OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK – There was just no getting around the latest obstacle confronting the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club Ski and Snowboard School on Sunday.
The newest barrier was 12 feet deep, 60 feet wide and compacting with every passing hour.
An avalanche closed Hurricane Ridge road 9.5 miles from the alpine visitor center sometime Saturday night – not long after Olympic National Park crews had plowed their way to the Ridge.
The incident wasn’t totally unexpected.
It occurred along a snow chute at 3,890 feet so prone to snow slides that park personnel have dubbed it “Old Faithful.”
“The road crew went up to try to clear the road Sunday morning [of 8 to 10 inches of snow that fell overnight], and they encountered an avalanche across the road,” said park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
“They turned around, judging conditions to be unsafe for plowing,”
Plowing remained suspended for Sunday “because the snowpack is clearly unstable and the avalanche danger is high,” Maynes said.
