Snow slows holiday traffic over Santiam Pass

Thousands of people are hitting the road this holiday season, and recent storms have left feet of snow in the Oregon Cascades.

Friday, cars, buses, and trucks lined Highway 20 near Suttle Lake Friday, taking off and putting chains on.

“It wasn’t bad,” said Rachelle Bell. “We actually didn’t need chains, but we put them on because they were required.”

Other drivers said they took their time on the slick roads, the drive taking much longer than expected.

“It was slow going, then it stopped for about 45 minutes,” said Brad Arritola. “I don’t know, I think there was a semi, something must have happened with it. I was stopped for about 45 minutes.”

“Everybody was really nice,” said Robert Santoya. “Except another trucker came up on the side of me, and we were going up a hill. It’s kind of dangerous, and she shouldn’t have done that.”

Further up the highway, nearly 7 feet of snow had accumulated — welcoming news for Oregon’s ski areas as they begin the busy holiday period.

“Mother Nature was very good to us this year,” said Brynne Beverly, office manager at Hoodoo Ski Area. “There is more snow coming, so I think it’s going to be an awesome season.”