Connie Peterson looks out at the snowpack at the Big Four Ice Caves in Granite Falls on May 1. At right is a memorial plaque to Grace Tam, 11, who died July 31, 2010, after she was struck by a piece of ice while visiting the site with her family. (Kevin Clark / The Daily Herald, file)

Connie Peterson looks out at the snowpack at the Big Four Ice Caves in Granite Falls on May 1. At right is a memorial plaque to Grace Tam, 11, who died July 31, 2010, after she was struck by a piece of ice while visiting the site with her family. (Kevin Clark / The Daily Herald, file)

Officials remind hikers to stay out of Big Four Ice Caves

VERLOT — Dozens of people could fit inside the frozen caverns.

It’s a nightmare for the U.S. Forest Service and search and rescue teams.

The Big Four Ice Caves are unstable. Being in or near the caves at the wrong time could be deadly. Warnings have been shared on signs, social media, in public meetings and through news coverage.

On Saturday, a hiker shared a photograph on the “Washington Hikers and Climbers” Facebook page. It shows people in the caves. It’s one of multiple similar photos on social media in recent months.

“My frustration level is pretty high when I see the pictures posted of people right outside or inside the ice caves,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Danny Wikstrom, with Snohomish County Search and Rescue. “I just don’t know what else can be said.”

The Big Four Ice Caves trail, along the Mountain Loop Highway in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, draws an estimated 50,000 people each year.

Tons of snow accumulate in a gully on the north side of Big Four Mountain from avalanches over the winter. Caves form when snowmelt and warmer air in the spring hollow out the snow.

Chunks of ice can break off and the caves eventually collapse. Four people have died from falling ice in the last 18 years, including 11-year-old Grace Tam, who was struck by falling ice while she was standing about 20 feet from the caves. In July 2015, a cave partially collapsed with people inside. Annalisa Santana died at the scene and her brother, David Santana, died months later of his injuries.

Police, firefighters and forest rangers plan and train for an emergency at the caves. They urge people to stay back. It might seem safer to approach the caves in the fall than in the summer, but the ice remains unstable.

“I can see where people might think that because it’s not actively melting, or it’s not melting at the same rate on a 50 degree day as a 100 degree day, but there are so many structural concerns with the caves,” Darrington district ranger Peter Forbes said. “They are never safe to go into.”

Two out-of-state professors who study risk management and public recreation visited the Ice Caves a few weeks ago. Their proposal to provide expert opinions on improving safety there is being reviewed by the forest service. There has been talk of rerouting the end of the trail and that option still is on the table, though no decisions have been made, Forbes said.

Over the summer, rangers were stationed at the overlook on the Ice Caves trail, mostly on weekends. They estimate they saw nearly 15,000 hikers and talked to more than 6,800 of them. Over the last three years, they’ve talked to more than 20,000 visitors.

If rangers see people heading toward the snowfield, they don’t follow but will try to talk to them on the trail, Forbes said.

“Even if people are aware of the risks they’re taking, they’re thinking, ‘Oh, that’s not going to happen to me,’” he said. “It gets to the point where you wonder: Do you understand the real risk and what the consequences might be?”

Wikstrom has spent a lot of time at the caves for recreation and for search and rescue. At night, when temperatures are low, ice still can be heard falling. It sometimes sounds like something the size of house is crashing down, he said. Going into or onto the caves is “a cosmic roll of the dice.”

“People get away with so much with that roll of the dice, so they think it’s OK,” he said. “But it’s not OK. Not in my view, anyway.”

As the days get shorter and the weather cooler and wetter, the ice caves aren’t the only concern for rescuers and rangers. Fall hiking on any trail can be dangerous if people aren’t prepared with basics such as food, water, warmth, light and medical supplies.

The weather can turn or the sun can set on a trip that takes longer than planned. People should pack as though they’ll get lost, Wikstrom said. Tackling a trail late in the afternoon wearing tennis shoes and cotton clothes, carrying no more than a cell phone and a bottle of water, is a bad plan. Searches in remote areas take time and people may need to survive the night. He also reminds hikers to let someone know where they’re going, what they’re driving and when they should be back.

Taking precautions can be life-saving if something goes wrong.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.