the plans were stopped by the flu finding a critical member of my team. The road looks pretty slick cycling on that ice. A person with a moped could probably ski some good turns this week.

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Mason_White
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01 Mar 2005 15:00 #171107 by Mason_White

Replied by Mason_White on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Take a gander at the snowpack at the mountain yonder in the photo. So very little snow.

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Michael
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01 Mar 2005 18:02 #171111 by Michael

Replied by Michael on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

The road looks pretty slick cycling on that ice. quote] Looking at the road we at first thought there would be no way we could bike on it, but temperatures in the shade were really cold and the cold snow was gripping amazingly well. The tires were making some funny sounds on that snow. Pretty cool experience

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gusk
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02 Mar 2005 08:40 #171135 by gusk

Replied by gusk on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

There is an update today on the wsdot site. www.wsdot.wa.gov/northcascades/pass/default.htm

Grippy sounds great, you can really get flying coming down that highway. At least, that was the fun part last year when I rode it.

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Amar Andalkar
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08 Mar 2005 10:45 #171225 by Amar Andalkar

Replied by Amar Andalkar on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

SR 20 North Cascades Highway to Open at 11:00 a.m. Thursday: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Regions/NorthWest/News/...08_NorthCascades.htm

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ski_photomatt
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09 Mar 2005 02:53 #171233 by ski_photomatt

Replied by ski_photomatt on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Sweet. Anyone who has been in the area somewhat recently know what sort of coverage there is? Rainy Pass snotel says 33", WA pass telemetry shows 20 something. What about higher up? Is there enough snow to do our favorite spring tours (eg Birthday tour)?

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hyak.net
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09 Mar 2005 04:36 #171239 by hyak.net

Replied by hyak.net on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Has anyone heard of when they might start clearing Chinook or Cayuse? Cool picture......

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Gib
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09 Mar 2005 08:20 #171245 by Gib

Replied by Gib on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Clearing started this week, and they are rumoring April 1st opening for both Cayuse and Chinook. Reports are only 2-3 feet at the arch and all the southern exposures very bare, so little or no avalanche concerns. Yakima peak had almost no snow on south and west sides 2 weeks ago. East side crew has a washed out section of road, probably from MLK storm. Determination will have to be made whether repairs can be done immediately under "emergency measures" or if they will need to go through all the hoops that normal highway work entails, which could delay the date. Possibility that an opening could go with one lane traffic through that spot, but likely no decision on that till next week

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ron j
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09 Mar 2005 08:48 #171246 by ron j

Replied by ron j on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Good info, Gib, Thanks.

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hyak.net
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09 Mar 2005 09:42 #171249 by hyak.net

Replied by hyak.net on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to quick trips to Yakima again from Enumclaw, but I still hold out hope for some spring snow storms too!!!

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kam
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11 Mar 2005 02:45 #171261 by kam

Replied by kam on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

cool. time to play! ;D www.wsdot.wa.gov/northcascades/pass/default.htm

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Gregg_C
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11 Mar 2005 09:56 #171263 by Gregg_C

Replied by Gregg_C on topic Re: HWY 20 possible opening

Friend in Mazama reports kind of boney down low and in valleys and OK for corn up high. Get it quick because it will be gone soon.

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