Inyo County is responsible for plowing and grading. Usually the N. Pass gets graded once every 3 years unless it becomes impassible. I do not believe the county plows the snow.
There is a working mine at the Willow Creek, so the miners might've used their equipment to plow or hired county's resource to plow. Most of the times the roads to Saline HS stay snowed in.
This year both passes got graded. Inyokern county was declared a federal emergency area due to 60% of roads sustaining damage. So the county got fed's money to fix the roads.
I suspect the roads won't be graded for few years. Severe washboard has already come back.
When both passes get snowed in, people get trapped for several days if not weeks. It happened several times in the past few decades. It's advisable to bring extra supplies at all times,
carry snow chains and know how to use them.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/09/2014 01:21PM by Sam D..