Mt. Baker Ski Area set to reopen as four-day highway closure comes to an end
Mount Baker Highway opened Friday after a four-day closure to repair damage from a series of storms in December, allowing Mt. Baker Ski Area to set a Saturday opening and giving winter sports enthusiasts access to the high country just as the snow returns.
“Mount Baker Highway reopens. Our contractor crews completed repairing a damaged section of State Route 542 at O’Keefe Creek (milepost 43) early and have reopened the highway,” according to a social media post Friday morning from the Washington State Department of Transportation. “Continue to expect alternating eastbound and westbound traffic in the area while we make streambed repairs at O’Keefe Creek.”
WSDOT said the roadway is bare and dry with frost and ice in places.
State Route 542, known as the Mount Baker Highway, closed Monday east of Glacier for emergency repairs after floodwaters and debris damaged a culvert and a section of the two-lane roadway. Crews also paved a second damaged section of the highway east of Wells Creek Road at milepost 41, ending traffic controls in that area near Maple Falls.
Mt. Baker Ski Area will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, according to its website.
“While there is never a good time for the highway to be shut down during the season, we appreciate WSDOT and their contractor working with us and scheduling this necessary work during a time that will be least impactful to our operations and public access. We would like to thank all our partners at WSDOT for their hard work and responsiveness as they have coordinated with us throughout this project. Without them and the work they do for the traveling public, we could not operate the ski area,” the ski area said.
This weekend’s opening comes just in time for the return of inter weather in the Mount Baker wilderness.
After a week of fair weather across Western Washington, the weekend forecast calls for a mix of rain and snow on Saturday and snow on Sunday, with temperatures in the low 30s at the ski area, the National Weather Service said online.
Rain and snow were forecast Saturday with temperatures in the low 30s. Snow was expected Sunday. Snow levels are expected to be between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, dropping to 3,500 to 4,000 feet Sunday.
It was 55 degrees and sunny at Heather Meadows on Friday, with a snow base of 63 inches at 4,300 feet. The base at Pan Dome, about 1,000 feet higher elevation, was 113 inches.
