With a view a sweeping view of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood and a massive lava dome, there are few place scenic plays than the crater rim of Mount St. Helens to take mom on her special day.

In fact, climbing to the 8,365-foot high rim has become a Mother’s Day tradition in the local skiing community.
The tradition is for the climbers to wear dresses – even the guys – and then ski down all in honor of their moms.

“We’ve received a lot of calls,” said Jeanne Bennett, executive director of the Mount St. Helens Institute. “But so far (as of April 28) only 35 people have signed up.”

Bennett says the small sign-up is likely because the most direct climbing route (10 miles and 5,000 vertical feet round trip) can’t be reached by car because of snow.

Climbers will use the winter route from Marblemount Snow Park adding making the hike about 13 miles and 6,000 vertical feet.

“I’ve never done it,” Bennett said, “but it sounds like a lot of fun.”

The event is not organized so you’re climbing party will be responsible for itself. National forest officials remind climbers not to get too close to the crater rim because of the massive cornice that could easily give way.

Bennett says don’t worry if you can’t find a dress for the climb.

“Dressing in drag is up to the individual,” Bennett said. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want.”

A climbing permit costs $22 and can be ordered online at mshinstitute.org.

If you liked that, try . . .

Rock climbing: So you think your mom’s too old to learn new tricks. Not true. Tacoma’s Edgeworks Climbing is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday and is will to teach anybody who’s willing to try. One employee said they’ve had climbers in their 80s scaling the walls.
Routes range from easy to tough enough to challenge even the fittest moms. No Mother’s Day discounts. A day pass is $15. An extra $8 will cover the gear rental (shoes, harness, belay device and chalk bag). Edgeworks-climbing.com

Canoe Spanaway Lake: If your mom like to fish or just relaxing on the water, the Spanaway Park Boat House offers several options. You can explore Spanaway Lake by paddle boat or canoe for $6 per hour or by row boat for $4.25 per hour. All rentals require a $10 refundable deposit. 253-531-0555

Foothills Trail: The Foothills Trail runs 15 miles from Puyallup to South Prairie offering a slight uphill grade going toward South Prairie. The trail is flat enough for mom’s of all ages to enjoy a nice stroll or a casual bike ride. For hardcore mom’s you can easily tack on some hilly riding on the roads (particularly Tubbs Road) south of South Prairie.
For the most scenic section of the trail park in Orting follow the trail southeast. Piercecountytrails.org

(PHOTO BY PETER HALEY, The News Tribune)

From Mount Rainier National Park:

Mount Rainier National Park recently received notice that they have been awarded a 2009 National Park Service Youth Partnerships Program (YPP) grant in the amount of $23,105. Earlier this year, the park’s Education Program received a second-year grant in the amount of $80,000 from the US-Japan Foundation to fund continued work on the multi-year Mount Rainier–Mount Fuji Sister Mountain Curriculum Development Project (Sister Mountain Project). These grants will enable the park to expand and build on last summer’s very successful pilot Teacher-Ranger-Teacher (TRT) Program as well as continue international curriculum development and host the first international Sister Mountain Teacher Exchange Workshop.

=> Read more!

Staffers are recommending Olympic National Forest use an .84-mile reroute to reopen the Dosewallips Road.

Forest Supervisor Dale Hom announced Wednesday the reroute is the preferred alternative of four options considered for the project, but no final decision has been made.

The preferred option, Alternative C in the draft environmental impact statement, would build the reroute along the hill slope above and to the north of the washout. Retaining walls, reinforced fills and other measures to minimize clearing and excavation would be used.

"This alternative will restore access to recreational facilities and respond to the National Park Service's interest to maintain the very few vehicular access routes into the national park,” Hom said in a prepared statement.

“Ninety-five percent of Olympic National Park is designated wilderness and accessible only by trail. It’s very important to our mission that we maintain vehicle access into the remaining five percent of the park so that visitors of all abilities and ages have the chance to experience Olympic,” said Karen Gustin, Olympic National Park superintendent, in a statement.

A large section of the Dosewallips Road (Forest Service Road 2610) washed out in a 2002 storm, cutting off access to the park’s Dosewallips recreation facilities and the forest’s Elkhorn Campground. Dosewallips is one of only two developed areas on the east side of the park that can be reached by vehicle.

The draft environmental impact statement, describing the alternatives, was released in June 2008. The selection of a preferred alternative, required by the National Environmental Policy Act, is needed to continue the project analysis process.

Forest officials expect to have the final environmental impact statement and record of decision prepared by the end of the year.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said it raised $15,032 for winter elk feeding at its first auction of shed elk antlers at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area in Yakima County.

About 1,275 pounds of antlers were sold at the Saturday auction, attended by about 150 people. Most of the shed antlers were picked up by department staff and volunteers from the Oak Creek winter feeding stations over the last several years; some came from other areas of the state. The highest single sale of $550 was made on a set of eight-point elk antlers from the Hanford area, said a department news release.

Here is the rest of the release:

The auction was conducted with the help of WDFW staff, Wildlife Education Corps volunteers and a professional auctioneer from Tieton.

John McGowan, WDFW Oak Creek manager, said the funds raised will cover about 18 percent of the hay cost for an average, 80-day, winter elk feeding season.

About 3,500 to 4,000 elk are fed each winter at several sites on the 47,200-acre wildlife area. Oak Creek was originally purchased in 1943 to provide a home for the growing Yakima elk herd seeking food in nearby agricultural areas. Winter feeding began about 1968 to keep elk on the public land and avoid damage complaints and payments.

More than 100,000 visitors to Oak Creek view the elk at the headquarters feeding site each winter.

WDFW may conduct more antler auctions at 3-to-5-year intervals as more shed antlers are collected from winter feeding sites.

Seven years after a dramatic rescue on Mount Rainier that included a helicopter crash, two local men were finally honored this morning in Washington D.C. for their heroics.
Climbing legend Dave Hahn received the Citizen’s Award for Bravery and Mount Rainier climbing ranger Chris Olson received the Valor Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Ken Salazar, secretary of the interior, presented the awards.

So, what, took so long?

“The simple explanation is they were never nominated until now,” said Chuck Young, Rainier’s chief ranger. “… But the passage of time definitely does not diminish this.”

The men were finally nominated after Phill Michael of Edmonton won the Citizen’s Award for Bravery last year for rescuing two ill-equipped climbers on Rainier’s Muir Snowfield in 2007.

“Afterward Mike Gauthier (former chief of the Rainier climbing ranger program) relayed to me some of the rescues that took place here in the past,” said Young, who has worked at Rainier since 2006.

After hearing the stories, Young and Gauthier nominated several people for various rescues.

A panel in Washington D.C. picked Hahn and Olson for the awards.

On June 25, 2002, a climber was injured by a falling rock on the challenging Liberty Ridge route. As the helicopter approached the glacier below the ridge with Hahn and Olson it crashed.

Olson was struck by part of an engine that broke through the roof of the chopper. He was covered in oil, but was able to help Hahn rescue the pilot. The climbers then ascended the ridge with rangers who were already on site and rescued the climber.

“The efforts these two individuals took to complete the rescue of the critically injured climber during the 2002 climbing season was nothing short of extraordinary,” Young said in a prepared statement. “… Even after surviving the crash of the helicopter … and helping with the rescue of the injured pilot, they continued on with their mission to successfully complete the rescue at an extremely hazardous area of the mountain.”

Hahn was unable to attend the ceremony because he is currently guiding climbers on Mount Everest. Hahn, who guides for Ashford companies Rainier Mountaineering Inc. and International Mountain Guides, holds the U.S. record with 10 Everest summits.

The Valor Award is presented to Department of the Interior employees and the Citizen's Award for Bravery is for private citizens who risk their lives to save other people.

In June, Mount Rainier National Park will announce to its staff that the climbing program has won a safety award from the Department of the Interior. The award will be shared with the Rainier guide services and Tacoma Mountain Rescue.

While spring showers add vigor to new flower blossoms and budding tree leaves here in the lowlands, it looks more like winter at higher elevations.

This is the Webcam view looking east from the Jackson Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park.

The Paradise area at Mount Rainier National Park has received more than 12 inches of snow in the last 24 hours, according to weather station telemetry. The latest reading shows there are now 160 inches on the ground.

That is good news for folks who may want to ski, board or snowshoe in some fresh snow, but I'm sure it makes life difficult for those folks trying to get the Paradise Inn ready to open for the season. The inn is scheduled to reopen on May 15.

Dave Hahn and Chris Olson were honored today in Washington D.C. for their part in a 2002 rescue. Hahn won the Citizen's Award for Bravery and Mount Rainier climbing ranger Chris Olson received the Valor Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Hahn could not attend the ceremony because he is climbing on Mount Everest.

Here's the story we did on the rescue in 2002:

BY SKIP CARD and STEFANO ESPOSITO
The News Tribune

When the rescue helicopter lost its tail rotor, yanking it off Mount Rainier's Carbon Glacier and sending it spinning madly, mountain guide Dave Hahn could only hang on and hope.

"It started spinning faster and harder, and it was obvious we were going down," Hahn said a day after Tuesday's accident. "There was a moment or two when I thought I was dead."

In the end, Hahn walked away without a scratch.

Also unhurt were the chartered helicopter's pilot, whose name was not released, and climbing ranger Chris Olson, who ducked his head moments before the craft's transmission crashed through the roof.

Details of the high-altitude accident emerged Wednesday as shaken participants gave eyewitness accounts, investigators prepared to study the cause of the crash and crews planned to lift the wreckage off the mountain.

The crash of the single-engine Bell Jet Ranger helicopter occurred as a second set of rescuers hurried to the aid of Jesse Whitcomb, a Pennsylvania teenager who had been hit in the head by a falling boulder while climbing Mount Rainier's Liberty Ridge.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Here's our story from Phill Michael's 2007 rescue on Rainier. He was the first person involved in a rescue on Rainier to win the Citizen's Award for Bravery.

His award inspired park officials to nominated past rescues for the honor.

BY CRAIG HILL
The News Tribune

Phill Michael couldn't see much as whiteout conditions descended on Mount Rainier on Sept. 16, 2007. He also had no idea what he heard in the distance was about to make him a hero.

As Michael descended from the summit to the Muir Snowfield he heard the voices of two ill-equipped hikers.

"I heard a woman saying 'We should have brought a better map,' " Michael said, "and a man who was vomiting and saying 'We are going to die.' "

The hikers might have been right had they not run into Michael. He built a shelter, and the three waited out the conditions for two and a half days before walking to safety.

On Tuesday, Michael will be in Washington, D.C., to receive the Citizens Award for Bravery from the Department of the Interior. The department presents the award annually to citizens who perform heroic acts in the face of danger.

Michael was nominated for the award by officials at Mount Rainier National Park.

"I don't really think of myself as a hero," Michael said. "I don't need an award, but if they're going to offer it to me, I guess I'll accept it."

Michael almost wasn't there to perform the rescue.

In 2003, he needed open-heart surgery to correct aortic valve disease that would have prevented him from leading an active lifestyle.

He's made the most of life since the surgery, making his own wine, kayaking, taking long-distance motorcycle trips and climbing mountains. He plans to start a quest to climb the highest summit on each continent next week when he leaves for Alaska to climb Denali.

Pages: 1 2 3