No skiing below Pebble Creek

Should have known that our Braveheart would be too sly to fall for the old powder weekend gambit, especially since I let slip how reluctant the King's men are to let us at it.   

As for the baton, or spear, or whatever it is we have here, I don’t mind carrying it awhile, or even sharpening it, but someone else is going to have to poke Uberalles with it.  I think they already raise the terror threat to orange when I pass thru the entrance station and I’d make Scotsman look like the Dali Lama in negotiations.   

Thanks to Lowell and especially Joe for the reality checks.  I was unaware of the Crystal boundary details.

Top NPS brass lobbied against inclusion of NPS units as the Wilderness Act was being passed, but as Joe & acarey mentioned, they’ve learned to selectively use resource protection to further their agendas.  The Olympic Wilderness Management Plan has sat on the shelf, unapproved, for over a decade, while other NPS units copied it & approved their versions.  I believe The Wilderness Society even sued them over the delay, but they’re still stalling.

Joe’s comments on concessions in the Park really interested me.  Many on this side of the mountain feel that the mass transit provisions in the GMP and the recent delays implementing multiple guide services were more favoritism toward a politically well-connected concessionaire.  Concessions and development are two sides of the same coin in some ways.  If you want to know the priorities of NPS management, “follow the money”, as Deep Throat said.  The NPS’s parent Interior Dept has been mired in concession & conflict of interest scandals for years.  Those interested in the sacred cow NPS's history of corruption, malfeasence, and retaliation against critics should not miss these authors:

Micheal Frome,  “Regreening the National Park Service”
Carston Lien,     “Olympic Battleground”
Alston Chase,    “Playing God in Yellowstone”

In recent years, I’ve been forced to revise my estimates.  Despite less snow, newer & more powerful equipment, and a fleet of SUVs that would make a Saudi prince blush, about one hour past 8 for every three inches of new snow seems the current norm, and non-openings and extended closures are much more common.

Certainly distressing and disappointing, but furthermore, why is 8:00 the *earliest* the gate ever opens, even when forecast is totally clear and snow hasn't fallen in days? (I found that baffling when I was there in late October.)

Finally got around to putting down my wish list .
IT all boils down to access,access for backcountry skiing other snow sports and climbing.
1) continued year round Access to Paradise
2) Continued progress in early openings of Longmire gate and road info line .
3) Earliest possible openings of Sunrise ,Mowich ,Chinook pass and White River campground parking .I 'd rather have that then plowing Paradise Valley and Stevens Canyon road plowed so early . In fact it might be worth it for some of us to volunteer at Sunrise to help point out to skiers the best snow without violating the flora. Put tiolet paper in the traliered porta joins etc. Not to mention emergencys
4) on a bigger concept why not a yurt, or access to exiting stuctures for overnight winter stays. Reservations on a lottery system. Talk about good will eh? Rememember the Paradise lodge used to be open in the winter.
With the growth or you some might say the return to ski touring it would not be hard to imagine the Paradise lodge opened again. Perhaps it could be on limited basis?

Lastly Any group formed will have to work with the Park Staff , Elected reps ,Dept of the interior and lastly educate the public to support any changes. Don't forget many of the business's in Ashford and ,Enumclaw and Greenwater would be allies.

...why is 8:00 the *earliest* the gate ever opens, even when forecast is totally clear and snow hasn't fallen in days?  (I found that baffling when I was there in late October.)

Probably that's when the law enforcement ranger comes on duty.

Regarding your earlier question in Reply #24, I'd guess the hiker/skier ratio might approach 10/1 on the nicest corn weekends of May & June; probably more like 100/1 now?

Finally got around to putting down my wish list .
IT all boils down to access ... Rememember the Paradise  lodge used to be open in the winter.
...

I was amazed to learn from an old-timer that when there was a lift at Paradise there was also a smallish chalet/cabin type beer hall/hamburger restaurant with a wood stove and bunks in the basement that you could rent for $2/night and many of the volunteers/bc skiers that helped work the lift/tow rop during the day later skied at night.

Of course, it appears that was the 1st thing to go when the Jackson Visitor Center was planned/built.  What a wondrous thing that would be to have such a place at Paradise?  What if the association proposed here asked to be a concessionaire at Paradise to maintain such a nice little place (why not in lieu of the lame museum at the old guide house?).  It could be an living intrepretive museum, with old photos on the wall and recreating the glory days of paradise, when the park was a place for people who love the outdoors ... maybe being a concessionaire might help get the goals achieved ... or maybe a skiing guide service based in Ashford ... combined with a business that distributes the ashes of the dearly departed [ as some guide services do now surreptitioulsy] ... maybe if bcskiers.org became bcskiers.com then we could get in before the public and when the park was closed to the public, etc.

Probably that's when the law enforcement ranger comes on duty.

Based on my experienced as volunteer ski patroller at Paradise, I think it's something like that -- when I volunteer I get to listen in on Park Service radio chatter -- It's pretty amazing the kind of antics that the park staff has to deal with from "the general public", just on the road and in the parking lot. It's actually a fair amount of work. While "backcountry skiers" as a group might be sensible and self-reliant enough to drive the road to Paradise without getting into too/causing much trouble -- not so the general public. If they leave the gate open, but there is no one on duty patrolling the roads -- what to stop some yahoos from driving the road at reckless speeds or for that matter driving up the road at 2AM with a snowmobile trailer ?