Skiers and snowboarders couldn’t ask for a much better way to ring in the new year.

The National Weather Service is predicting fresh snow daily through the weekend. Crystal Mountain, the Summit at Snoqualmie and White Pass ski areas all reported two inches of new snow Wednesday morning.

Considering this is supposed to be an El Nino winter – a warmer and drier winter – Washington’s ski areas will take all the snow they can get. The Summit’s snow depth at the base is 38 inches. Crystal’s has a base of 36 inches and White Pass is at 58 inches. …

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I spent the day with my family and some good friends playing in the snow at Paradise.

The parking lot was quite full by the time we arrived late in the morning. There was a steady stream of vehicles pulling in throughout the afternoon.

While the serious folks were strapping on snowshoes, we headed to the snowplay area.

There was only one run for the big kids, resulting in a line. There just didn’t seem to be enough snow to cut a second run.

The kids’ area – for those 5 and under – was crowded but the young ones …

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Three bird hunters from Tacoma and two hikers from Sumner were rescued by the Lewis County Sheriff and Search and Rescue team in separate incidents Monday after getting trapped in snow in Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Ashford.

Both groups were reported missing Monday after failing to return from Sunday daytrips, according to a statement released by the sheriff’s office.  Both parties were dressed for the cold weather and stayed with their vehicles overnight.

The party from Tacoma was rescued eight mile up Forest Road 84. The Sumner party was rescued eight miles up Forest Road 85.

The statement from …

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I caught a couple of the season opening episodes of “Everest: Beyond the Limit” on the Discovery Channel.

This season the show focuses on the summit attempts led by International Mountain Guides and IMG’s Eric Simonson.

I thought Simonson came off pretty well on the two episodes I watched, especially when he had to tell an injured climber he could not make another summit attempt. With a dozen Everest expeditions under his belt, Simonson understands the mountain and the effort needed to reach the top of the world.

At times it might have seemed as if the Ashford resident might …

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The state just announced the go-aheadfor a four-day razor-clam dig on coastal beaches over the New Year’s holiday.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife gave final approval for the evening digs after a series of marine toxin tests confirmed the clams on all five coastal beaches were safe to eat.

Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks and Kalaloch beaches will be open for clam digging Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

All of those beaches, with the exception of Kalaloch, also will be open Jan. 2. One beach – Twin Harbors – will open for a fourth …

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The state Department of Fish and Wildlife just announced it will close a portion of the North Fork Stillaguamish River starting Monday.

The closure, for all game fish, will run through Jan. 31.

The closed stretch of river runs downstream from the Whitehorse Bridge approximately 4 river miles to the French Creek confluence. This closure includes the Whitehorse Hatchery effluent and Fortson Hole area of the North Fork Stillaguamish.

The state news release said the Whitehorse Hatchery facility is significantly below its egg-take requirements that are needed to achieve the release target of 140,000 hatchery steelhead smolts. …

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Ashford-based International Mountain Guides will be at the center of a Discovery Channel series about Mount Everest airing later this week.

The 5-episode show is schedule to air Dec. 27 and 30, IMG director Eric Simonson said in an e-mail this morning. Check your service providers listings for times.

IMG’s 2009 expedition put 30 climbers on the summit including guides Michael Hamill and Justin Merle. IMG has led 209 climbers up Everest since 1991.

IMG’s 2009 expedition put 30 climbers on the summit including guides Michael Hamill and Justin Merle and a film crew from the Discovery Channel. IMG has …

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Low steelhead returns to the Marblemount Hatchery have prompted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to close Saturday a portion of the Cascade River.

The river will be closed from the mouth upstream to the Rockport-Cascade Road Bridge to ensure enough steelhead make it back to the hatchery to meet spawning goals, said Bob Leland, the department’s steelhead program manager.

That portion of the Cascade is scheduled to reopen to recreational fishing Feb. 1. Leland said, however, if spawning goals are met before then, the department could reopen the river sooner.

“Because pre-season forecasts for steelhead …

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