Potential FS Road Closures - Very Important!

[Tennessee]

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is considering closing or decommissioning several roads around the Baker Lake Area. They are trying to close roads that are difficult or expensive to maintain.

 

Two roads that are of note to the climbing community are:

 

1. FS Road #1152-014, this is the last road you turn right on when driving to the Sulfide Glacier Approach on Shuksan. They are considering 3 options: leave it alone, close it, or upgrade it. If it gets closed, the approach would become about 1.5 to 2 miles longer, I think.

 

2. FS Road # 1131- This is the last road you turn left onto when driving to the Boulder/Park Cleaver approach on Mount Baker. This is of note because this is not only a great moderate route on Baker, but it's also one of the best ski descents on the mountain. The road closure would add many many miles to the approach.

 

You can write Mount Baker National Forest and express your opinion on the potential closures of these roads. (many other roads are being considered, but these two are the only ones I saw as being important to climbers/hikers).

 

The main problem for us, obviously, is that we would have to walk a lot further to gain access to these moderate, classic routes.

 

However, an argument that may hold more merit for the Forest Service might be that by making the approaches longer, they would inadvertantly be ADDING traffic and human impact to the other heavily trafficked areas around Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. Namely the Easton Glacier.

 

If you find this to be important to you as a climber or hiker, please take the time to write to the Project Supervisor, Karen Nolan, at:

Mount Baker/Snoqualmie NF

Mount Baker Ranger District

810 HWY 20

Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284

 

I just spoke to her on the phone and she was very nice and responsive to my comments. She said that hearing people's opinions on it would certainly influence their decisions on what to do. She was interested in hearing what the public wanted. So please make your letters polite, short and to the point. She'll be more likely to read them probably.

 

Thanks.