Changes at Mt Rainier -- road closed Tues, Weds

Gotta love this Twitter post from a few days ago:

"The park's OPEN, though the rd to Paradise isnt. LOTS of snow in Longmire. Why not explore the lower elevations on snowshoes? -ls"

Yeah, because I'm going to spend five hours driving down there and back and burn $60 in gas to go snowshoeing in the woods. Yeah, MORA, you've cornered the market on that activity; if only there was somewhere closer to Seattle where I could snowshoe in the woods in the rain. The level of apparent self-delusion is unbelievable.

I wonder if the special access MRNP grants to the climbing concessions when Paradise is closed to the public might offer grounds for a lawsuit challenging their weekday closure policy?

A section of the National Park Service Organic Act states: "no natural curiosities, wonders, or objects of interest shall be leased, rented, or granted to anyone on such terms as to interfere with free access to them by the public.."

www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2013/03/gr...e-draws-lawsuit22887

The Organic Act also states the purpose of the NPS is to "...preserve and render accessible...", but I couldn't find anything about saving us from ourselves.

Theodore Catton's book Wonderland - An Administrative History of Mount Rainier National Park makes for interesting reading, especially if you like to read between the lines.  Among many topics, he discusses Larry Penberthy's (founder of MSR) lawsuit against the Park, where the basic outcome was that the Park was forced to employ objective criteria in it's decisions (see Chapter 19 and Backcountry Management Plan )

I've reached the conclusion of agreeing with those who feel legal action may be the most effective course to ensure winter access.

Thanks, David, I'd forgotten the Penberthy lawsuit and how it shook up Rainier officials at the time.  Perhaps the NPS brass has grown so toxic that even more direct action is required.  Folks in Vancouver WA are so fed up with the arrogant management at Fort Vancouver Historic Site that their Congresswoman has introduced a bill to remove seven acres from NPS control: 

"On Wednesday, Elson Strahan, the Trust's president and chief executive officer, said key to the dispute was the Trust's view that the museum and surrounding grounds were made possible through community's donations -- the city of Vancouver built the museum -- and should be operated with the community's best interests in mind.

"Our position is that the community in good faith simply asked the Park Service to restore the museum and actually enhance the programming at the museum, and did so through a cooperative agreement and never dreamed that the Park Service ultimately was going to claim that the museum was their's," Mr. Strahan said during a phone call. "Yes, the Park Service owned the seven acres of land for which they had paid the city $7,300 an acre, but the supposition was that since this was a partnership park that this would be a community-based asset. And that it was developed as such.

"... The community really regards this as their backyard, if you will," he continued. "It's a very, very active site from that standpoint. The whole issue of events, seemingly to us, was just an excuse for the Park Service to really appropriate the community-funded museum, is really what it came down to."

  www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2013/03/co...l-historic-site22912

So, do the [climbing] concessionaires really have access to Paradise on Tuesdays and Wednesdays?  What is the basis for this (never mind the revenue to Park), and the justification vs. general public access.   We can suppose some level of preparedness, but that doesn't seem quite objective.

Has Whittakers' critical tweets been about these days, or others with late or non-openings..  and why would they complain if they have access?  Is road condition the determining factor?  If so, then we're back to why them and not us..   

RMI certainly had access to Paradise  for their multi-day winter-climbing seminars during the prolonged closures in 2007 and 2009.  They have also had access earlier than the public on late-opening days in the past and earlier this winter for their van pulling a cargo trailer.  I've not seen them on cam on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but I think they may be camped out somewhere up there at times on closed days. I'd bet they have the key/combo if they need to bailout.  Don't know anything about the other guide concessions.

The road reply tweets concern theoretically open days only and are coming from Whittaker's Motel, managed by Lou's younger son Win (also the film festival, I think.)  It's probably a separate business whose coffee shop and lodging are more directly affected by the weekday Paradise closures.  To be fair, they also have sent quite a few past tweets thanking the park for clarification or updates.