Dec 19, '14; Mt. Rainier, a new page? Or not?

"The gate to Paradise at Longmire will not open today due to a shortage in
staffing required to ensure public safety. Longmire is open. – mm"

There certainly seems a huge staff at MRNP for what is essentially a part-time park:

"Q: How many people work at the park?

A: Again, it’s complicated. The National Park Service puts the number at 172 full-time equivalent employees."

www.thenewstribune.com/2014/12/22/355024...in-size-numbers.html

The MRNP staff in the seventies was half the size and did not close Paradise for SARs, even tho the road patrol and mountain rescue jobs were done by the same rangers and winter visitation was twice the modern figures.  They didn't have today's 4WD vehicles, webcams, telemetry, or even reliable radios.  They also didn't have a country club mentality.   

What other national park in our country closes it's main attraction for SARs?  No other park in the country plows a road daily, locks it nightly, and opens it so unpredicatably.  Bear Lake at Rocky Mountain and Badger Pass at Yosemite also lead visitors into snowy, potentially hazardous terrain, yet are open 24/7 in winter; I'm sure there are other examples.

No NPS unit in the country over the past two decades has reduced public access (while maintaining administrative use) on 2WD roads formerly open to the public more than Mount Rainier.

And where in the NPS Organic Act are they charged with 'ensuring public safety'?  Safety, public or individual, can never be 'ensured', no matter how many nannies on the staff.

Paradise Backcountry Search Underway for Missing Snowshoer

Subscribe RSS Icon | What is RSS
Date: December 29, 2014
Contact: Patti Wold, Information Officer, 360-569-6563
A search is underway above Paradise for an overdue snowshoer from Puyallup, Washington,who disappeared during Saturday evening's winter storm. The missing party intended to overnight at Camp Muir, but was forced to descend due to formidable winter storm conditions. A second party took him into their shelter at Panorama Point, but when the shelter was destroyed by the extreme conditions they attempted to complete their descent to Paradise together. During the descent the individual separated from the party in the vicinity of Edith Creek.

The park worked with the Nordic Patrol to conduct a hasty search on Sunday. Today's operations include a ground and air search from Edith Creek to the upper Stevens Canyon Drainage. Members of Tacoma, Everett, Seattle, and Olympic Mountain Rescues are conducting the ground search. The US Army Reserve 214th Air Division out of Joint Base Lewis McChord and park climbing rangers aboard are conducting the air search.

Current conditions are cold and windy. Avalanche conditions are considerable. The air search will focus on high avalanche areas.

The road to Paradise will remain closed during the search.

There certainly seems a huge staff at MRNP for what is essentially a part-time park:

""Q: How many people work at the park?

A: Again, it’s complicated. The National Park Service puts the number at 172 full-time equivalent employees."

www.thenewstribune.com/2014/12/22/355024...in-size-numbers.html "

Gary, read your reference. The list is for full-time-equivalents (FTEs), which includes all the seasonals, who primarily work during the summer, as well as permanent employees who have furloughs. Also, there's a lot going on in parks that don't necessarily support your access to the backcountry in the winter. If you read the Organic Act (to which you so often refer), NPS Management Policies, and the MRNP General Management Plan you'll realize that national parks are there for much more than YOUR enjoyment.

Tell me why they don't shut down the roads, and I mean access, when there is a SAR operation in the summer.

Shutting the road to Paradise for SAR activity started after Margarets death. It is so unfortunate but I believe they are using this incident to their perverted advantage.

Who actually believes that having no civilians skiing, snowshoeing etc, could not be a benefit by having more eyes in the terrain?

Staffing issues again this morning. Thats after tweeting it would open at nine….

A very interesting story from The National Parks Traveler...

www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/12/mo...er-fun-paradise26101