Skip Top Navigation

Chinook Pass - 2007 Photos

Crews reach arch on Snoqualmie Pass
WSDOT crews reach the Mount Rainier National Park Arch on Chinook Pass after plowing through several feet of snow.

Crews use explosives to create avalanches
WSDOT crews use explosives on Chinook Pass to trigger an avalanche.

More explosives to help create avalanches
More explosives are used on Chinook Pass to trigger an avalanche to help with the clearing process.

These bathrooms indicate just how much snow crews have to clear on Chinook Pass
WSDOT crews stumble across the tops of some bathrooms while clearing Chinook Pass.


Crews use blowers to help clear snow on Chinook Pass
WSDOT crews use snow blowers to clear Chinook Pass in time for Memorial Day weekend.


Crews make some headway on the clearing efforts on Chinook Pass
WSDOT crews use snow blowers to remove avalanche debris from Chinook Pass.

Crews continue to work hard to clear Chinook Pass
WSDOT crews make headway on the clearing efforts on Chinook Pass.

This is just one of many tools crews use to help clear Chinook Pass
This is just one of many tools WSDOT crews use to help clear Chinook Pass.

Crews take a break during the clearing process
WSDOT crews take a well deserved break during the clearing process on Chinook Pass.

These dogs are used during avalanche control
These two dogs are trained in locating buried avalanche victims and belong to avalanche personnel.

Crews push through several feet of snow on Chinook Pass
WSDOT crews have to plow through several feet of snow before they actually make it to the roadway.

Crews often run into tipouts on along SR 410
This is what WSDOT crews call a tipout. The problem results when the large snow banks begin to melt at the base due to heat from the road surface. This causes them to become top-heavy, which results in a large chunk of snow falling onto the roadway.

Crews making progress on Chinook Pass
WSDOT crews are close to achieving their goal to have Chinook Pass open for Memorial Day weekend.


This is how Chinook Pass looks once the snow is cleared.


Another example of beautiful scenery on Chinook Pass.