Two years after the tsunami that swept an incredible amount of Japanese detritus into the ocean, one boat has washed up on shore with five striped beakfish living inside of it. The tropical fish are normally found in shallow waters on the Japanese coast. It’s believed these five fish were trapped in the water-filled boat, [ more... ]

Last week the Washington DOT fired up twin M60 tanks to blast around roads for avalanche control at Steven’s Pass on U.S. 2.  They usually take the tanks out from the hours of midnight to 6.a.m. so people in the area don’t see them and think that North Korea is invading (can you believe they remade Red Dawn?). In this case, 30 round were fired before the roads we reopened to motorists.

North Cascades National Park in Washington is seeking to grow by 200,000 acres; this is in spite of being one of the least visited national parks in the country, though I’m sure their stats will swell if they’re permitted to include Liberty Bell, the old growth forest along the Baker River, and tons of land [ more... ]

Officials in Olympic National Park think that hikers who urinate alongside popular trails are creating miles-long salt licks that may be responsible for attracting mountain goats that have harassed and even killed one hiker. To test the theory they’re closing a couple popular trails for a week or two, and then asking hikers not to [ more... ]

The state house in Washington voted to make it illegal to ski on clearly marked closed runs. Those caught will receive a $1000 fine and have a misdemeanor on their record. They could also lose their season pass, which is as much a hit to the pocketbook. Now the bill has to work its way [ more... ]

My friend Chris used to jump off the chairlift on the last run of every day and ski to the parking lot. The Ski Patrol would chase him down and take away his lift ticket in the parking lot. There was little else they could do in Upper Michigan. But that might not be the [ more... ]

For the first time at Crystal Mountain in Washington people will be able to buy their way to the front of the lift line. An early gondola will take one load of fat cats to the mountaintop where they will indulge in a bacon and egg buffet before ski patrol pushes them into Green Valley. [ more... ]