Do you Chain up, or pull over and wait?

Sierras are a place where you can collect snow seriously big overnight. The Railroads used to do epic battles keeping the line open. Back in the day of the old west there were times the wood passenger cars and steam trains would be snowed in and stay where they were a few days on the pass. It's not difficult to stay warm with the stoves in each car provided you kept the chimney clear and venting on each one.

 

I read a little blurb at a coffee stop along I-80 about a 1950's snow storm in the Sierras that kept rail passengers trapped for about two weeks. Next time I am through there I will take a pic of the story and post here.

p.s. Thanks to all the drivers who keep it parked safely so I can get out on the road with my chains and keep making those big bucks!

 

Donner pass is named for the Donner party, immigrants that were caught in a snow storm and wound up eating their dead to survive the winter.

 

Winter of 16-17 Donner was pretty brutal. Countless accumulated days under chain requirements. Winter of 17-18? fairly non eventful.

Point is, you never know what to expect from one year to the next. Snoqualamie is a bit more consistent year to year, minus ongoing construction problems.

I don’t do Siskiyou often enough to know what’s typical there but I suspect it runs closely with Donner and varies greatly

 

Siskiyou is a cake walk compared to Donner. Chain restrictions rarely last more than a couple hours. The Oregon crew closely monitors the conditions and keeps the roads clear. I've been over the summit many times with a couple inches of snow on the ground but with good traction and no chain controls. They keep the roads sanded and covered in de-ice gel. Caltrans puts up chain restrictions over Donner when a single cloud appears in the sky, but they do get storms up there that can dump several feet in a single night.

Winter of 16-17 I hit a storm over Donner with white out conditions, and it didn't stop snowing until I reached Colorado. I-80 was closed east of SLC for almost 24 hours and every grade needed chains. Glad I had auto chains that winter. They came in very handy. Chains on and off with the push of a button.