Kudos to Mt. Rainier NP Management

Bonnie, Jeanette and I met him today, too. Nice guy.
About an hour earlier we als met Ranger Dan. Spent about 30 minutes visiting with him. Also a very nice guy. We told him they might want to hunt down Gary Vogt and slash his tires
Just kidding
We did tell him that Gary was their man if they wanted to learn all the cool stashes around Paradise. Both are fairly new to MRNP and eager to learn all the nooks and crannies and get to know all the regulars.

Zap even though I have the dynafiddlers and fritschicatapaults and love them there is no such thing as a convert. Yes my name is Robie and I am a Teleholic.

Robie,

Don't fight it !  You have entered the age bracket that qualifies you to use Dynafit compatible bindings.  Return that "tele stuff" to Wal Mart for a refund.  Now, all you need is some personal training from Ron or Jeanette about the correct usage of your gear.  I also understand that Scotty is offering guiding assistance.  You'll be reborn !   

Yeah, Letty and I met Ken a couple of days ago. He was great. Queried him nicely about open/closed days, and he wasn't towing the party line, just that this place needs to stay available. He's a returnee from past time summer duty, acclimating to the cold. Named all the peaks in the Tatoosh, as well as some of his favorite stashes there...

Oh, and I agree with Zap ~ when you start to need to clamp the wheel brake lever on your chair, it's time to lock down your heels, too...

I am glad the new rangers are affable and skiers and I hope for the best but as President Obama said in his interview with El Alarabia" ...judge me not by my words but by the actions I take".

Meadow stopping season is fast approaching as is the fabled nirvana that is Sunrise, and Sourdough Chutefest. I hope they remain affable, hospitable and actively promote the opening of Sunrise this year when there is some snow to ski and not let the great " Sunrise toilet paradox" cause us to miss yet another season. Some of us, cynics and malcontents that we are, remain unaffected by their smiling demeanor and want proof in the form of action. After all, the rangers that where skiing Sunrise last year and boasting about it when we could not are all super friendly and BC skiers too!!!!

Ok We got two lines of thought going here so I'll chip in on the main one. About two years ago I had the good fortune to ski with Summer backcountry Ranger Casey at Sunrise and again the next year. Also quite a nice guy and helpful besides being on the rescue squad up. Some where I'll drag out a picture from about 12 yrs ago when sunrise was opened up with 5' of snow around the restrooms.  July 4th 1997.Let's see here it is.
The skiers in the picture shall remain anonymous.