GOVERNMENT CAMP Ore. (KPTV) – During the first major snowfall in the Cascades passes, many drivers did not let the weather stop them from making the journey.
Vehicles of all shapes and sizes, from massive trucks to sedans, chained up their tires or counted on their all-weather tires to get them through Government Camp on Monday.
Despite Anthony Marshall’s 11-year trucking career, he told FOX 12 he’s seen much worse than this.
“There’s blizzards in the Dakotas, and all sorts of fun stuff over there, New York, they get it pretty bad. Definitely done my fair share of chaining,” he chuckled.
But despite years of training and chaining, Marshall was still shocked to see this particular pass snowed over this time of year.
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“Thought we had a little more time, but you gotta do what you gotta do,” he said, as he chipped away at chaining the eight large wheels on his delivery truck.
For California native Benny Rodgers, preparing to travel back to his new home in Bend wasn’t exactly a cinch.
“It’s not really in the California kid handbook,” he said. “Getting pretty delirious now, after we’re on minute 37 of getting these chains on.”
His lack of experience still didn’t shake his resolve.
“I think we’re going to be able to make it over in record time,” Rodgers said after eyeing the road ahead.
Some drivers who had already made the journey by Monday afternoon said it was not as bad as they expected, such as Shaunna Sutcliffe, who was returning from her yoga studio’s retreat in Sunriver.
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She said she had specifically planned the retreat for this weekend, as she had anticipated dry conditions.
Still, the journey was nowhere near as treacherous as she anticipated.
“There was snow on the trees and on the sides but the roads were like, just wet,” Sutcliffe said. “I saw the plows going down the hill, so I’m guessing I got the plowed road. I had some friends who left this morning and they said the road was pretty bad and there was a ton of snow…they left a couple of hours ahead of me.”
With snow plows at work and the storm warning ending Monday night at 10 p.m., it’s now up to drivers to be prepared.
“Make sure you chain up when you’re supposed to chain up, and not when the snow starts,” Marshall said.
“I think if people get in a hurry that’s when incidents happen, so we just need to relax and chill,” Sutcliffe added.
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