Through black ice and whiteouts, plow driver minds South Pass

SOUTH PASS—Kevin Maynard doesn’t bat an eye at these conditions. Highway 28 is visible, after all, and it’s not snowing.

Still, as the Wyoming Department of Transportation plow driver navigates the winding highway toward the 7,500-foot-elevation pass, streaks of snow blowing across the road morph into sheets. Visibility deteriorates as the windblown snow and sky blend into a white mass, and drifts encroach onto the lanes. A sign warns the route is closed to high-profile light traffic, with the speed limit set temporarily at 55 miles per hour. Highway 287 to the east is closed today, as are swa...