true statement. Someone pointed out that reno has better weather than Portland. Someone else quoted that statement to tell us how much snow donner pass got last year. I was just pointing out that donner pass and reno are different places, and thus, have different weather.

Do they have snow plows? Do they keep the pass open year round, except for short stretches of a few hours when it is closed for weather and plowing?

It’s not like there’s a “75MPH on/off switch”, as you appear to think there is.

No. During a heavy winter there will be days long stretches it’s closed.

Spent many years stationed in Fallon. Saw winters of 800+ inches of snow over the pass, mud slides etc. One winter people were trapped in their cars for over a day in mud slides on 80. Drove down to Lemoore once and couldn’t drive back over the Sierras for 6 days.

This past winter I80 was closed for 3 or 4 days if I remember correctly. And I believe it was right around xmas. This was an unusual year, but it does happen at least once a year where I80 will be closed for a day or two.

I am familiar with mountain passes that shut down for the entire winter. Other major passes, which are kept open, get closed for several hours or a couple of days with an unusually bad storm.

It has nothing to do with your inaccurate assumption about me.

All good; wasn’t sure if you were being facetious about the snowplows. 80 is a US interstate, so obviously they have plows, it’s just that even with Reno and Sac in the clear the stretch through the Sierras can get frequent/unpredictable/severe winter weather that can conceivably last for days.

how bad is the commute from the SMF area?

depends on the time of day. It’s probably an average of just over 2 hours. But it can get to over 3 hours, especially leaving Sfo at 4 or 5 on a Friday afternoon.

one reason I don’t understand how people can do that commute. There is a wide range of times it will take to get to and from work.

for me, I leave 80-90 min prior to show. Gives me time to park, take a ****, get to ops, with a 10-15 min buffer if there is some unexpected traffic.

I live in the Roseville/Rocklin area. Just under two hours from driveway to parking lot with no traffic, but I usually leave 3:30-4 hours before report time in case there are multiple accidents. I'm usually really early, but I'd rather not stress about making it on time, especially on probation. You get a feel pretty quickly for the driving times, and it doesn't take long to gain enough seniority to bid around the rush hour traffic if you so desire.