Snowplow crew off to a busy start

The crew (left to right): Ryan Karjala, Ted Creason, Gary Hughes, Mike Berg, Dave McConnell, Dave Snow. Not pictured: Dan McDonald and Dave Culver.

If the ill-fated pioneers of the Donner Party had been able to call upon the Oregon Department of Transportation snowplow crew in Sisters, they might not have had to resort to.....well, what they resorted to.

Fortunately, those of us in the Sisters area don't need to worry about being trapped for months in the snow, and we've come to take the appearance of the plows for granted.

The plows, however, don't drive themselves.

Eight local men work in shifts around the clock to keep the plows running.

Dan Knoll is the ODOT Public Information Representative for this area. While he doesn't drive the plows himself, he knows what a tough job the drivers have.

Still, he says, "These guys live for this time of year."

The drivers themselves agree.

"It's fun. I like it," said ODOT snowplow driver Gary Hughes. "It can get pretty exciting, too, like when you see these people pass the plow and do a 360 and spin out right in front of you.

"All you can do is stop and see if they're alright and call them a wrecker."

Hughes has 18 years of snowplow experience at the Sisters and Santiam stations.

"We had some black ice out there the other day, and this little red pickup went flying by me," said Hughes. "I got up around the corner and saw this red thing going through the trees. I said to myself, 'There's no road over there.'

"Well, he slid right off the road and sort of made his own until he hit a big tree."

The ODOT drivers say that the State Police have been writing up quite a few drivers who fail to comply with chain or traction tire requirements.

"The only reason they do it is to keep everybody moving. They aren't doing it to pick on anyone," Hughes said.

Knoll added, "All our drivers work very closely with the tow trucks, police and other agencies."

The inside of a snowplow cab looks about like an airplane cockpit with dozens of gauges, switches, knobs and levers.

With all those controls and traffic behind them and traffic coming at them, the drivers can really have their hands full, especially in a blinding snowstorm.

"What's really frustrating," says driver Mike Berg, "is people who just stop on the road anywhere to put on chains. So, there they are blocking the lane with their doors open and everything."

Berg has 26 years on the plows, 11 here in Sisters and another 15 years in Montana.

The plow operators agree that motorists who block the Jack Lake Road snowplow turnaround are another major headache.

With the auxiliary "wing" plow deployed, the big trucks, which double as sanders, can cut a swath of up to 18-1/2 feet; so they take up a lot of roadway.

"When you see them plowing, give them room," said Knoll.

He also pointed out that motorists need to get their chains on before they become absolutely necessary. Most roads have designated pullouts for chaining up.

Together, the six full-time crew members at the Sisters station have nearly 120 years of snowplow experience among them.

Two seasonal members add another 14 years to that total.

The Sisters crew is responsible for Highway 126 all the way to Redmond and for Highway 20 from Bend to Jack Lake Road near the Suttle Lake grade.

They also have the task of reopening the McKenzie Highway for the summer and keeping the road open as far as Crossroads in the winter.

Drivers in Central Oregon have all seen the signs warning not to pass snowplows on the right, but not all drivers take them seriously.

Hughes told of an incident on the Tumalo grade heading into Bend.

"Last year I had a guy try to pass me on the right," he said. "He really got sandblasted with snow and cinders."

He also didn't make it by the plow.

"It can be kind of a stressful job at times," said driver Ted Creason. In addition to dodging errant cars and juggling levers and switches, they put in long hours, too.

The day shift comes in at 5:30 a.m. and works until 4 p.m. If it's storming, they have to be in at 4 a.m.

The night shift comes on at 4 p.m. and stays until 2:30 a.m. unless, of course, it's storming. In that situation, they stay until the day shift arrives at 4 a.m.

This goes on from November through April.

As tough as it is, though, the drivers all seem to enjoy their jobs.

"When I started up there at the Santiam in '83-'84, we'd have 19 to 20 feet of snow at the roadside," said Hughes. "That was fun. I'd like to see that again."

Other snowplow operators working out of the Sisters station include Dave McConnell, Dave Culver, Dan McDonald, Ryan Karjala, and the aptly named Dave Snow.

Knoll suggests that motorists check on road conditions before hitting the road.

Conditions are kept up to date at http://www.tripcheck.com, which includes all mountain pass cameras and conditions, chain requirements and weather reports.