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Buzz - March 2009 |
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Celebration to mark Mountaineers’ new home
Mountaineers Executive Director Steve Costie (left) and longtime Club member Lowell Skoog stand in front of the new Mountaineers building at Magnuson Park.
Photo by Carolyn Price
The Mountaineers will open the doors of its new Magnuson Park home to the general public Saturday, April 25. The organization moved into the former Navy building in November.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will showcase many of the facility’s features including the custom-built climbing walls on the inside and outside of the newly renovated building, which the public can try out for free. The group’s new library will also be open and offering resources for maps, videos and other materials for planning outdoor trips.
As part of a larger festival taking place that day, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels will officially welcome The Mountaineers to Magnuson Park. He will discuss the many changes that have taken place within the park over the past year, including the new athletic fields, a wetlands restoration project, new recreation opportunities and new public-private partnerships like the one between the city and The Mountaineers.
The Mountaineers, based in Seattle, was founded in 1906. The club now offers a wide range of activities including hiking, snowshoeing, climbing, sea kayaking, photography, skiing and backpacking. In addition to recreational activities, The Mountaineers work to ensure that wilderness areas are preserved and protected through the actions of its Conservation, Recreation Resources and Stewardship divisions.
www.mountaineers.org
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Hood Canal Bridge closes May 1 for six weeks
Construction will temporarily shut down the Hood Canal Bridge starting May 1. The Washington State Department of Transportation will replace the entire east half along with east and west trusses. The construction is expected to extend the life of the bridge by 75 years.
The closure will pose a challenge for travelers as well as those heading to the Olympic Peninsula for events, so WSDOT encourages people to get ready now by reviewing their transportation options to determine the best route. “Get around” options include:
• A fare-free passenger-only water shuttle between Jefferson and Kitsap counties with fare-free transit connections, and nearby park and rides;
• A Sunday through Thursday reservation-based car ferry between Port Townsend and Edmonds to assist freight haulers and drivers;
• A free, reservation-based medical bus service that will transport people to and from the Olympic Peninsula, Kitsap County and Seattle;
• Driving around the Peninsula on U.S. 101 with traffic control signage at key locations;
• Ridesharing that encourages drivers to work with their neighbors and co-workers to develop car- and vanpools;
• Using private boats and flying on local airlines.
Up-to-the minute information is available by calling 511 or (877) 595-HCB2 (4222), tuning into WSDOT’s highway advisory radio, signing up for text messaging updates, or viewing electronic reader board signs along the highway.
To learn more about the project, how to get ready for the closure, and the transportation options being offered, visit www.HoodCanalBridge.com.
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Washington Water Trails Association’s auction April 4
Join WWTA for its 13th annual auction, “It’s a Shore Thing,” April 4 at the Community Center at Mercer View. The dinner and auction will have a Caribbean theme, with steel drum music and delicious Caribbean food. Two silent auctions, a dessert dash, and a champagne and hors d’oeuvres reception will round out the fun. Tickets ($70) are available now at www.wwta.org/auction/. |
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Broke, Tamarack closes
 Tamarack Resort, America’s newest all-season resort in northern Idaho, sputtered to a close March 4. Open just a little over four years, Tamarack was a casualty of a lack of financing and is now gripped in several foreclosure lawsuits.
Cranes at the resort hover over numerous unfinished buildings destined for condo sales. Tamarack employees, mostly locals who were hired at the beginning, were told Feb. 27 that the resort would close just five days later. Immediately Tamarack put all merchandise on sale at 50 percent off which became a bargain hunter’s paradise.
Although the company reported sales of $376 million in seven real estate transactions and secured a $250 million loan from Credit Suisse and partners in May 2006, the resort’s fortunes plunged when the real estate market faded. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2008 and went into receivership last October.
A lending group led by Credit Suisse and the receiver, Douglas Wilson Co., failed to agree on a financing plan that have would have kept open the resort near Donnelly, Idaho, 13 miles south of McCall.
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Local Sherpa climbs 7 summits
 Lakpa Rita Sherpa, 43, from Shoreline, Wash. is an acclaimed mountaineering guide who has been conquering mountains since 1984. Lakpa Rita Sherpa leads climbers on approximately 20 trips a year, including Mount Everest, Aconcagua and in the North Cascades.
But Lakpa Rita’s biggest accomplishment came Feb. 13 when he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and became the first Sherpa to climb the highest peaks on every continent – the so-called “Seven Summits.” Lakpa Rita immigrated to the U.S. from Nepal in 2000.
Lakpa Rita was joined on the five-day journey in February to the top of the snow-capped 19,340-foot Kilimanjaro by Joe Puryear, of Leavenworth, Wash., who documented the venture and has it posted on www.climbafrica.blogspot.com. Sherpa Adventure Gear, a Renton, Wash., manufacturer of apparel for mountain sports, sponsored the climb of Kilimanjaro.
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Campbell stands up for water trails
 Ken Campbell, a longtime Washington kayak instructor and book author from Tacoma, is standing up for what he believes in – namely riding a standup paddleboard (SUP) as part of the Puget Sound Challenge.
The Challenge is a 150-mile water route that completely encircles the Kitsap Peninsula from Belfair to Allyn. It will kick off April 4 and end in October, although event participants may start anytime. A $25 donation may be made to the Washington Water Trails Association, which Campbell is raising money for.
A relative newcomer to the sport of SUP, Campbell plans to start and finish the route in April. Campbell is a longtime kayaker and veteran of long sea kayak trips including a circumnavigation of Newfoundland in 2000 and a winter expedition to Vancouver Island in early 2008.
Campbell is accepting pledges for his effort for those who would like to donate to the WWTA which promotes advocacy, education, and stewardship of public access to Washington’s waterways for people in human and wind-powered beachable watercraft. The non-profit organization incorporated in 1990.
Regular trip updates will be posted on Campbell’s Web site at www.lastwilderness.net/standup
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Green Living Project – Africa
National Geographic Adventure’s Green Living Project Lecture Series is coming to the Northwest. A must-see multi-media event, the Green Living Project™ documented over 20 unique sustainability projects across seven African countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, and Namibia.
The presentation documents projects including community development, water conservation, organic farming, women’s empowerment, solar and biogas renewable energy programs, species conservation projects, eco-tourism and responsible adventure travel.
Each event will have free door prizes and gear raffles from leading outdoor and travel companies, including National Geographic Adventure, Timberland, Gregory, Keen Footwear, Chaco, Lonely Planet, ExOfficio, Clif Bar, and more.
The schedule includes 7 p.m., March 24, Portland; 7 p.m., March 25, Seattle; 7 p.m., March 26, Redmond, Wash. and 6 p.m., March 28, Seattle’s Green Festival. www.greenlivingproject.com/
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Marymoor Connector Trail opens
The 1.3-mile Marymoor Connector Trail is now open. This will ultimately link the area’s regional trails system that will allow users to ride or walk from Puget Sound all the way to the Cascade Mountains. The final connection will ultimately become a 40-mile continuous trail once the Sammamish River Trail and the East Lake Sammamish Trail via Marymoor Park are linked. Non-Motorized uses are allowed on the paved trail although no horses are allowed through Marymoor. |
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BikeWorldNews.com offers one-stop results
With “All the News That Sprints,” BikeWorldNews.com is a one-stop shop for race results from around the world. The site aims to be a comprehensive resource for all things related to bicycle racing, from team rosters and gear to the latest news in the cycling world. Readers will also find fitness and nutrition news, bike maintenance tips, and more. Find Bike World News on the web at www.bikeworldnews.com, Twitter: @bikeworld, or get e-mail or RSS subscriptions: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BikeWorldNews.
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