Fishing Adventurers of 2010 to 2011 New Years
Some won Olympic medals, some made history and one put the finishing touches on a quarter-century-old dream that likely will permanently change the face of skiing in South Sound. They are our selections for the 2010 Adventures of the Year:
HOOKED ON FISHING
Olympia bass angler Chris Lambert added another trophy to his case, earning the Washington Bass Federation angler of the year honor.
Lambert learned to fish for bass from his parent’s home on Lake St. Clair. Literally hooked, he embarked on a professional career that included a win on the ESPN Bass tournament circuit in 2003.
Now that he and his wife, Wendy, have three children, Lambert has cut back his tournament schedule. But that didn’t stop him from winning this year’s honor.
In fishing the three tournaments, he had a first-, second- and third-place finish. Adding to the fun was the fact that Lambert’s fishing partner, Wes Wezenberg of Olympia, finished second overall.
“It’s definitely a good accomplishment. I’ve had a few others, but I’m grateful for that one,” he said.
Lambert said it’s been quite a while since he fished Lake St. Clair, except a trip last summer with this kids. He prefers chasing smallmouth bass in Riffe Lake and Lake Washington.
“I’m a much better smallmouth fisherman. Around here, you can pattern them a lot better. Our largemouth fishery here, there aren’t many lakes that have enough fish that you can pattern them for tournaments,” he said. “Plus, they’re as aggressive as heck.”
Through the years, Lambert understands the dichotomy of being a bass angler amid all of the steelhead and salmon waters of South Sound.
“It is funny because most guys around here go after salmon and steelhead. But there are quite a few good community bass fishermen around here,” he said.
“It’s like putting a puzzle together. You’re trying to outwit a little creature down there. It’s different every day, with the conditions and the mood of the fish.”
SOUTH SOUND OLYMPIANS
The Winter Olympics were in Washington’s backyard in February and local athletes made the most of the experience.
Thirteen Washington athletes qualified for the Vancouver Olympics, including four from the South Sound. Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski of Federal Way led the U.S. short track speed skating team, former Kent resident Nicole Joraanstad was on the curling team and Bremerton’s Bree Schaaf captained a women’s bobsled team.
By the time the games were over, Washington athletes matched the 1984 record of five medals won by the state and South Sound athletes led the way.
Ohno won a silver and two bronze, and Celski won two bronze. One of the bronze medals they won together as part of the relay team came when Celski pushed Ohno from fourth to third on the final exchange.
Ohno finished the Olympics with seven career medals (two golds, two silvers and four bronze), setting a new record for a U.S. Winter Olympian.
Blaine’s Karen Thatcher won Washington’s fifth medal for her part in helping Team USA win silver in women’s hockey.
Schaaf finished fifth in bobsled while Joraanstad and the U.S. Curling team won two matches but finished last.
PARKS SUPPORTER
Don Hoch, 53, is the man now in charge of Washington’s more than 100 state parks and programs. Less than two weeks on the job, the new director of State Parks and Recreation heard the governor’s plan to consolidate his agency with two others.
Welcome to the big desk.
Hoch has spent the last seven years working as the director of the Puget Sound and then the Southwest regions of State Parks. He took over for Rex Durr on Dec. 1.
Despite the uncertainty, Hoch is a firm believer in Washington’s state parks.
“We have cultural, sno-parks, historic and natural parks,” he said. “That’s what great about Washington. We can pick and choose where we want to go.”
When asked to pick a favorite, Hoch was hesitant. He said there are a number of iconic parks.
“You’d talk about Deception Pass, Steamboat Rock, the seashore parks, Mount Spokane, Pearrygin Lake,” he said.
The immediate task, Hoch said, is developing revenue ideas to make state parks self-sustaining, meaning replacing $40.7 million from the state general fund, and prioritizing future expenditures.
“We don’t have a dedicated fund source. We have to be creative. We have to look at our fee structures, developing partnerships with other entities – friends groups, communities, our users.
“Are they willing to pay? What are they willing to pay? Those are the folks that are supporting us.”
VOLUNTEER GURU
Kevin Bacher is the man in charge of Mount Rainier National Park’s successful volunteer program.
During the past year, Bacher and his staff worked with 2,016 volunteers, who spent 73,990 hours working on trail rebuilding, science projects, in the greenhouse, sorting historic photos and much more.
The park’s volunteer effort really got off the ground following the 2006 flood. In 2007, there were 1,724 people who volunteered at Mount Rainer. They contributed 84,038 hours of work, still a record.
But Bacher has played a vital role in keeping that momentum going. Working with other park staffers, interns, the Student Conservation Association, National Parks Conservation Association, Washington Trails Association and other groups, Bacher has been able to match volunteers with crucial projects at the park. This year, for example, 529 volunteer participated in 53 projects and worked 5,652 hours while rebuilding the Glacier Basin Trail.
What does all this mean to the park. The volunteer effort in 2010 is valued at $1.54 million, money the park otherwise would have to pay to get this work done – money it doesn’t have.
PUSHING FOR EXPANSION
Standing near the upper terminal of the new Couloir Express chairlift Dec. 3, White Pass Ski Area general manager Kevin McCarthy stood with a group of skiers for a picture that likely will become an instant piece of northwest skiing history.
The picture showed the first group to ski in the new 767-acre Paradise Basin, one of the largest ski area expansions the state has ever seen.
The new terrain more than doubles the size of White Pass to 1,402 acres and includes two new lifts and a 5,600-square-foot lodge.
“It’s something we’ve dreamed about around here for a long time,” McCarthy said. “Something we’ve needed for a long time.”
The idea for the $9 million Paradise Basin expansion didn’t originate with McCarthy. White Pass officials started dreaming of the expansion not long after the ski area opened in the 1950s, but it was 24 years of work led by McCarthy that made it a reality.
The Forest Service removed the wilderness designation from the land in 1984 shortly after McCarthy took over as general manger.
McCarthy said constant regulation changes by the forest service made the expansion project supremely challenging. At times, even ardent supports of the expansion began to wonder whether McCarthy should give up the fight.
“I thought it was wrong to give up,” McCarthy said. “I always believed it was the right thing to do.”
White Pass received final permission to expand from 635 to 1,402 acres in 2008, moving the ski area from the eighth largest in Washington to the fourth.
RAINIER’S IRON MEN (AND WOMAN)
It seems almost every year climbing guides at Mount Rainer set new standards in their profession. This year was highlighted by accomplishments that showed the immense endurance and longevity of four men:
• George Dunn, International Mountain Guides: For many years, Dunn held the record for the most summits of Mount Rainier. This summer, he reached a landmark many believed impossible – 500 summits of the 14,411-foot summit.
“It’s not about the numbers,” Dunn, 56, said. “The beautiful thing about this job is the people I’ve met and getting to share a lifetime of memories with them. That’s why I do this.”
Dunn’s tally now stands at 501.
• Melissa Arnot, Rainier Mountaineering Inc.: In May, Arnot reached the summit of Mount Everest for the third time. In just her sixth year as guide, she holds the record for summits of the 29,035-foot peak by an American woman.
• Jason Edwards, IMG: Edwards, 51, showcased his longevity in a different way this summer with a one-day climb of Liberty Ridge. Most climbers need three days to climb the route, but Edwards – with Phil Nicoletti of Enumclaw – finished the route in 21 hours.
Edwards first accomplished the feat in 1985 and is believed to be the only mountaineer to complete one-day climbs of the route 25 years apart.
• Dave Hahn, Rainier Mountaineering Inc.: Hahn continues to carve his name deeper into the international climbing record books.
In May, Hahn reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 12th time, extending his record for American climbers.
Hahn also extended his record for summits of Antarctica’s 16,050-foot Mount Vinson in January with his 27th trip to the top.
• Brent Okita, RMI: If anybody is ever going to break Dunn’s record for Rainier summits, it most likely will be Okita. Okita climbed Rainier 18 times in 2010 and became just the third man to notch 400 summits. His tally now stands at 413.
“He is like the Energizer Bunny,” said Paul Baugher of IMG. “He could be the record holder in 10 years.”
• Andy Bond, RMI: Bond doesn’t necessarily fit the Iron Man mold just yet, but he did blaze a trail of his own this year. This summer, he made the first known ski descent of the Sunset Amphitheater above the Puyallup Glacier on Rainier’s west side.
BMX MASTER
Tacoma native Gary Ellis, 44, added another honor to an already impressive BMX resume in 2010 with his induction into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame.
“One of the neat things is that the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame is for all cycling sports,” said Ellis, a Tacoma-based general manager for Applied Industrial Technologies. “It’s not just a recognition from my peers in BMX.”
Ellis attended the ceremony in Davis, Calif., and said the best part was sharing the experience with his 10- and 13-year-old daughters.
“When I retired, my oldest was just 1,” Ellis said. “They don’t know dad as a bicycle racer. That was real special.”
Ellis, a 1984 Puyallup High graduate, started racing when he was 11 and turned pro at 17. He was a four-time Grand National champion in both the National Bicycle League and the American Bicycle Association. He was named Racer of the Year by BMX Plus magazine four times and was inducted into the ABA Hall of Fame in 1998
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