White Pass Ski Area sent out this letter via e-mail to its season pass holders today:

After twenty-four years of planning, the path is now clear for the development of an additional 767 acres at White Pass. On September 9th, 2008 United States District Court Judge James Robart ruled in favor of the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the White Pass Company denying the Sierra Club's and Hogback Basin Preservation Association's appeal. USFS and White Pass' arguments "carried the day" on all counts deliberated. While Judge Robart's decision was open for appeal to the 9th Circuit Court, none were filed. General Manager Kevin McCarthy commented, "Appropriately, on Armistice Day, November 11th, we determined through no appeal by the plaintiffs, that the legal battle over the expansion of White Pass Ski Area came to an end. The company can now proceed with construction. This is a day we have been looking forward to for decades, and is a testament to believing in one's cause and never allowing what is right from being derailed by obstacles".

Construction will include two chairlifts, a mid-mountain lodge and 13 named runs in the open sub-alpine basins of the expansion area. Plans also call for a new parking lot that should accommodate nearly 1000 vehicles.

Site preparation work has been underway since the September 9th decision. McCarthy expects to open the first chairlift on opening day of the 2010 / 2011 season.

White Pass Company and crew want to express our thanks to everyone involved for their efforts in support of this initiative!

Posted by Jeffrey P. Mayor at 6:45 a.m. Wednedsday.

Mount Rainier National Park officials are confident the park’s main road will reopen in time for the weekend.

Crews are working to repair the Nisqually Road where Kautz Creek flooded after 8 1/2 inches of rain fell Nov. 11-12.

They also are working to get the creek back into the channel that carries the water through the 12-foot diameter culverts.

A logjam about 500 feet upstream from the road allowed the creek to jump out of the channel it created during the November 2006 flood. The water water met the road about 100 feet east of the culverts and began to wash away the rock alongside the roadway.

Park superintendent Dave Uberuaga said Monday crews have hauled out more than 2,000 cubic yards of material to create a short diversion channel to get the water back to its channel and running through the culverts.

Park spokeswoman Lee Taylor described the situation as a case of good news/bad news.

“All the improvements we did after 2006 did what they were supposed to. The only problem was Kautz Creek didn’t stay in the banks,” she said.

Uberuaga said he agonized over the decision to shut the park, but realized his staff needed to make some repairs before the public could safely reenter the park.

“I hate to have the park closed,” he said.

This closure, likely to be 10 days, is a far cry from the six months the park was closed following the devastating flood two years ago.

Elsewhere in the park, Highway 123 on the east side of the park is closed as the state repairs some washouts. Taylor said it is unlikely the road will reopen this winter.

Park staffers also are talking with Pierce County officials about options for repairing the Carbon River Road outside the park’s northwest entrance. About 200 feet of the roadway washed away, as deep as 10 feet in spots, in the flooding. Park officials recommended hikers stay out of the area because trail conditions and water crossings are hazardous right now.

In the southeast corner, the bridge to the Grove of the Patriarchs is closed, but other trails in the area are open.

For updated information, contact the park at 360-569-2211, ext. 2334. Updates will also be posted to the park’s Web page.