Mt. Rainier, Longmire-Paradise Road opening matrix

sorry I posted it ... and btw it is not my matrix, just MRNP officially stated procedure; should have just let it be ... we all have our opinions and they are paramount, no further info needed ... oh, and rest assured, I won't make that mistake again ... carry on ... oh, and if you are having trouble making up your mind about going to Paradise, just pm Vogtsk, DavidG, or Scotsman and they will  provide you with the truth ...

Well, just to be clear, as I apparently wasn't, I thought your observation about resulting predictability and how it might keep people off the mountain when they shouldn't be there was interesting, and said so..  (so don't PM me.. )  It remains worrisome, however, that someone charged with daily implementation of a now published process (with plenty of waffle room) is IMO more likely to skew toward more closures and delayed openings than adopting an attitude of 'c'mon, let's git 'er open'. 

It may be useful to note, however,  that not all Park winter visitors are 'hardcore' and some would benefit from being 'told' not to come - a decision matrix still perhaps, involving both objective and subjective criteria geared toward advising a prospective visitor rather than creating a pseudo defensible position for more closures.

As for mutton dressed as lamb, now that's funny stuff...

As for mutton dressed as lamb, now that's funny stuff...

That is funny--I had never hear it before; but since we are avidly consuming the half of a lamb we bought and enjoying immensely, I certainly will keep a lookout for any kind of mutton dressed as lamb

So what part of this Matrix made them wait until 9 ish on Monday to open the damn gate.....melting asphalt due to high temperatures? No air conditioning in the Park truck?... Coffee maker not working.....donut delivery delayed?

Mondays and Tuesdays tend to be slower than average because most staff work on weekends and many have M-Tu off.  Probably nine-oclock was when the 1st LE ranger came on duty that day. I can see where one ranger shift could last from dawn to dark in winter, but  I don't understand this late start scheduling in Spring, since someone else would need to start work in the afternoon to have LE coverage until the gate closes at 8-9 PM.

On reconsideration, I've decided that Andy was right and this decision tree might be of some use to non-locals unfamilar with the winter gate situation, but it still seems easier to just remember Stormking's Law. 

FWIW, the daily phone & Twitter messages don't always agree on opening estimates.  Sometimes the entrance station or the message board on the Longmire gate will also have contradictory information.  This winter, the phone message was often posted between 6-7 AM, while the Twitter message was sometimes quite a bit later.  However, the phone message is almost never updated, while Twitter commonly is.  All bets are off during snowstorms, but when there is little or no new snow, the actual opening is often earlier than the estimates.  Either it's the CYA NPS culture or they think beating their own estimate somehow makes them look good. 

On reconsideration, I've decided that Andy was right and this decision tree might be of some use to non-locals unfamilar with the winter gate situation, but it still seems easier to just remember Stormking's Law. 

i guess Gary doesn't want to get PM'd either...   

There's nothing about that matrix, in total, that holds water, if the object is to provide useful info to a potential visitor.  If the Park wants to say that it will be closed under conditions of extreme avalanche warning (and provide the NWAC link), or something definitively similar, I may grudgingly live with that, but subjectivity pretending to be something else is bullshit.

Yet, Vogtski brings great wisdom w/part 2....    Stormkings Law..     all hail..

Like Gary's Law of Weather (Bad weather follows good, and vice versa), Stormking's Law of NPS Access (If it snows, the road is late or closed) is wise, even infallible, but useless at decision time.    

I know quite a few skiers from the lowlands who bring XC gear to Mt Rainier in addition to their preferred skis, as Andy describes.  But then, I know even more who've been dissappointed so many times they won't bother with Paradise in winter.

I totally agree with David about the subjectiveness of the 'nanny state' NPS decision process and the likelihood that this winter's accidents will result in even less access in future winters.  I think about the most skiers can hope for from the NPS is that the open/closed decision is made earlier and the various Park public information outlets have the same message each day.