December 11th is International Mountain Day. This UN-designated day is to commemorate the importance of the mountains of the world to all of us. It is a day to remind us of the indigenous peoples of the mountains, societies whose lives are based on the mountains.
In Washington, the sight of these mountains is so common that it's easy to take them for granted, not realizing how much they affect our lives.
The Cascades are well-known for their rugged beauty, and for downhill skiing and snowboarding. There is a large community of outdoor enthusiasts who take the slopes every year. There are people who take to the hills to snowshoe or cross-country ski, as well as camp in the snow, enjoying the solitude that winter brings.
Visitors continue to flock to Paradise, at Mount Rainier National Park, to wander the meadows where access is normally limited in order to protect the fragile subalpine flora. With a think blanket of snow, visitors are free to wander at will, carrying their snowboards up the hillside and riding back down. Camp Muir, rated as one of the most dangerous hiking destinations in the US in Backpacker magazine, continues to be a popular destination for snowshoe trips. (Don't try this without proper preparation or a guide -- it is easy to get lost in a fog bank and wander off a cliff or into an avalanche zone if you don't have solid winter navigation skills.)
There is more to the mountains than sports and beauty.
The same snow that make the Cascades and Olympics such wonderful winter sport destinations also provides most of the drinking water for Puget Sound metropolis, and the farms and cities on the eastern slopes of the Cascades such as Yakima and Ellensburg. That immense snow pack, because it lasts throughout the dry summer months, helps to keep the subalpine meadows moist and verdant throughout the entire summer. Without the snow, the subalpine wildflowers would blaze briefly in the beginning of summer and dry out, rather than remaining gloriously beautiful all summer long.
The volcanic ash from the major Cascades volcanoes helps to keep the farmlands fertile, and many Native American tribes harvested the nuts from avalanche lilies, found only in Washington's subalpine meadows, for food.
The flowing water also provides hydroelectric power, from dams like the one at Snoqualmie Falls, and the long series of immense dams on the Columbia River.
Less obviously, the barrier that the Cascades create between eastern and western Washington also lead to a large pressure differential, with the cold air over the North Pacific forming the high, and the sun-warmed air east of the Cascades forming the low. The result is that through the gaps in the mountains, like the Stampede Gap through which I-90 runs, and the Columbia Gorge to the south is a strong and consistent wind, enabling a series of wind farms in near Ellensburg and Walla Walla. The same winds are the reason that the Columbia River Gorge is a popular destination for windsurfers.
This Saturday, even if you aren't an outdoor sports fan, take the time to appreciate the mountains and what they do for us. Admire them for their beauty and majesty, and thank them for the water, the farmland, and the power.
http://www.zvents.com/bellingham-wa/events/show/155060765-international-mountain-day
http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/920001/International_Mountain_Day_Eve
http://www.backpacker.com/happy_international_mountain_day/blogs/daily_dirt/1516
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