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• Majestic Mount Baker looms large in Whatcom County lore and life

  Majestic Mount Baker looms large in Whatcom County lore and life

  Mount Baker towers nearly 10,800 feet in the sky, so massive that on clear days it can be seen as far away as Seattle. Whether because of its historic snowfall, its world-class skiing and snowboarding or its striking views, it's hard to think of Whatcom County and not think of Mount Baker.

  But there's much more to the mountain than simply snow and skis. It has been the site of major motion pictures, thrilling athletic events, important mining camps and some of the most bizarre events in the county's history.

  Want to dazzle your friends with your knowledge of Mount Baker? Read on.

• Self-employed musical ski bum grooves on Mount Baker

  Self-employed musical ski bum grooves on Mount Baker

  Scot Ranney of Bellingham calls himself a "piano-playing computer-geek ski bum."

  Passion: Ranney has several interesting ways to spend his time - such as playing the piano and, to pay the bills, programming software for the Web - but his first choice is styling down a snowy mountain slope.

  He's self-employed, a definite perk when someone is figuring out where to live, and to ski.

• Find out where to see mountain goats in the Mount Baker area

  Find out where to see mountain goats in the Mount Baker area

  Learn about the mountain goats that inhabit the rocky ridges of the Mount Baker area in a talk this weekend.

  Don Gay, a biologist with the Mount Baker Ranger District, will discuss the sure-footed dwellers of the region's alpine slopes in a 30-minute talk at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, in the Heather Meadows visitor center at the end of the Mount Baker Highway. The program is free, but a $5 day-use vehicle pass or a Northwest Forest Pass is required.

  "It's a very unique resource that we have right here in our own back yard," Gay said. "It's the largest mountain goat population in the state, and possibly the lower 48.

• Mount Baker Volcano Research Center offers public geology field trips

  Mount Baker Volcano Research Center offers public geology field trips

  Whatcom residents are nuts about volcanoes. I mean, in a good way. Public interest in Mount Baker is strong. So are citizens' concerns about the potential for an eruption at the steaming, active, and under-monitored volcano 30 miles east of Bellingham. I'm frequently asked "When's she gonna blow?" Many remember the near miss in 1975. There was no eruption, but Baker hasn't settled down to pre-1975 conditions yet.

  Sherman Crater, the active vent 1,000 feet below the summit on the south side, has uncountable steam vents, spewing boiling gases into the atmosphere; sometimes the rotten egg odor of hydrogen sulphide carries to the Mount Baker ski area, or down to Baker Lake. Measurements by the U.S. Geological Survey show that 180 tons of carbon dioxide vent from the crater every day. The gases come from the hot magma lying beneath the volcano.

  Public curiosity about Baker research is no surprise given the level of scientific literacy around here. I once helped with a radar survey across the summit to measure

• Baker's Legendary Banked Slalom lives up to it name for boarders

  Baker's Legendary Banked Slalom lives up to it name for boarders

  For the snowboarders involved with the Legendary Banked Slalom, the race is one part competition, one part reunion and one part snowboarding history.

  The three-day race - now in its 27th year at the Mt. Baker Ski Area - had its opening day Friday, Feb. 10.

  Though the weather was drizzly, the snowboarders were all smiles as they caught up with their competition at the top of the steep, curving course. Professionals in their 20s, kids who aren't yet teens and mothers in their 50s compete in different categories on the same course. That accessible, easygoing spirit is one of the singular assets of the race.