Mount Rainier's Cayuse Pass won't open this summer

Cayuse Pass east of Mount Rainier likely won't open this summer because of damage from last November's storm.

The storm completely washed out a section of Highway 123 five miles south of the Cayuse Pass summit. According to the state Department of Transportation, Mount Rainier National Park estimates it will take all summer and into early fall for crews to repair the damage, and travelers won't be able to drive between Paradise and Sunrise in the park.

The closed section of the highway is between the junction with Highway 410 and Stevens Canyon Road.

Chinook Pass, however, will reopen this summer and is expected to be open by Memorial Day weekend.

"Visitors to Mount Rainier can still reach the park's most popular areas, Paradise and Sunrise," said park's superintendent Dave Uberuaga. "But with Highway 123 closed it will not be possible to travel between them. You'll have to come in and out the same way."

Travelers heading to the Longmire and Paradise areas of the park can reach them from Highway 12 east of Packwood and from Highway 706 east of Ashford. Drivers wanting to reach the Lake Tipsoo and Sunrise areas of Mount Rainier National Park must travel on Highway 410.

Chinook Pass has been closed since Nov. 12. The earliest Chinook Pass opening was April 5, 1973; the latest opening was July 12, 1974.

For updates go to http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/chinook/