I was up at Sunrise earlier today to get a preview of the new exhibits going in at the visitor center there.

I also talked with Chief Ranger Chuck Young about the opening of Sunrise scheduled for Friday.

Folks, there is a lot of snow at Sunrise.

Drivers, beware of animals along the roadway. Photographer Dean Koepfler and I saw three elk on the lower road, and Young said a black bear has been seen mulitple times along the road below Sunrise Point.

Here is a link to the story I wrote for tomorrow’s paper.

Not sure what to this holiday weekend, hike, boat, ski? This year will be the second time in Crystal Mountain history skiers and snowboarders can celebrate Independence Day on snow.

The Mount Rainier Gondola and Green Valley will be open for skiing Saturday-Monday.

More than 600 inches of snow has fallen since Crystal opened Nov. 19, breaking the previous snowfall record of 598 inches. Set in 1999, that record season was the only other time the slopes were open on July 4.

Lift tickets for skiing are reduced to $35. The base area will host a barbecue and live …

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Rangers at Mount Rainier National Park continue to investigate the death Sunday of a cook at Paradise Inn.

According to Chuck Young, chief rangers, rangers were setn to the Glacier Dorm at Paradise to investigate a report of a concession employee who’d been found unresponsive in his dorm room.

Concession and park emergency medical personnel determined that he was not breathing and did not have a pulse and immediately began CPR.

Although an air ambulance was called, it was turned back before arriving when the park’s medical control determined that the man had died., Young said.

The 47-year-old man, …

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Here is one way to avoid paying any extra transaction fees when you buy the new state Discover Pass, purchase it at State Parks headquarters in Olympia or at regional offices in Burlington and East Wenatchee.

The pass – providing access to lands managed by State Parks, state Department of Fish and Wildlife and state Department of Natural Resources – takes effect Friday.

The cost when purchasing at State Parks is $30 annual or $10 for a one-day pass. Nno transaction and dealer fees apply.

The headquarters and region offices are selling the passes during normal business hours, 8 a.m.-5 …

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All but one area of Puget Sound will open to sport crab fishing Friday. We had the incorrect date in today’s fishing report.

The exception to Friday’s opener is Marine Area 7, where fishing opens July 15 in the area’s southern portion (San Juan Islands/Bellingham) and Aug. 15 in the northern portion (Gulf of Georgia).

Under new rules adopted earlier this year by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, all Puget Sound areas will be open for crabbing Thursdays through Mondays.

Mike Cenci, the department’s deputy chief of enforcement, said crabbers should review the rules of the fishery before …

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today has imposed a ban on activities likely to start a fire on refuges in the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Included in the order are the Hanford Reach National Monument and Columbia, Cold Springs,
Conboy Lake, McKay Creek, McNary, Toppenish and Umatilla national wildlife refuges.

Building any fire, including the use of charcoal briquettes and cooking stoves, is prohibited. Also banned are smoking outside of an enclosed vehicle and operation of any motor without an approved and working spark arrester. Fireworks are banned year-round.

The 2011 fire season has not produced …

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Chuck Young, chief ranger at Mount Rainier National Park, released this incident report today:

A commercial guide service team just above the top of Disappointment Cleaver contacted the park just before 6 a.m. Saturday and reported coming upon a climber with a boot top fracture.

The climber, who was part of a group of five, was stabilized by guides while rangers on a summit patrol headed to the scene. The injured person was then lowered to the top of the cleaver, where a small landing zone was constructed in the snow.

A McDonnell Douglas MD-530 helicopter from Northwest

…

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Washington’s National Park Fund had hired Laurie Ward to be its next executive director. She began work on Wednesday.

Ward has been working as the director of development and communications for The Mountaineers in Seattle. Ward oversaw the redesign of The Mountaineers magazine and website. She also initiated planned giving, leadership giving, and annual support for The Mountaineers, said a news release.

She takes over for Eleanor Kittelson, who will leaves on July 1 after having led the fund since May 2007. Kittelson is leaving to seek a new opportunity in the private sector.
Ward received a bachelor of …

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