Start with the gate manifest and the signal log from the ridge watch. It is the source used to make a decision about whether the ridge road can reopen to ordinary freight before the late snow has cleared the outer turn; it is not the decision itself. The rule only works if the source describes the conditions at the East Ridge gate above the cloud stair.
The latest count is 59 caravan loads checked before the cloud stair opens; the prior file listed 57. Residents and workers have had their first chance to question the measure in public. The difference is a signal to check, not a verdict about who is right.
The disputed point is practical: The watch sees a passable surface from the wall; carriers report that the shaded turn remains slick under a loaded cart. One side relies on the posted total, while the other points to a white route marker visible from the last switchback below the gate.
The risk of reading the file too broadly is that an entry becomes a conclusion. Varda Kin checked the gate manifest and the signal log from the ridge watch against the field notes. The method is to trace the route from the first signal to the final gate receipt; it confirms the entries, but not every interpretation attached to them.
Next: The road crew will post separate clearance times for foot traffic and freight. A useful update will publish the method, exceptions and review date with the number.
