Climbing fee increase proposed

Slushcup's a bargain @ $50. 

Wait,... 

When's Slushcup?

Wait, it's a yearly climbing pass, not a one time permit? So a year of access to the summit of Rainier goes from $110 to $130, counting the interagency pass that gets you through the gate. That doesn't seem too outrageous, especially when contrasted with the Mt. St. Helens permit nightmare. On the other hand, $500 for Denali is definitely a price point that will exclude some climbers with lesser means, which is sad. Indexing to inflation makes sense and could actually be used as an argument against substantial future fee increases. On a side note, does indexing to inflation allow for decreases in fees in the event of deflation?

I'm with you Chuck C, a $20 increase is pretty minor in comparison to all the other expenses associated with getting to and climbing Rainier. It would be far from the financial deal-breaker for me, especially considering the luxury of leaving blue-bagged #2 packages and direct deposits at the high camps. And then there's knowing climbing rangers are on duty if the aforementioned hits the fan and things go wrong.

Yesterday I witnessed those $$ at work, the helicopter was flying out a year's worth of barrels of bluebag packages.

Maybe a fee reduction could be given volunteers who offer to carry a packload of bluebags down to Paradise?   Eliminate the need for annual helicopter flights to dispose of them.

Also a fee reduction for members of Mountain Rescue, who may be called on for assistance, and who could include climbing rangers in their training programs, helping to minimize the cost of mountain ranger training that the park superintendent suggests as a justification for the fee increase.

In addition to signing the letter of protest, perhaps the Mountaineers and AAC could donate ranger mountain training (one of the expenses the Rainier park superintendent claims is significant) in exchange for lower fee increases for everyone?   Community service project?

Now if said skier falls while carrying additional blue bags from Muir to get reduced fee, and spreads human feces, toilet paper and bacteria over public pathway, will they be required to clean it up or will NPS clean it up.
To get reduced fee for poopy portage will you have to show evidence of pollution insurance.Companies are required to do so.
Are helicopters such a big deal?

Thanks to those who took the time to reply, especially yours Silas.  I can appreciate how this proposal seems no big deal to those who can afford to drop a grand on new ski gear or buy a season ski pass every year.  Many are not so fortunate...  I'm content with my twenty-five year old gear (stop snickering, Scotty!) and haven't bought a single lift ticket in about as long.  I can only afford to ski as often as I do because of my 'Golden Geezer' pass and proximity to Paradise.

I'm no climber & will never need or buy an annual climbing permit. I'd be offended to be charged money or cited for skiing in the places I've loved for over 35 years.  At the very least, they need to refine the language & loosen the requirement that requires buying a permit for travel "on any glacier". 

MRNP is not underfunded.  I suspect they now have nearly a hundred permanent employees, based on 192 FTE ('full-time equivalents') in 2007.  Their operations budget (separate from 'earmarks' such as $37 million for road repair & the new $22+ million VC) for FY 2008 was $11,228,000.  I'd bet it's considerably more now.  It seems to me this sort of information should be routinely available on each Park's website, but repeated requests were ignored and I had to go through the FOIA process just to obtain those figures.  Park management seems to feel it's none of the taxpayer's business.

I know from long personal experience that there is a considerable amount of waste (not to mention fraud & corruption) in the top-heavy modern NPS & could cite several six-figure examples, just from my perspective of three decades in the ranks.  The DC office alone spends about six million a year just for "liason to the White House"!  They could afford more training for ALL MRNP employees if just a couple redundant supervisor & management positions were eliminated.

Regardless of the validity of this particular increase, I find this trend of ever-increasing fees disturbing.  I can remember when backcountry camping permits were free.  Actually, I can remember when no permit was required...  Maybe separate fees for parking or day-skiing or even pay toilets are next?  Kurt Repanshek, editor of National Parks Traveler, said it best in a 2007 article:

"If we don't do something, it seems the Park Service chances pricing vast numbers of Americans out of the national park landscapes and experiences. And that not only will cut down on the ranks of park advocates, but it will surely increase the costs for those few who can afford the price. And where will that leave the parks?" 

I tend to agree with some of the discontent. Do they have a day pass for $10, or is the $50 the only option?

A few years back I got a call from NPS saying that they were unable to charge the credit card I used to pay my climbing fee. Well, I'd given them the card about 2 months earlier, and had in the mean time been issued a new card by my bank. You'd think that they would have charged it when I paid the fee. I almost told them to shove off, but I gave them the new card #.

I haven't met any of the park management, but the rangers are an extremely nice bunch. Especially Ranger Dan, and that other character, I forget his name.