Caltrans has announced that 9,624′ Sonora Pass on highway 108 in California will be closed for the season as of today.

9,943′ Tioga Pass (hwy 120) and 8,730′ Ebbetts Pass (hwy 4) in California will remain closed for the holiday weekend and will be reassessed next week.

8,314′ Monitor Pass (hwy 89) has reopened.

Sierra Nevada Mountain Pass Update from Caltrans:

**Seasonal Pass Closure Now in Effect** 

Sonora Pass (SR-108) is now closed for the season. Ebbetts Pass (SR-4) to remain closed through the holiday weekend and crews will assess it early next week.

Check out the photos in this album that our Long Barn Maintenance Supervisor, Chris Baker, and Woodfords Area Maintenance Supervisor, Clinton Neeley, took yesterday when scouting the routes.

Neeley encountered icy waterfalls above Cadillac Corner on Ebbetts while Baker was only about to make it to the 8,000′ level before having to turn around due to 8″ of snow on the road and a thick sheet of ice underneath it that made the going treacherous.

Baker indicated that the remaining 4 miles of the pass could have upwards of 18” of snow with a good sheet of ice.

“With the very cold conditions it would be very difficult, and inefficient to try and remove the snow and ice anymore this year,” stated Baker, describing the decision about closing the pass for the season. “I would use up resources that are needed for maintenance efforts at lower elevations.”

• Caltrans District 10, today