Washington State: Highway 20 Opens Early!

[Woofy]

Highway 20 opened two weeks ago. That's over a month earlier than last year and is the earliest opening on record (except for 1978, the only year it never closed).

Unlike last year when it opened completely pristine from New Halem to Mazama, this year it was spotty.

A few miles east of New Halem, the huge landslide that closed the road early in the Autumn of 2003 apparely slid the rest of the way over the winter, doing some significant damage to the road. There is section of one-lane road with a signal at each end for a good half mile before you get to Diablo.

For most of the rest of the 70 plus miles, there is still sand on the road in places...not a pleasant thought when you consider how twisty the road is and how far the drop is if you lose it on a corner. So if you're itchin' to ride hard, be VERY careful!

I'm shocked at how little snow there was along the sides of the road. Usually riders taking the road within a few weeks of the opening still find 3-4 feet along the sides of the road between Rainy and Washington passes. Not so, this year.

With luck, the road sweepers will get the sand cleaned off in the next month so we can get up there and wear our tires out in proper fashion before the road becomes clogged with the usual summer sightseers and literally thousands of slow moving motorhomes...

[echo]

That was last year. How about this year 2006? What are the conditions like on Route 20 in early June? Route 20 runs near my home town in NYS. I wonder what it gets to be like in WA?

[Woofy]

This season it's going to be interesting. Last year, we had hardly any snow. This year's snowfall is still going on in huge amounts. If we don't see any significant warming trends in the next few weeks, Highway 20 may not be open until May or later. A few years ago when we had record snows in the Cascade Mountains, there was still 20 foot drifts along the highway in July! I'll keep everyone posted. With luck the road will be open at least a few weeks before public schools let out. Once schools let out, Highway 20 will be packed with motorhomes and VERY slow driving cagers taking in the scenery. I'll start keeping my eyes peeled and post when I find out a tentative opening date. Keep in mind also that aside from the North Cascades Highway section, Highway 20 also crosses Sherman Pass in the central part of the state. It's a pretty high pass, but outside of that, it's also VERY isolated and REALLY dangerous place for a rider to get caught in bad conditions. Especially since the USFS has been relocating Grizzly from the national parks in that area. A couple years ago, I had a face-to-face with one in that area and it was very apparent I was NOT at the top of the food chain.

[echo]

Thanks! Looks like if the 20ft snow drifts and grizzes dont get you the motorhomes will!

[Woofy]

I justed checked the latest report and at the last check of the highway, snow depth across the highway ranged from 4 feet to 45 feet, and that's not counting the snow that's fallen in the last two weeks! It appears their next check of pass snow levels is scheduled for the end of this month. Given the cooler weather and all the snow that's still falling up there, it's my guess that road crews won't be able to clear all of it until late April at the earliest. From what I've read, the area around Washington Pass will be the most challenging, since the avalanche chutes haven't let loose yet and there's already over 45 feet of snow at the roadbed in that area. Arrrgh! At least we won't have mandatory water conservation this summer. The farmers in Eastern Washington ought to be thrilled.