Saturday, July 7, 2007 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

Taking the high, snowy road to Mount Baker

Seattle Times staff reporter

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Felix Brueckersteinkuhl from Bavaria throws a snowball along the road on Mount Baker, which is plowed to just above Heather Meadows. Although the road is closed to traffic until the Department of Transportation finishes plowing, it is open to hikers.

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Emunah and Lori Hauser of Mount Vernon walk past the end of the plowed roadway on Mount Baker. Artist Point typically opens in July and closes after the first substantial snowfall in the fall.

Plowing through up to 20 feet of snow, State Department of Transportation crews hope to have the road to Artist Point on the Mount Baker Highway open by the end of the month.

It's the highest state highway in the state and one of the few areas in the state where snow is keeping a highway closed. Crews have been working since the beginning of the month to open the last 2 ½ miles to scenic Artist Point.

As of Friday, they were about halfway there, said the DOT's Dustin Terpening. But he said it's getting harder the farther crews plow. While there was about 6 feet of snow at the gate where the road was closed, he said there's up to 20 feet near Artist Point.

Crews will climb more than 800 feet in elevation to reach Artist Point, 5,000 feet above sea level.

"Snow is completely covering the restrooms in the upper parking lot," said Ron Morton, a DOT maintenance superintendent. "You can't even see the roof."

He said it's costing the state about $50,000 to open the roadway. Why not simply keep it closed? He said, by law, the state has to keep the road, a state highway, open and the only way that could change is if the Legislature were to change where the road ends.

Morton said if the state didn't plow the road, it's unlikely the snow would melt on its own because the road is so high.

Nonetheless, Marty Schmoker, a state avalanche expert, said there is nothing extraordinary, snow-wise, about this year.

"We're right about where we should be," he said. Around the state, snowpacks were melting at the rate of 1 to 2 inches a day, according to the Washington Water Supply outlook report compiled by the National Weather Service. Record high temperatures were set at all the testing sites in May, and water-supply-outlook officials predict warmer and drier-than-average weather for the rest of the summer.

Artist Point typically opens in July and will remain open until the first substantial snowfall of the year, which usually comes in late September or early October.

Artist Point never opened during the summer of 1999 because of record snowfall that winter.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com