Changes at Mt Rainier -- road closed Tues, Weds

IMHE, in the last couple of decades, there has grown adulation of private business (despite Dilbert cartoon, corruption, scandals, etc. etc.) and this has been transformed to pressure on federal agencies to be more "business-like". Note that businesses are now more bottom line, profit, CEO, and organization focused than customer focused. So it is not a surprise at all that the NPS is inward-looking, self-focused.

I have talked to mid-level Mt. R. NP employees who have expressed to me that they are taking a very business-like approach. They compared total winter gate receipts to total plowing costs and concluded winter access does not pay for itself, it was costly [they did not do a more sophisticated analysis of the marginal costs of access to Paradise after all the plowing for administrative and facilities management has been done.

They also assume not opening the road to Paradise creates a pent-up demand that expresses itself when they do open, so little visitation (business) is lost and if they open mostly on weekends when they snow-play area is up and running they get a double bonus in that they might very well come close to total winter visitation when road is open every day.

So. IMHO, they are pursuing a business-like plan of concentrating visitor use in time and space (by closing some access point permanently, delaying opening of others like Sunrise), offering free access during peak visitation days (holidays and some weekends), and reducing costs a little (and physical work a lot), and, in their minds, reducing winter hazards and risks (and improving their safety record). It is a win for the park: maintaing visitation with slightly lowering budget, reducing the potential for serious visitor incidents and improving their safety record, and maintaining their staffing levels for all the administrative, technicl support, and environmental remediation professional staff.

So if you are a fan of business you should like the current situation and the increasingly reduced access in the future.

If you are a fan of democratic socialism, you will be dismayed by the inward focus, lack of attention to the public's wishes, given a massive public subsidy, massive volunteer efforts, user fees that are to be increased by 2/3, increasing demand for backcountry access (to the point where a whole new bc recreation focus has been created on industrial and DNR forest lands just outside the park and NF boundaries, staffed by volunteers, and financed by donations and grants--MTTA). And you will emphasize the fact that the legislation creating Mt. Rainier and the legislation creating the NPS, through a democratic process, was emphasizing providing recreational and spiritual opportunities to the people, and the legislation creating a Wilderness in MRNP was aimed at providing for some degree of sollitude, not massive concentration of crowds in time and space. While mid-week access sometimes only is used by a handful of people, it also provides for the wilderness, solitary, and natural experiences envisioned in the laws. And, in truth, has very little marginal cost, not even a fraction of a fraction of the public subsidy of the park. Amen.

Please also note, the Park officials rarely close the park. They merely close 11 miles of road when the weather is hazardous, when it appears there may be a chance of hazardous weather in the near future, when there are equipment malfunctions, and when park staff is insufficient to ensure public safety. Who could argue with that? The Park remains open year-round; one can almost always drive to Longmire; thus full staffing is required for public service (rangers to provide info and give talks, Longmire Innn) and public and park staff safety.

Of course, the closures of the gate at Longmire occur well after the vast majority of the park has been closed to the public unless you count superman and snow machines. And the partial closures, like closing Paradise Valley Road for 2 months in late summer to, apparently repair one pothole, aren't closures of the park.

For all you business majors, remember staffing is a function of management planning. Closures because of "insufficient staff" can reflect (1) poor planning and staffing, (2) deliberate understaffing to reduce cost and access, particularly when it snows; (3) unforseen exigencies such as injuries and illness; and (4) over-inflated estimates of the need for safety personnel such a LEOs or unwillingness to pay LEO overtime.

Very well put Andrew. Although at first I may have been a bit misdirecting when I said business. Now reading your comments I see in a different light that it has indeed become a business that has no regards for its original formation. This needs to change and be made public. It is hard to do because of so much confusion of the issues along with double speak from the superintendent to the business's in the Valley.
There has got to be a visible platform through media where you Andrew, with your way of telling it, can be heard. The support from not only the Valley, but from the outdoor enthusiasts and public lands stewards as well, would be tremendous.

Coming from Seattle, the biggest blocker to park visits these days is the uncertainty about the gate. Even if the park were open only one day a week, but guaranteed to be open, people would come from afar to experience the wonder that is Paradise in winter.

Without clear and reliable guidance about the gate, it's a major gamble heading down to Paradise. Trip-planning involving MRNP in winter frequently goes like this: "What about Paradise?" "Yeah, it'll probably be great down there, but what about the gate?" "Oh, right. Let's go to the Pass."

A reliable twitter feed with updates at 4:30 am and gate-openings at 7:30 am would do wonders for winter visits.

Coming from Seattle, the biggest blocker to park visits these days is the uncertainty about the gate. Even if the park were open only one day a week, but guaranteed to be open, people would come from afar to experience the wonder that is Paradise in winter.

Without clear and reliable guidance about the gate, it's a major gamble heading down to Paradise. Trip-planning involving MRNP in winter frequently goes like this: "What about Paradise?" "Yeah, it'll probably be great down there, but what about the gate?" "Oh, right. Let's go to the Pass."

A reliable twitter feed with updates at 4:30 am and gate-openings at 7:30 am would do wonders for winter visits.

Yep, all of this would be helpful. Many travel 2+ hours to the park and can't justify the invested time without a guaranteed opening. It's getting to the point that any overnight snow, no matter how minimal, means a delayed opening. Even no snow is no guarantee with all the "staffing" and mechanical issues. Couple the delay with a 5pm closure and it's nearly impossible to make it happen. Again, I think this is clearly the plan and see very little chance of your suggestions ever being implemented. Andrew pretty much nails it. There are many reasons to limit winter access to paradise from a management perspective. There are far fewer reasons to keep winter access open. The cost-benefit analysis clearly explains the current policy. So frustrated!

Over the years almost all the people I used to ski with quit coming to Mt. Rainier because of uncertain gate openings with the crowded parking and sometimes agitated crowds. We all complained for years about better communication about gate times and there has been improvement. But access remains uncertain and closures became more frequent.

IMHO, there have been many, many bc-oriented people who just gave up going to Paradise and went elsewhere, espcially since bc opportunities in Snoqualmie Pass were publicized and the MTTA provided reliable access as well as huts for meals and resting. Reduced visitation mid-week prompted park officials two years ago to not replace 2 plow drivers and to close 2 days/week (the least used days). Of course, this led to 2-5 days/week closure when exigencies were added to the programmed closures.

This in systems theory is known as positive feedback: made access more uncertain, reduce visitation, reduce effort and staffing, make access even more uncertain, further reduce effort and staffing, make access extremely uncertain, finally make access restricted to good weather on holiday weekends (but that didn't even occur this Thanksgiving weekend--access was guaranteed only for turkey dinner at the Inn at Longmire).