Winter 2002 - Source to Sea: The Nooksack River

Slopes and Boats
by Vivian Lian
Photos by Sarah Galbraith

Highway 542 follows the Nooksack River through the foothills surrounding Mount Baker. It winds through Kendall and Glacier, where outdoor-equipment shops line its gravel shoulders. Along the two-lane road these small stores fight for drivers' attention, competing with gas stations and coffee stands.

During the summer months kayakers and canoeists launch into the river's current and winter snows bring a steady stream of riders and alpinists up the road. Each year, two events highlight the area's outdoor spirit: the Mount Baker Banked Slalom and the Ski-to-Sea relay race. Both begin on the slopes at the end of Highway 542 at the Mount Baker Ski Area.

The area opened its slopes to snowboarders in 1973, making it one of the first ski areas to welcome the new sport. In the early 1980s, Tom Sims, owner and founder of Sims Snowboards, and Bob Barci, a local cycle shop owner, felt it was time for a race at Mount Baker. Area manager Duncan Howat liked the idea and, in 1985, the slope hosted the first Mount Baker Banked Slalom.

Sims won the race's only division, the Pro Men's. Organizers added a Pro Women's division in 1987, in which Duncan's daughter Amy Howat finished first. Since then, Amy has remained involved with the race.

"My older sister Gwyn (Howat) and I both grew up at the ski area," Amy said. "Gwyn started working on the Banked Slalom about 10 years ago, maybe more. I always helped out at the start stack and did little odd jobs."

At age 29, Amy has worked at the ski area's office in Bellingham for the past five years, with much of her time spent planning one of snowboarding's most popular events.

"As for the Banked Slalom, it's mind-boggling; you have no idea how much work goes into it," Amy said. "It's an epic job and somewhat thankless some of the time, but every year we get to see all of our friends, many who come from all over the world. This is kind of a family reunion for us."

During the Banked Slalom, hundreds of spectators watch racers dive into the curving course.

"It's really cool because you have a 10-year-old kid from Duvall standing in the start gate and 10 people behind him is world-champion rider Terje Haakonsen," Amy said. "It's a great blend of local kids, people who have been riding Baker forever, to Joe Blow who's maybe been on a snowboard for two years. And then there are the best snowboarders in the world; it's a really fun mix."

Bobby Hickman, 25, of Glacier, took first place in the Older Men's Amateur division. In 2000, Hickman finished 18th after falling during his final run.

"I didn't really think I was going to win," Hickman said. "I just wanted to redeem myself."

Both Hickman and his girlfriend Mechille Kiss won their divisions and each received one of the infamous golden rolls of duct tape.

The duct tape trophy, designed by Gwyn Howat, carries a novelty that only old-time snowboarders can truly appreciate.

"I started snowboarding in Hyder, Alaska when I was 17," Hickman said. "I had a Black Snow with metal edges, cheap bibs that weren't waterproof and Sorrels. To make my boots stiff, I cut up 5 gallon buckets and placed sections behind the liners. Duct tape held it all together."

As the snowboard season wraps up for the year, plans are in place for Whatcom County's next big event - the Ski-to-Sea relay race.

Ski to Sea starts at Mount Baker Ski Area and follows the Nooksack River to end in Bellingham Bay. The idea stemmed from the Mount Baker Marathon, a race founded in 1911 by the Mount Baker Club. Unfortunately the race was cancelled two years later when Vic Galbraith nearly died after falling into a crevasse during the event.

The race was reborn as Ski to Sea in 1973. Today, 400 eight-member teams ski, run, bicycle, canoe and kayak the rigorous 82.5-mile circuit. Hosted by the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the community's largest recreational event takes place every Memorial Day weekend.

Western geology professor Terri Plake, 47, has participated in every Ski to Sea since 1988, except for 1993 when she was on Easter Island.

"The most exciting race happened for me in 1989," Plake said. "In my younger days when I was cross-country skiing, we had a team together that later fizzled out. I still really wanted to race, so I put my name up as a 'pick-up person' on the bulletin board at the Chamber of Commerce."

Plake got a call a week before the race from a team of hydrologists in Seattle who were looking for a cross-country skier.

On the day of the race, they loaded into her Volkswagen Bus and drove to the top of the mountain.

"So, there I was on my little, dinky, beater cross-country skis," Plake said. "By the time we finished, our team came in 20th overall and third in the open division. That was my most exhilarating moment because I actually got to stand on the podium."

After 10 years of putting up with the competitive cross-country skiers, Plake had enough.

"The last time I cross-country skied during the event, I was tripped two times and landed straight on my face," Plake said. "I was also jabbed with ski poles by anxious skiers trying to get ahead. That's when I decided I wanted to learn how to canoe."

Plake said canoeing offers her a new kind of risk.

"The scariest part of canoeing is submerged logs that can tip you over into the freezing cold river," she said.

Though events like Ski to Sea and the Banked Slalom always find the spotlight, the Nooksack River offers the community a recreational outlet all year. Bellingham resident Keith Robinson, 23, enjoys kayaking the river even during the gray Northwest winter.

"The Middle Fork of the Nooksack River is a blessing for Bellingham-area creek boaters," Robinson said.

What is a blessing for kayakers, however, has turned into a problem for wildlife-protection officers. When Robinson and his kayaker companions moved logs for their safety, they caught the officer's attention, who have since chained the logs in an effort to protect the fragile areas of the river.

"The newly chained logs made it nearly impossible for kayakers to ride the area because the logs were like death traps," Robinson said.

He said he believes paddlers have a minimal impact on the river in comparison to other users.

"We have places dedicated to loading and unloading our kayaks from the river," Robinson said. "From there, we may brush up against an occasional rock or tree, but the impact is nil compared to, say, sports fishermen who are allowed to walk up and down the banks causing disturbances to the creek beds."

New restrictions limit recreation on the Nooksack, but don't eliminate it. People continue playing in the river and the hills it runs through, enriching their lives in the process. As winter fades into spring, kayaks replace snowboards on the roofs of cars speeding up Highway 542.

But it is the river, not the road, that lures enthusiasts to the area. High above it on Mount Baker or drifting down the Nooksack in a boat, the river is a playground for all seasons.

Freshman Vivian Lian studies environmental journalism and plans to study graphic design at Western. THis is her first published piece.

Current | Introduction | The Nooksack: Winding through History | Stewardship | Slopes and Boats | Wretched Water | The Primary Compound | 'Totally Unacceptable' | Assessing Value | Brink of Extinction | From the Ashes | Everybody's Problem | An Overdue Solution

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