Stevens Pass

Stevens Pass
Pass height	1238  m
	Washington	King County / Chelan County
expansion	US Highway 2
Mountains	Cascade chain
Map (Washington)
Coordinates	47 ° 44 '42 "  N , 121 ° 5' 36"  W Coordinates: 47 ° 44 '42 "  N , 121 ° 5' 36"  W.

The Stevens Pass (1238 m high is) a mountain pass through the Cascade Range on the border of King County and Chelan County in the State of Washington . The US Highway 2 crosses the ball. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses the highway at Stevens Pass. The Cascade Tunnel of the BNSF Railway is 400 m below the pass.

The pass is close to the Stevens Pass Ski Area, which operates on Cowboy Mountain and Big Chief Mountain.

history

Stevens Pass is named after John Frank Stevens , the first non-indigenous person to explore it. The Indians familiar with the area knew the pass, but very little is known about their routes over the mountains. Hubert C. Ward, who was exploring the area for the Northern Pacific Railway , heard from some Indians in 1872 that there was a low pass at the source of Nason Creek, a tributary of the Wenatchee River, which led to one of the sources of the Skykomish River . Later, in 1887, Albert Bowman Rogers, like Stevens , worked for the Great Northern Railway and learned from Indians that the sources of Skykomish River and Nason Creek were close together, but neither Indians nor whites had explored the area around Nason Creek. Neither Ward nor Rogers had time to fully explore.

John Stevens conducted an extensive reconnaissance in 1890, located the pass and determined an excellent suitability for a railway crossing of the Northern Cascade Range . He wrote that there was no indication of use of the pass - there was no sign of any path, no waymarks , no camp sites, or old campfires for at least ten miles (16 km) in either direction - and that the terrain was thickly forested and covered with impenetrable scrub would be overgrown. Steven wrote: "the region promised nothing to the prospector, while Indians and Whites crossing the mountains used either Snoqualmie on the south or the Indian Pass on the north" (Eng. About "the region promised nothing to the prospector, while Indians and whites for Crossing the mountains using either the Snoqualmie Pass in the south or the Indian Pass in the north ”).

Debris - including wrecked cars - after the Wellington Avalanche.

Major avalanches

→ Main article : Wellington (Washington)

On February 23, 1910, the two trains of the Great Northern Railway, the "Seattle Express" (local passenger train No. 25) and the "Fast Mail Train" No. 27 stuck on the tracks at Cascade Tunnel Station on Stevens Pass due to a heavy snow storm and avalanche. On March 1, six days later, another avalanche pushed both trains 46 meters deeper into the Tye River Valley, burying the wagons under snow and rubble. The Wellington disaster killed 96 people - 35 passengers and 61 railroad workers - making it one of the worst railroad accidents in the United States .

More than a century later, an avalanche fell near Tunnel Creek Canyon Road on February 19, 2012, killing three of four skilled cross-country skiers, including the Stevens Pass Ski Area marketing director; the professional skier Elyse Saugstad, who wore an avalanche airbag , survived after a fall roll over 600 m.

climate

The Stevens Pass has a maritime-influenced subarctic climate (according to the Köppen and Geiger climate classification , abbreviated as "Dsc"), with short, mild, dry summers and extreme snowfall in winter.

The following diagram includes climate data from October 26, 1950 to April 30, 1994.

Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     321   12 -30     230   12 -24     186   21st -19     124   22nd -12     93   28 -8th     78   33 -4     34   35 0     47   33 -1     98   29 -2     180   22nd -12     305   13 -19     332   10 -32 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Western Regional Climate Center

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 11.67 11.67 21.11 21.67 28.33 32.78 35.00 32.78 29.44 22.22 13.33 10.00 O 22.6 Min. Temperature (° C) -30.00 -24.44 -19.44 -11.67 -8.33 -3.89 0.00 -1.11 -2.22 -12.22 -18.89 -31.67 O −13.6 Temperature (° C) -4.67 -2.81 -0.86 2.08 5.61 9.31 13.36 13.25 10.19 5.28 -0.97 -3.81 O 3.9 Precipitation ( mm ) 321.31 229.62 185.67 123.70 93.22 78.49 33.78 47.24 97.79 179.58 304.55 331.98 Σ 2,026.93 Rainy days ( d ) 20th 17th 19th 16 15th 13 8th 8th 10 14th 19th 21st Σ 180 Source: Western Regional Climate Center

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} United States Geological Survey (1987). Snoqualmie Pass Quadrangle, Washington [map], 1965 Photorevised 1987, 1: 24,000, 7.5 minute series (Topographic). ISBN 0-607-57715-0 .
2. ↑ Stevens Pass . In: Cascade Loop | Scenic Highway Loop in Washington State . Cascade Loop Association. Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 18, 2007.  
3. ^ People & Events: John Stevens, 1853–1943 . In: American Experience | Streamliners | People & Events . Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) . 1999-2000. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
4. ^ Fred W. Beckey: Range of glaciers: the exploration and survey of the Northern Cascade range . Oregon Historical Society Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-87595-243-7 , pp. 5, 21-23, 64, 231, 263-264, 267.
5. ↑ NWDA Washington State University: Wellington Disaster
6. ↑ Four dead in avalanches at Stevens and Snoqualmie passes . Seattle Times . February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
7. ↑ ^{a b} STEVENS PASS, WASHINGTON (458089) . Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved December 25, 2016.

Web links

• Road conditions at Stevens Pass from the Washington State Department of Transportation (English)
• Stevens Pass Ski Area - Official Website