Wow, this has been a lively discussion! Thank you to Jonathan Shefftz and Chris Willis for bringing it to my attention. I am the volunteer program manager at Mount Rainier National Park and am commenting in that capacity. I have forwarded the link to this discussion thread to Steve Klump and John Piastuck, wilderness rangers here at Rainier, as well as Mike Gauthier, lead climbing ranger, and Chuck Young, Chief Ranger, suggesting that one of them respond with clarification on what our ski regulations are, the reasons behind them, and the ways that they are intended to be communicated to park visitors. I've worked many years here as an interpretive ranger in the visitor centers, so I can tell you from personal experience how challenging it is, even as a full-time employee, to keep abreast of current conditions and to communicate that information to visitors.
The regulations about backcountry use are based on a desire to protect the natural resources while allowing for recreational use. Areas like Paradise have more regulations than places like Indian Henry's Hunting Ground, for example, which has much less intensive usage. Summer regulations tend to be stricter than winter ones both because of increased use and because this is when the fragile subalpine meadows are most exposed and vulnerable.
The majority of people who trample our meadows in the summer time by walking off-trail simply do not realize how much damage they are causing. They think of Paradise and Sunrise as "parks" in the same sense as urban parks, where you can walk anywhere and have picnics and throw frisbees. The reality is that subalpine meadows are more analagous to gardens. No one would walk out into the middle of their neighbor's flower garden and lay out a picnic blanket, and yet many people do so at Paradise. And whereas at home, you plant your garden after the snow melts away, at Paradise, it's already growing even as the snow disappears--if it didn't, it wouldn't have enough time during the short growing season to bloom and seed.
That's why we have trails at Paradise--to keep our millions of visitors safely off the meadows while still providing them with a means to enjoy them. It's a challenge in years like this one when the snow lingers well into the busy summer season, because people tend to follow the tracks established by others, even if those tracks melt out in locations other than the true trails. And then you have a new trail, eroded into a steep hillside in an inappropriate location.
The Park Service conducted research a number of years ago to determine the most effective ways of keeping people on the established trails. We tried various kinds of signs, ropes, and means of enforcement. The research demonstrated conclusively that far and away the most effective method was a human presence: both to enforce the regulations and to educate people about the reasons behind them.
We don't have enough rangers to patrol all of the trails all of the time--nor would that necessarily be considered by many to be the most effective use of our limited resources, even if many of us would love to be paid to hike and ski the trails all day!--and so the "Meadow Rover" program was born. Meadow Rovers are volunteers who have been trained to contact, assist, and educate visitors on the trails, and when necessary, to gently enforce the regulations. We provide them with a uniform shirt and cap, and with guide books and park radios that they can borrow from the visitor center. Some of them have busy lives with jobs and kids at swimming practice, and only come up once or twice a summer. Others are retired or just love coming up on the weekends and are here repeatedly throughout the summer. Like any enterprise, some are better at what they do than others. All of them, however, are driven by an honest desire to do what's right for the magnificent resources of Mount Rainier National Park. They want the meadows to survive to be as resplendent for their grandkids as they are today. They see Mount Rainier as a public resource that they are helping to care for. Most of the people they encounter on the trail recognize and appreciate the work they're doing in that role, but inevitably there are also conflicts. We try to train our Rovers to be open to other points of view, but also to be firm about the regulations and to make every effort to educate people about the reasons behind them.
I believe that this has been Skipole's intention, both on the trail and in this forum. Some of his (or her) comments could have been more tactful, and he could be more open about his identity, but he has also tried to do, here, exactly what he would do on the trail: to not just quote regulations but to explain the reasons behind them.
With a few exceptions, most of Skipole's comments have at least been accurate, even if other posters have have disagreed with the policies quoted or the agency behind them. The most significant correction I would make is to note that Sunrise was "closed" for a long time this year not to exclude skiers but because the heavy snowpack all over the park delayed us in getting the road and facilities shoveled out and dewinterized. (As so often happens, Sunrise was widely reported to be "closed" because the ROAD was closed as our plows and service vehicles were working on it; in fact, only the road was closed, and those who chose to ski or snowshoe in by other routes were welcome to do so.)
In the end, I do believe that the skiers, the Meadow Rover volunteers, and the park rangers all share the same goal: to protect the natural resources of Mount Rainier for the enjoyment of present and future generations. I think there's a lot we can do to work toward that goal together, and I welcome anyone who wants to contribute as a volunteer to check out our website at rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com.
