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 .....what to stop some yahoos from driving the road
I agreed with Randy that the park has it's hands full, but I feel, we as a skier community are reduced to "Yahoo Level" on the whole.
In order for the park to feel like they have some semblance of control over the mayhem that is happening on a daily basis (in the lots and trails close to the lots) they are establishing a line lowered to the lowest denominator of intelligence.
So the gate to Sunrise does not open early, not only because the facilities are unprepared, but they are afraid that the weather varies and some knucklehead is going to slide off the road on morning ice or late season snow fall. This is where the shuttle idea that the park promotes can be handy, open the area sooner, the park has one or two drivers in charge of hauling people up and down Sunrise until the road is deemed safe for Yahoo driving. Then shuttle service is offered to those who do not want to drive and open to those who wish to drive themselves. It can be suggested that off trail skiing on Burroughs is not permitted. There is no need have us TAYers handing out info in the parking lot when there is a perfectly informative ranger taking your money at the gate.
Paradise is quite a stretch of road and I have never been there in the Winter, but I assume the plowing would take some time given the limited pullout space and place to put the snow with the banks. Thus they would need to be plowing well into the night to prepare for opening.
Which brings up budget, budget , budget.
I had a formal meeting with Mr. Uberuagua, Mr. Nehring, snow parks, USFS Parks rep and local businesses and the Outing Ski Club last year about opening the road on 410 to the White River cutoff in the Winter. To cut this short it wound down to Mr Uberuagua diplomatically telling us great idea-no funding for help and plowing.
I appreciate the Superintendents time to listen to our needs, but there was mention in the meeting to maybe do something like we suggested to the Mowich road in the winter. I suspect that the Crystal Mountain issue was more at hand than the budget constraints answer we got, because why would you promote Mowich if you don't have the money for an already plowed road on 410?
And I add that the support of XC skiers would be helpful in our cause, while many would like to tour up in White River, Mowich and Chinook Pass in the winter. This is certainly not skate skiing, but anyone who has done any sort of XC skiing knows that there is a little trail breaking involved, but it would be nice to start from a point where there can be views and nicer snow quality(pack) rather than down low in the valleys where snow conditions are thinner and tend to be heavier/wetter.
