Paradise Road closed w/o prior notice Mon 11.25

The park knows that the bulk of winter users are people using the sledding hill.   ...and they still didn't open today or give timely notice; this suggests a "just stuff it" attitude to the total public.

In terms of safety -- ... hillside above the Nisqually bridge can slide and block the road out when the avalanche hazard is "considerable"  ... But the first tweet said delay opening due to heavy snowfall ( inches) and the second closed due to "High" avalanche danger when NWAC is considerable.  If "considerable" is sufficient for closure then that well be over 75% of the winter days once snow is on the ground.

Skiing at Paradise on a powder day is like chasing a rainbow. I think you meant "Skiing at Paradise is becoming like chasing a rainbow."

The park just entertained a visit by Sally Jewel--I saw Randy King and staff briefing her on the levee.  Maybe they got the message "Don't worry about access, close as often as possible as long as you can use staffing or safety as an  excuse--it might get us more money for the Everglades or detract attention from the XL Pipeline."

Andrew that would make sense if the road crew and law enforcement clocked out when the road doesn't open. That is definitely not the case. Both worked the full day today.

There have been law enforcement overheard saying it doesn't make any difference to them if they patrol the road when it's open or sit at the computer in Longmire when it's closed…the pay is the same.

I think you meant "Skiing at Paradise is becoming like chasing a rainbow."

Nah -- I've been monitoring the twitter feed this season pretty closely and when there isn't new snow the gate has been opening pretty close to 9 every day. Now this season has had few "new snow days" so perhaps they've been more open than they would have in a more typical snow year.

If I had purchased a retirement property near the park entrance with the hope of skiing most days Nov-May -- I'd be pretty annoyed with the opening schedule. Perhaps annoyed enough to sell and move to a location with more reliable plowed road access to skiable snow.

Perhaps annoyed enough to sell and move to a location with more reliable plowed road access to skiable snow.

Or perhaps enough annoyed to raise a stink about the closings and gate schedule.

Nah -- I've been monitoring the twitter feed this season pretty closely and when there isn't new snow the gate has been opening pretty close to 9 every day.   Now this season has had few "new snow days" so perhaps they've been more open than they would have in a more typical snow year.

If I had purchased a retirement property near the park entrance with the hope of skiing most days Nov-May -- I'd be pretty annoyed with the opening schedule.   Perhaps annoyed enough to sell and move to a location with more reliable plowed road access to skiable snow.   

Yeah, open when there is no new snow; I've taken advantage of that.

Yes, I built a house for retirement near the park entrance, assuming that all the taxes I've paid, all the conservation work I've done, all the effort of PNW people to establish and maintain the park for backcountry use would ensure our access to the one wild alpine area we own.  I never thought access would be a matter of personal opinion on the of one or two upper level managers in the park.  How silly of me.  How silly to believe the park could be reliable.  How silly to enjoy my taxes paying Randy King the top salary available in the GS civil service series.

Also how silly of me to spend hundreds of hours promoting and arguing for levee maintenance to ensure the viability the Nisqually Entrance when park officials downplayed the problems and focused on misdesigning and building a visitor center (scaled back because they blew the architecture in the renovation planning for the Inn) that is more often closed than open.  I should have known access is better to National Forest areas where, for example there are lift-served areas (i went to one today) compared to the snowply area (that suceeded the lifts at Paradise because such organized recreation is inappropriate for a park).  Oh well, Randy and Chuck know so much better than the rest of us about what Mt. Rainier is all about; too bad they don't believe its history or is founding legislation.

Or perhaps enough annoyed  to raise a stink about the closings and gate schedule.

As has been noted numerous times on these threads, contact your congressional rep and senators

www.house.gov/representatives/find/

www.senate.gov/reference/common/faq/How_to_contact_senators.htm

and I suppose if you feel the NPS administration is not just incompetent, but corrupt (which seems to a theme for some)  contacting the GAO is an option www.gao.gov/about/index.html

If you think that all the government agencies are too lazy / corrupt to do anything except CYA -- enlist the media:   www.king5.com/on-tv/contact/64675492.html