Winter storm dumps much-needed snow on mountains

SNOQUALMIE PASS, Wash. — It is the snow skiers have dreamed of all winter long.

"There wasn't enough snow earlier," said Ann Bauer of Sammamish. "But there is plenty now."

But getting to the snow proved its own adventure for the Newton family from Tacoma.

"We actually went to Crystal," said Gabriel Newton, "and it was closed.  And then we got caught on I-90. And the road was closed. And it opened up. And here we are."

Snoqualmie Pass was closed off and on most of Monday. Conditions were so bad that traffic was brought to a standstill for hours.

By noon, traffic was moving again but chains were required.  Then just after 1 p.m., that changed, too.

KIRO 7 was there as the news slowly filtered out.

"Are you going to take those chains off now?"  reporter Deborah Horne asked Dan Stock, a trucker from Ferndale.

"The sign still says I gotta," Stock said.  Then he paused to read the flashing sign along I-90.

"Yeah," he said, "I am. See that sign? Traction tires. They're coming off."

And just like that, 30 minutes of work to chain up took just 5 minutes to get them off.

But the snowy conditions are doing some good.

Any fears that the snow might never truly arrive this winter are very quickly being erased.

KIRO