Avalanche Hazard: Considerable

I promise this is a real picture. We are not standing in front of a back drop.

To our great relief and delight, the road to Hurricane Ridge was open today. Hurricane Ridge (named for the force of the wind that comes through in the winter time) takes you from the town of Port Angeles to almost 6,000 feet. They were reporting a temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit and 130 inches of snow. Elise was expecting to build snowmen — Bobby and I were just hoping to not freeze the instant we got out of the truck.


We stopped to take a picture on the way up. Elise leaned out to feel the air temperature.

We were told that we had to have snow tires or all-season tires on our vehicle and the signs told us that snow tires were required past the 12 mile marker. I was surprised, therefore, to see absolutely no snow on the road. I had also heard that there was a possibility of more snow in the mountains today, so I think the snow tire requirement was a precaution. A smart one, too.


The visitor center at Hurricane Ridge.

Hurricane Ridge Road is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday right now during the off season. Opening up a road like this is no easy task after there has been a significant snow. First the park service plows the roads. Next, the park police come up and check the road conditions. Finally, an avalanche team comes up and surveys the possibility and probability of an avalanche. Apparently last week they were all ready to open it and had to close it at the last minute as more snow came into the area.


Posted at the visitor center.

The first part of the drive was fairly mundane but as we got higher, the views just kept getting more and more spectacular. It really was like being on another planet. We felt like we had been transported to the Alps. We saw ridge after ridge of snow-covered mountains, each more beautiful than the last. There are 60 glaciers in Olympic National Park and we were looking at some today. I’ve never seen a glacier in person before and the ones I saw were across a very big valley, but there they were.


We’re pretty sure the depressed area on the right between the peaks is a glacier.

We drove to the visitor center which is at the end of the paved road. In the summer (after July 4th, usually), there is an unpaved 8-mile road you can drive to get your best “through the windshield” look at Mount Olympus. That road is currently under about 10 feet of snow, so instead of driving on it, we walked on top of it.


This cave was in the 15-foot high drifts made by the gigantic snow blowers they use up here.

The silence was total once we got into the woods. When we paused to listen all we could hear were the plops from the snow falling off the trees. Elise found plenty of snow to eat. Apparently, the taste of snow reminds Elise of me. She says it must be that I smell like fresh snow tastes. I liked that comparison.



We walked until our shoes were good and wet. We were in just our fleeces and hats, although we had brought our winter jackets. It was 28 degrees when we got to the visitor center, but the sun was so strong, we were plenty warm. There was no wind and that made a huge difference.



Toward the end of the walk, Elise was walking in a bowl of snow made by the wind and the trees. Some of the snow felt especially soft and Elise said, “This is what Santa’s beard is made of.”


Elise in the bowl.

We have decided to skip Seattle in the interest of saving a little cash money. We were hoping to go to Mt. Ranier National Park but the only campground that is open there year round was washed away in a flood in November 2006. So we’ll skip that. I’m glad we checked their website today! Instead, we will meander down toward Portland and probably get there Monday or Tuesday. Bobby’s brother Ed lives there with his wife and three children, so we’ll be sure to terrorize them plenty. I think we’re staying in a Wal-Mart Sunday night, so you probably won’t hear from us until Monday. Hope you’re having a great weekend!