By STEELE HAUGEN
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS
As a winter storm rolled through the region, many places were spared from the predicted heavy snow.
But Central Oregon’s mountain passes, as expected, saw enough for it to be problematic for some.
John Dodson is an experienced winter driver, but this was his first time over Santiam Pass west of Sisters.
It’s quite a bit of snow,” Dodson said. “I had to put my chains on here, which is proving to be a bit difficult.”
Dodson was heading west and hoping for a safe trip to Springfield.
“I expect it to be a little clearer as I get going,” Dodson said. “Hopefully I don’t have to use these chains the whole way.”
Matthew Chadwick goes over the pass quite often.
“Really it wasn’t too bad,” Chadwick said. “Just make sure you’re in four-wheel drive and most people are going slow, so we didn’t see any wreck the whole way as we were coming by.”
Chadwick was driving east to Ontario and said the most dangerous roads weren’t even on the mountain.
“Had a lot more ice on the road before we actually hit the pass,” Chadwick said. “It seems like they are maintaining the pass a little bit better than on the roads coming back out of it.”
Both Dodson and Chadwick left early this morning, expecting more snow throughout the day.
“Just be safe out there, go slow,” Chadwick said. “We are going as slow as we can. That is why we got an early jump this morning”
“I left where I was at around 6 o’clock I think this morning,” Dodson said.
