Washington State Parks voted Thursday night to double the price of Sno-Park day passes.

Sno-Park passes will be $20 this season and will be required for each vehicle.

A season pass will be $40 and the special groomed trail permit will be an additional $40. Each of these passes were $30 last season.

On Sept. 3, state parks spokeswoman Linda Burnett said, “The reason for the increase is to encourage people to buy an annual pass.”

Passes go on sale Nov. 1.

OK, you got a bit of a wait still (almost two weeks of summer left still), but if you've seen Mount Rainier this week you've probably noticed that the weather is changing in the mountains. (Keep this in mind when you're hiking.)

Over the weekend Rainier transformed from it's rocky summer look to its snow-covered winter garb.

And this morning at 3:18 I got my first e-mail from a Northwest ski area - Mount Hood Meadows - saying it got it's first dusting of snow.

For the record it's 49 degrees there right now, but so you can start getting excited here's a pic from the Meadows webcam:

Two Guest Services Inc. employees from Mount Rainier National Park were injured Thursday morning when their vehicle went off Nisqually Road near Paradise and fell about 350 feet.

“I think it’s safe to say they are both lucky to be alive,” said park spokeswoman Lee Taylor.

The injuries are significant but not life-threatening, Taylor said.

The names of the employees have not been released. The employees were a male and female who were not working at the time of the accident, said David Wilde, managing director of Guest Services.

An investigation is ongoing, Taylor said.

One of the employees was airlifted from the scene and the other left by ambulance, Taylor said. One victim has been released from the hospital.

The road was closed during the rescue. Park staff was first on the scene. The incident, which took place near Glacier Hill on a section of road with no guard rail, was reported by a 911 call.

The slope drops sharply from the road to the Nisqually River. The vehicle came to rest above the river, Taylor said.

Several of you noticed that Sturtevant's Ski Mart on South Hill closed earlier this year.

However, Sturtevant's absence is only temporary.

The Seattle-based company is opening a new Ski Mart on South 38th. According to an e-mail from the company the new shop will open in October.

Nordic skiers, snow machine drivers, sledders and others will see the price for a day pass at Sno-Parks double this winter if Washington State Parks has its way.

At its Oct. 1 meeting, State park officials will vote on a proposal for various fee increases including raising the $10 per vehicle day rate to $20, parks spokeswoman Linda Burnett said.

“The reason for the increase is to encourage people to buy an annual pass,” Burnett said.

The proposal calls for increasing the price for a season pass from $30 to $35. Special grooming permits (required at some Nordic ski parks) would also increase from $30 to $35.

A new $35 fee for out-of-state snow machines would be added under the proposal, Burnett said. Washington snow machine users already pay the Sno-Park fee when they register their vehicles, Burnett said.

Sno-Park passes go on sale Nov. 1.

BY CRAIG HILL
The News Tribune

Tacoma is set to get a second indoor venue for rock climbers by the middle of October.

Vertical World, the state’s largest rock gym chain, plans to open a bouldering gym at 102 South 24th Street in the building previously occupied by Action Business Furniture.

The bouldering facility will not have roped-climbing and will be part of the company’s manufacturing facility, said Vertical World owner Rich Johnston.

“This kind of came through the back door,” said Johnston. “We were just looking at putting our wall manufacturing in Tacoma.”

Johnston wanted to move the facility in order to accommodate Ryan Spence, his wall-building specialist. Spence lives in Tacoma and was tired of commuting to Seattle, Johnston said.

The 8,000-square-foot building in Tacoma is four times larger than its current manufacturing site in Seattle and larger than Johnston needed.

“So, we said, let’s open a bouldering gym,” Johnston said.

In addition to operating rock gyms in Bremerton, Redmond, Seattle and Everett, Vertical World manufactures climbing walls for schools and other climbing gyms. Vertical World built the climbing wall for the set of MTV’s 1998 show “The Real World: Seattle” as well as Tacoma’s short-lived Thrill-Zone Extreme Sports Center.

Vertical World opened in 1989 in Seattle and claims to be the country’s first rock gym.

Vertical World will be Tacoma’s second climbing gym.
Edgeworks has been the mainstay of the Tacoma rock gym scene since 2004 when Tod Bloxham opened the 9,500-square-foot gym at 6102 N. Ninth St.

Edgeworks offers a bouldering area but also has climbing walls for roped climbing.

“I don’t want to cannibalize his business,” Johnston said of Edgeworks. “A bouldering gym is pretty limited. He’s a roped gym with full programs for schools. This is more for the bouldering crowd.”

Johnston said construction of the bouldering facility should go smoothly considering it’s in the same building as the manufacturing plant.

“No shipping,” Johnston said. “He (Spence) just has to walk a few feet.”

Rates and an exact opening date have not been set, but Johnston said the facilities progress will be updated on his website, verticalworld.com

From North Cascades NP:

The Cascade River Road in North Cascades National Park will close to vehicular traffic at Hard Creek Bridge (MP 12.7) beginning on Sept. 1. The road will be open September 5-7 during the holiday weekend. The road will be closed again on September 8 through project completion in mid-October. Any cars left up-valley of the construction will not be able to exit Cascade River Road until the project is complete.

Foot or bicycle traffic may be allowed, but may encounter delays and must obey direction provided by construction crews to ensure their safety through the construction zone.

FHWA will be closing the road to accommodate bridge installation and permanent road repairs. The Cascade River Road provides access to Johannesburg Camp and the Cascade Pass Trail.

For additional information about the Cascade Pass Trail, call 360-854-7245 or visit http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/cascade-pass-trail.htm

All overnight stays in the backcountry require a free permit, which must be obtained in person and is issued on a first come first served basis.

Mount Rainier National Park officials are warning hikers and climbers that the Muir Snowfield has melted out early this season adding additional challenges to the route to Camp Muir.

According to a statement released by the park today there is exposed bare glacier ice and crevasses above 8,200 feet on the route. The steep slope - 25-30 degrees in some areas could make the route slippery and hazardous.

According to the park's statement, "There have been numerous cases this year of slips that have caused fairly severe abrasions. Also this year, the exposed ice from 9,500 feet to 10,100 feet has opened up crevasses that require skill and care in safely picking out circuitous routes which avoid the open cracks in the ice. Over the years, people have found themselves injured by falling in the crevasses or left dangling above them."

If you are planning to hike to Camp Muir, park officials recommend doing the following:

- Get the latest route conditions at the Climbing Information Center in Paradise (360-569-6009) or the Wilderness Information Center in Longmire (360-569-HIKE, 360-569-4453).

- Carry and use crampons and an ice axe.

- Cover all skin with durable full-length pants and long-sleeve shirts.

- Download the Muir Route Bearing Sheet.

- Carry a map, GPS, and compass, and know how to use them. Track your route on the way up, trackback on the descent.

- Travel to Camp Muir with someone.

- The only anchors that work in the glacier ice are ice screws, should you choose to belay over the crevasses with a short section of rope.

- Get up-to-date forecasts and prepare for cold, wet weather.

Hurricane Ridge Road will reopen today at 2 p.m. according to statement released moments ago by Olympic National Park.

Click below to read the statement.

=> Read more!

From the Associated Press:

Note that of Washington's 9.2 million acres of national forest, 2 million are designated roadless areas.

BY MATTHEW DALY
The Associated Press

A federal appeals court Wednesday blocked road construction in more than 50 million acres of pristine national forests.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates a 2001 rule put in place by President Bill Clinton just before he left office that prohibited commercial logging, mining and other development on 58.5 million acres of national forest in 38 states and Puerto Rico. A subsequent Bush administration rule had cleared the way for more commercial activity there.

=> Read more!

Jeff and I teamed up to write a story about our favorite food stops after a day in the outdoors.

No fine dining here. Just fine burgers, fries, shakes and cherry pie a la mode (Twede's famous pie pictured to the right).

Check it out and see if your favorite was included. If not let us know about your favorite. We'd love to check it out.

(Picture by Drew Perine)

I hiked about 13 miles in Stevens Canyon this morning. Yes, the road is still closed at Box Canyon, but it scheduled to open by Aug. 1.

Including today's hikes (and the hiking Sunrise package that runs Sunday) I've hiked 69 miles in the park this summer. The goal is 110 miles in honor of the park's 110th anniversary.

Here's a pic I snapped from Bench Lake.