WSDOT Is Still Digging Through 20 Feet of Snow on Mount Baker

It is June 3rd. Summer is three weeks away, and Washington State Department of Transportation crews are operating massive tractor-and-plow equipment that is literally disappearing into 20-foot walls of snow.

Let that sink in for a moment.

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The snow they are clearing is deeper than the machines they use to clear it, on SR-542 near Mount Baker.

Twenty feet of snow in June. You might have to see the photos posted below to believe it.

WSDOT Gives Update on Fight to Dig Out SR-542 Near Mount Baker

WSDOT maintenance crews are in the final push to clear the last 2.7 miles of SR 542, known as the Mount Baker Highway. They are trying to reach Artist Point on the other end of a highway covered with over 20 feet of snow.

The walls of snow dwarf enormous plows that would look massive on any normal highway on either side. In some sections, the snow is clearly taller than the cab of the equipment clearing it.

This is not a light dusting; they are pushing through. This is a tunnel of winter that simply refused to end.

What Has to Happen Before Artist Point Reopens

Clearing the snow is only step one. Once crews punch through those final 2.7 miles, they still need to clear debris that has accumulated under the snowpack all winter, hang road signs that were removed or buried, and stripe the road surface before it is safe for public travel.

WSDOT offered no estimated reopening date, and given what the photos show, this is not a job with a predictable finish line.

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Artist Point is one of the most spectacular viewpoints in the entire state of Washington, with a panoramic perch above the Mt. Baker Ski Area and views that stop people in their tracks.