Paradise Road closed w/o prior notice Mon 11.25

Employees or guides?

http://www.nps.gov/webcams-mora/east.jpg?201411011314

Supervisor King told me in writing on November 26 that the guide services would NOT be allowed to access Paradise this season when it was closed to the public. If this image was contrary to that statement, can you please email me the best version that you have?

l o r e n (at) c a s c a d e c l i m b e r dawt c o m

"The answer to your second question is, no, access to Paradise will not be available to the park's guide services when the road is otherwise closed to public vehicle access."

Climber, I just posted the webcam shot. I do not have a still image.

Thats a guide service van…

I'm betting they will close the road for the day soon…. any bets?

Well, it's slightly encouraging that it's not just me thinking the park is often inconsistent about avy hazard.  Closed yesterday with 3" new, cold temps, and 'Considerable' hazard forecast.  Today they opened with 4" new, a warming trend, and 'High' hazard posted Sunday night.  Makes me wonder if Sunday's closure was some sort of delayed reaction to the Lane Peak incidents Friday & Saturday? 

They love to play the budget card, but prefer it stays face down to the taxpayers.  They can afford new HD cams and programable signs to tell us how poor they are.  They could afford to add forty year-round positions in 2012 just prior to the sequester BS.  They can afford geographers, geologists, foresters, botanists and a stable of specialists.  I'll believe MRNP management knows an avalanche from a snowball when they add a pro avalanche forecaster at the snowiest park in the country, where it's wintery eight months every year.

More examples of avy inconsistency at Reply #215:  www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboardi....php?topic=26113.200

LOL, Vogtski!  I hadn't planned on going to Paradise yesterday even tho the grandkids were here--it would have been crowded with slow lines at the snowplay area; Grandma took them to the county park to go sledding (the county made some nice runs) instead and they built snow people here.  But here's the rub, at the county park, families turned away from the national park were told:

"insufficient staff" [webcams showed excess staff at Paradise] and "avalanches" [not danger, avalanches, none that i know of]; twitter said opening delayed due to "heavy snow" [3 inches according to NWAC and Snowtel telemetry] and then closed due to "high avalanche danger" [NWAC said considerable].

The park needs to get its story [stories] right--accurate, truthful, and consistent.  Maybe Randy TAY could help out as their PIO--couldn't due worse than Ron Jarvis "what we need are more buses full of Japanese tourists" and a previous PIO who said "Mt. Rainier is just a drive-through park anyway" [presaging a future management plan].  One that would always work would be "closed for public safety"--appropriate in any weather or condition and sounds caring and loving. 

Interesting info

www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/Baker/ArtistPoint/faq.htm

US 2, Stevens Pass: It costs approximately $800,000 to $1 million to keep Stevens Pass (US 2) open all winter.

According to Google Maps is it about 50 miles from Index to Coles Corner

Google Maps also reports that is it 33 miles from the Park entrance to Paradise.

Of course it would be easier to compare how much the NPS spends on keeping the road open if they were more transparent in reporting their budget.