Around here one of the annual signals of the approach of the riding season is the opening of the North Cascades Highway. Also known as Washington State Route 20, the highway is the northernmost route across the Cascades and is perennially ranked as one of the best motorcycle roads in the region, if not the country.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has been working diligently to clear the highway of winter snow for the last several weeks. The good news is that they are ahead of schedule, having recently completed cutting a one-lane route all the way across the pass. WSDOT is estimating that the pass will be open the first week of May.

WSDOT maintains a blog-like site that provides near-daily updates of their progress toward the spring opening. It also includes photos that illustrate the enormity of the task and, this year, a rare natural phenomenon called the “snow donut.”