A tower supporting the Excalibur Gondola at Whistler Blackcomb partially collapsed this afternoon leaving several skiers and snowboarders trapped.

Ten people were injured according to the Vancouver Sun.

Here are some links to coverage:
- The Associated Press
- The Vancouver Sun
- The Globe and Mail.

Photo: The Canadian Press

At least 15 fishers will be released this weekend at remote sites within the Elwha, Sol Duc and Hoh valleys of Olympic National Park. They will join fishers that were reintroduced last winter as the park and its partners work to establish an initial population of 100 animals.

Fishers, about the size of a cat, are members of the weasel family,
related to minks, otters and martens.

Paul Bannick/State Department of Fish and Wildlife
A female fisher takes her first step into Olympic National Park on Jan. 28.

Eighteen fishers, each fitted with a tiny radio transmitter, were released in the park last January and March, in the state’s first reintroduction of
the species. Of the 18, only three are known to have died, said a park news release.

More information, including monthly updates from the monitoring effort, is
available here.

Here is the rest of the news release.

“We’re very pleased at how well the fishers have survived – an 81 percent survival rate is quite high and is very encouraging as we begin year two of this project,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin.

Biologists from the U.S. Geological Survey, state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park are still monitoring 13 of the reintroduced animals. Three of the fishers released last winter have died, and radio transmitters on two others no longer function. Scientists analyzed two of the carcasses, learning that one animal was killed by a bobcat in the Elwha Valley and one was fatally injured by a vehicle while crossing U.S. 101 near Forks. The third animal died in a remote area of Olympic National Park and has not been recovered.

Fishers are native to the forests of Washington, including the Olympic Peninsula, but vanished from the state decades ago because of over-trapping in the late 1800s and early 1900s and habitat loss and fragmentation.

Fishers were listed as a state endangered species in 1998 by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission and were designated as a candidate for federal listing in 2004 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act.

Fisher reintroduction to Olympic National Park is made possible through a partnership of agencies and organizations. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Olympic National Park are joint project managers and, along with the U.S. Geological Survey, are leading a research and monitoring program to evaluate the success of the reintroduction.

“It’s gratifying to help lead this important cooperative effort and to see these encouraging results,” said Dave Brittell, assistant director for WDFW’s wildlife program. “As the project goes on, we look forward to establishing a thriving fisher population in Washington State.”

The British Columbia Ministry of Environment is actively supporting the effort to capture and import fishers to Washington.

Non-profit partner Conservation Northwest provides financial and
administrative support for the project’s operations in British Columbia while Washington’s National Park Fund is providing financial support for monitoring the reintroduced fisher population. Other partners and organizations are providing financial or logistical support for management and research tasks.

“What a great holiday gift to Olympic National Park and the people of
Washington,” said Mitch Friedman, executive director of Conservation
Northwest. “Fifteen furry fishers in an old-growth tree.”

The fishers to be released this year will also will wear radio
transmitters, allowing biologists to track their movements and activities and adding to scientists’ understanding of the fisher’s role in the ecosystem. Over the duration of this three-year project, a total of approximately 100 fishers will be released within Olympic National Park; information gathered through monitoring helps biologists to refine the project.

"We are excited to work with the National Park Service and Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife to evaluate this landmark project, said Kurt Jenkins, USGS Research Wildlife Biologist. “Better understanding of fisher restoration in Olympic National Park promises to be widely useful to future restoration programs within the species’ range.”

I had a few moments between interviews and thought I would check on conditions at Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park. When I saw the photo, I thought I should pass it along.

Mount Rainier National Park
Here is an image from the Webcam at the new visitor center looking toward Paradise Inn.

Checking weather data, at 2 p.m. it was downright balmy at 27 degrees. But in the last two mornings, temperatures fell to -1 degree. On Monday morning, wind chills were amost -25 degrees.

According to the Paradise weather station, there is 36 inches of snow on the ground.

White Pass plans to open for the season Saturday at 8:45 a.m. It will be the fifth of the six Cascade ski areas to open.

Stevens Pass opens its lifts for the season Thursday.

Crystal Mountain opened for the season Dec. 13. Mount Baker opened Dec. 14. And Mission Ridge, thanks to man-made snow, opened Dec. 6.

The Summit at Snoqualmie is the state’s only major ski area not to announce an opening day. The Summit is the state’s most popular ski area, but with a base area just 3,000 feet above sea level it is also the lowest.

OTHER OPENINGS
- Bluewood plans to open Wednesday morning.
- Mount Spokane plans to open Friday morning.

Mike “Gator” Gauthier, whose work as a ranger made him a revered member of the local climbing community, is saying goodbye to Mount Rainier National Park after more than 18 years.

Gauthier, 39, is leaving his post as the head of the park’s climbing program for a two-year fellowship in Washington D.C.
His last day at Mount Rainier is Jan. 2.
“It's a huge change and opportunity for me,” Gauthier said, “and one that I'm really excited about.”
Gauthier, who has been involved in numerous rescues on Mount Rainier, is trading his ranger uniform for a suit and will be assigned to the U.S. Senate’s National Parks Sub-committee.
While D.C. might seem different than Longmire, where Gauthier lives, he’ll have something in common with at least a couple of people on Capitol Hill. Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain and Gauthier all earned places on the Men’s Journal 2004 list of the “25 Toughest Guys in America.”
Gauthier, who grew up in Olalla, made the list for one of his most famous rescues, which actually came on a day off in 1998. Gauthier was on Rainier’s 14,411-foot summit when he heard a distress call on his radio.
He hopped on his snowboard and zipped down the mountain to Disappointment Cleaver to help guides rescue nine climbers.
But what Gauthier might be most proud of is his last three years at Rainier. After several high-profile rescues and deaths on Rainier’s upper slopes, there has not been a major incident above Camp Muir in three seasons.

“A lot of the credit for that goes to Mike,” park superintendent Dave Uberuaga said. “He has been very instrumental in making the program what it is today.”
Gauthier started a blog – mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com – that updates climbers on route conditions.
“The more info you have to work with the more likely you are to have a successful trip,” Gauthier said while explaining why he started the blog.
Gauthier also helped coordinate the transition from one Rainier guiding service to three in 2007. Gauthier says having three guide services on the mountain has made the mountain safer.
“There is a guide for every three climbers on the main route,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier also worked with local groups like the Tacoma Mountaineers to help with training and climbing outreach.
“With the blog, the guide service and the Mountaineers it’s a big group hug situation,” Gauthier said.
In his years on Rainier, Gauthier has dangled out of helicopters, rescued climbers and recovered bodies. He’s also helped train park staff and formulated their avalanche safety plan.
Along the way Gauthier also climbed Rainier more than 100 times, including eight times in one week in 1998. He also set a record by summiting the mountain 36 times that summer. He wrote a Rainier climbing guide in ’99 that is widely considered the best on the subject. The Mountaineers Books republished the book in 2005.
“What he has done for the park is remarkable,” Uberuaga said. “He will not be an easy guy to replace.”
While Gauthier could theoretically return to Rainier after the fellowship he says it’s unlikely.
Most participants in the Bevinetto Fellowship usually are assigned to a management position like a park superintendent when they finish according to an e-mail from Chuck Young, Rainier’s chief ranger.
“I care greatly about this place,” Gauthier said. “My DNA cares about this place. I’m going to miss it, but I’m looking forward to this new opportunity.”