Date:
Monday, June 30, 2008
Contact:
Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
Jeremy Bertrand, WSDOT Web manager, 360-705-7872 (Olympia)
MT. BAKER – Experience the trek through the snow to Artist Point like never before. Follow crews virtually on the WSDOT Web site as they work their way to one of the highest lookouts in the state. Artist Point sits more than 5,000 feet above sea level at the end of Mount Baker Highway and spends most of the year buried beneath snow.
A GPS tracking device attached to a snowblower plowing its way to Artist Point transmits its location to the WSDOT Web site. From there, a combination of maps, pictures and video allow everyone to follow along.
“Not everyone can ride in the snowblower as we cut a trail to Artist Point,” web manager Jeremy Bertrand said. “But with the help of technology, we can virtually follow crews like never before. This is the first time we’ve ever done this for Artist Point.”
Follow the snowblower – www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/Baker/ArtistPoint/opening/. Links to pictures and video are available from the same page.
The annual snow-clearing effort to open the road to Artist Point started one week ago, on Monday, June 23. Snow at the lower gate was more than 6 feet deep, and it was more than 20 feet deep in the upper parking lot. The bathrooms in the upper lot were completely buried.
Clearing the snow off the 2.7-mile stretch of road won’t be easy and will take several weeks to complete. The goal is to have the road open by mid-July.
A team of four with a snowblower, bulldozer, excavator and snowplow are working 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, to open the road.
The GPS unit is dependent on cell phone signals, which may be spotty at times. Snowblowers don't move very quickly either, so don't be surprised if the vehicle doesn't fly across the map.
Get progress updates sent directly to your inbox by subscribing for Whatcom County e-mail updates at www.wsdot.wa.gov/northwest/emailupdates.
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.
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