New terrain and an upgraded High Campbell chairlift are on the way at Crystal Mountain after the Forest Service approved the projects Friday.

The approval of the environmental document, the final step in the National Environmental Policy Act process, also paves the way for a new wastewater treatment plant at the ski area.

The upgrades are part of Crystal’s 2004 master development plan.  The ski area has not established a timeframe for installing the new lifts, said Crystal spokeswoman Tiana Enger.

The new Bullion Basin lift will add about 250 acres of new intermediate terrain to the ski area that …

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Just got this bit of good news for skiers and snowboarders from Roger Phillips of the Idaho Statesman, our sister paper in Boise:

By Roger Phillips
rphillips@idahostatesman.com
© 2011 Idaho Statesman
If your idea of a good day skiing and snowboarding is a lift ticket, a burger at lunch and a post-ski brew, you won’t be disappointed by Tamarack’s resurrection.
The resort reopened for skiing on Dec. 20, just in time for a wave of storms that dumped feet — not inches — of fresh powder on the Central Idaho mountains.
Jon Bussell of Boise learned to snowboard on Tamarack’s slopes. He returned to the resort during the holidays to hit the slopes again and liked what he saw.
“They’ve done a pretty good job,” he said. “There hasn’t been a whole lot of change.”
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The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced dates for two more razor-clam digs, one later this month and one in February. The digs will take place if marine toxin tests to show clams are safe to eat.

The next dig is scheduled for Jan. 20-22 at Twin Harbors and Long Beach. The National Park Service has also scheduled a dig Jan. 21-22 at Kalaloch, located inside the Olympic National Park.

Digging at all three beaches will be restricted to the hours between noon and midnight.

The February dig has been scheduled for Feb. 17 at Twin Harbors and …

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Zumba and Curves announced the launch of a new workout this morning. It’s called Curves Circuit with Zumba.

Here’s a what it looks like:

Here’s the statement from the companies:
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The long awaited reopening of Summit East will not happen Saturday as previously hoped, a Summit at Snoqualmie spokesman said this week.

“We are tantalizingly close,” said Guy Lawrence of the Summit. “But definitely won’t be this weekend.”

Lawrence says he’s not sure when Summit East will open.

The ski area had originally hoped to open Summit East before the holidays, and then pushed the opening to Saturday. Lawrence says the delays are because the ski area is installing the two new chairlifts on its own. The process not only saves money but will have the lift open considerably earlier …

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Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the
National Park Service will waive admission fees on 17 dates in 2011.

The fee-free dates will be the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
(Jan. 15-17), National Park Week (April 16-24), the first day of summer (June 21), National Public Lands Day (Sept. 24), and the weekend of Veterans Day (Nov. 11-13).

While the Park Service typically offers some fee free days, it expanded the number days two summers ago during the recession.

That is one reason the Park Service will continue the program this year.

“In …

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The new year offers some good news for fly anglers in the South Sound.

The staff at Gig Harbor Fly Shop will hold some demonstrations, and is offering free coffee and snacks when they open today at their new location.

Meanwhile, Tacoma again has a fly shop now that Puget Sound Fly Co. has moved to town. T-town has been without a fly shop since the Morning Hatch closed in 2007.

The Gig Harbor shop will open at 10 a.m. at 3115 Harborview Dr., just across the street from their old location.

At 1 p.m. there will be a free …

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