Re: Lassen Road Plowing

April 4:
Manzanita Lake Campground loops have been cleared. From there, plows will work their way up the park road. Opening to the Devastated Area is yet to be determined. April snows are still falling.

April 14:
The road crew has reached Hot Rock (about 6 miles from the entrance). If weather and equipment cooperates, they will be at the Devastated Area by Tuesday April 19. Road opening to the Devastated Area is dependent on weather and ice melt-off. Stay tuned.....

April 20:
As of Thursday, April 14th, the road crew had reached within 1/4 mile of Lost Creek crossing NW of Hot Rock. Snow levels have varied greatly depending on the amount of sun exposure the road received.The D7 bulldozer and loader with rotary blower will undergo minor maintenance early this week( 4/18 - 4/22) and we hope to reach the locked gate at Devastated Area no later than April 26. The gate will remain locked adjacent to Manzanita Lake Campground until this work is finished and Park Managers determine that the road is safe to travel. A new update will be posted on 4/23.

April 29:

Effective Saturday morning April, 30 at 9 AM, the park road from Manzanita Lake Campground to the gate at Devastated Area will be opened. The road to Butte Lake Campground has been roughed in and we expect that we will be able to open this road several weeks from now. The snow removal equipment will be moved to the south side of the park on 5/2. Snow removal operations will be updated 5/6.

May 13:

Over the past week, the road crew has progressed from Windy point, past the side slopes of Diamond Peak (snow depths have ranged from 12' to 20') and has ended the week at the "Chicken Shack", about 4.5 miles in from the visitor center. The road crew would like to tip their hat to Caltrans for their support and help to date in clearing the road. With the strong spring sunshine experienced over the past week, the road has been clearing nicely to dry pavement. The parking area at Sulfur works has been plowed and the park will be clearing the snow from the vault toilet over the next week, cleaning the rest room facilities, reinstalling signs, and making necessary repairs to the gate in anticipation of opening the road as far as Sulfur Works on 5/20. As always, conditions can change rapidly and the final decision to open the road will be clarified next week by park staff.

May 20:
The last week was interesting for the amount of territory that the road crew had to replow. The cold weather and snow (has old man winter given up yet?) that arrived on 5/17 and 18 left about 2 to three feet of snow on the road at higher altitudes. With that snow removed, the road crew was able to progress approximately 7/10ths of a mile further. Snow depths are still between 12' and 20'. With the return of the good weather on Thursday, more progress was made and the road has cleared on the plowed sections to dry pavement. Visitors can now drive to Sulphur Works parking area; one mile inside the south entrance.


NPS Map

May 27:
The road crew was able to progress an additional 8/10ths of a mile this week to the bottom of the lower switchback area approx 1 mile west of Emerald Lake. Snow depths are currently ranging between 14' and 20'.The late season snow that fell on 5/24 and 5/25 left up to 2' in the Sulfur Works parking lot and 3' at higher road elevations; all of which needed to be removed prior to continuing with further road clearing operations. With any luck (and better weather), the Road and Trails Crew will be able to make more progress this upcoming week. Old Man Winter's bite is still worse than his bark. The next road opening update will be posted on 6/3."

June 10

The road crew spent the better part of the previous days removing snow from previously cleared sections of road due to new snowfall. We are now happy to report that the sun has returned, winter is checking out, and we have progressed within 1/2 mile of Lake Helen from the south side. The Emerald Lake side hill was challenging with snow depths of up to 25', and we will tackle Bumpass parking lot next week. Additionally, we have resumed snow removal operations from the north side of the park (thank you Caltrans) and have cleared the road as far as Dersch Meadows. Strong sun and good weather are in the forecast for next week, what more could we ask for.

Quote
eeek
June 10
The Emerald Lake side hill was challenging with snow depths of up to 25'....

Sounds about right. The Lake Helen snow sensor is reading 200-225 inches:
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/jspplot/jspPlotServlet.jsp?sensor_no=11700&end=06%2F13%2F2011+20%3A38&geom=medium&interval=300&cookies=cdec01

June 17

The road crew continued to make progress this week and is currently in the vicinity of Lake Helen in snow depths of 20 plus feet. The greatest drift depth encountered last week was in excess of 30', but the spring sunshine has been most helpful, reducing snow depths on the lower slopes and previously plowed areas considerably. The parking lot at Bumpass Hell is cleared and will be opened this Saturday, June 18th, to the general public. The area approximately 1/2 mile below the Bumpass Parking area was cleaned of a rock slide early this morning. As always, exercise caution when driving the road, as the melting snow can and will break rock loose on the slopes. The road clearing operation from the Manzanita Lake side of the park has reached as far as Summit Lake North, and is currently working in snow depths of 8', with depths expected to increase as they move into shaded areas. We hope that for the next road update we can report the definitive date when the road opening will be completed."

The road plowing crew is at Lake Almanor overlook below Lassen Peak. The main park road is anticipated to open July 8th.