Date:  Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Contact: Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997

MOUNT BAKER – Crews will open the last mile of the road to Artist Point at 8 a.m. Friday, July 18. The 2.7-mile stretch of Mount Baker Highway (SR 542) has been closed since September 28, 2007. Artist Point boasts 360-degree views of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker, as well as access to a variety of trails.

Crews began clearing the road on June 23 – after being delayed one week by late spring snow. The average depth of snow on the road was more than 200 inches, nearly 17 feet. Snow was more than 6 feet deep at the lower gate. At the upper parking lot, more than 5,000 feet above sea level, the snow was deep enough to completely bury the 20-foot-tall restrooms.

A team of three with a snowblower, bulldozer and excavator worked 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, to open the road and clear the parking lot.

Photos and videos of the work are available on Flickr.com and YouTube.com.

Artist Point enthusiasts were able to track the crew’s progress on the Web this year with a GPS tracking device that transmitted the exact location of the snowblower.  

Visitors to Artist Point should note that the last open restroom facilities are at the Heather Meadows visitors’ center. The restrooms in the upper parking lot are still covered with snow.

Trails at the upper viewpoint are also buried under at least 15 feet of snow. Hikers can check trail conditions at Artist Point by visiting the U.S. Forest Service Web page at www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/recreation/activities/trails/mtbaker.shtml.  

Artist Point typically opens in July and remains open until the first substantial snowfall of the year, which usually comes in late September or early October. Artist Point never opened during the summer of 1999 because of record snowfall the previous winter.

In 2007, Artist Point opened July 28 and closed September 27. In 2006, it opened July 27 and closed October 24.

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