The view through the web cam at Crystal Mountain is starting to look nice again, but according to the ski area’s website there is only 3 inches of snow on the ground.

International Mountain Guides’ Mike Hamill climbed the highest peak on each continent in 11 months according to a recent post on the IMG website.

Here are some of the details courtesy of IMG:

Mike Hamill didn’t start 2008 planning to do the Seven Summits, but the stars lined up and it happened. Along with the Seven Summits, Mike also guided a successful October ascent of Cho Oyu to round out his busy year. Congrats to Mike!

Here are the Seven Summits dates:

* Vinson (Antarctica): Dec. 1, 2007

* Aconcagua (South America): Jan.

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The Nisqually Road in Mount Rainier National Park will reopen Friday morning, a day earlier than expected.

The road, and the park, have been closed since Nov. 12 when Kautz Creek jumped its banks and flood the main road into the park.

Park crews were able to complete the repairs late Thursday to allow the road to open at 6 a.m., said park superintendent Dave Uberuaga.

During the heavy rains Nov. 11-12, Kautz Creek again jumped its channel upstream and changed course from the channel created during the 2006 flood. Water over the the roadway was eight

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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,

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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.

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Here is this week’s photo. I took this as the wrecking ball took bites out of the roof of the old Jackson Visitor Center. I thought I would share it with readers since the Nisqually Road is still closed.

Jeffrey P. Mayor/The News Tribune

Concrete, metal and other debris flies as a 4,500-pound wrecking ball crashes through the roof of the old Jackson visitor center at Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park.

It was amazing to watch the crane operators aim the wrecking ball, which weighs 4,500 pounds, to hit exactly

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Dave Ellis, the deputy director at Northwest Trek, is scheduled to be on tonight’s episode of "Weird, True and Freaky" on Animal Planet.

A production crew from Animal Planet visited the wildlife park outside of Eatonville last August. They interviewed Ellis about the rut behavior of animals such as deer and elk, and other animal activities.

According to Animal Planet’s Web site, the show looks at "some of the strangest, craziest, real-life stories on four legs."

Ellis is supposed to be in the "Mob Mentality" portion of the episode.

The show is to air at

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Paradise echoed Monday not with the voices of park visitors, but with the thump and crash of 4,500-pound wrecking ball smashing through the old visitor center.

Using a 160-foot crane, crews began demolishing the saucer-shaped structure at the most visited location at Mount Rainier National Park.

Drew Perine/The News Tribune

A 160-foot crane directs a 4500-pound wrecking ball into the old Jackson Visitors Center during the first day of demolition Monday at Mount Rainier National Park.

The building, which opened in 1966 at a cost of $1.6 million, had become

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