Paradise Road closed w/o prior notice Mon 11.25

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.

Actually, it's six miles from the park entrance to Longmire, and another thirteen to Paradise.  Throw in Longmire and the sewage treatment back road and they plow about 22 miles in winter.  Google maps might be calculating through White River entrance.  For years, the park tossed out a figure of about a million for snow removal, but I think that included Spring opening elsewhere.  (DOT has always done Cayuse & Chinook) 

I think a lot of us would probably vote for a million-dollar tax increase if WA DOT would plow Cayuse Pass again all winter like they used to.  MRNP could save significant dollars by outsourcing their plowing operation to the state, which already has plows working all night for only a few snowy miles just outside the Nisqually entrance most of the winter.

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For years, the park tossed out a figure of about a million for snow removal, but I think that included Spring opening elsewhere.
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For spring opening I believe the park has to clear the Steven's Canyon Road to HWY-123 and the White River road from HWY-410 to Sunrise.

WSDOT wrote: SR 20, North Cascades Highway: It costs approximately $150,000 to reopen the North Cascades Highway (SR 20) every spring. The total budget to keep the highway open for as long as we safely can is approximately $200,000 to $250,000.

MRNP could save significant dollars by outsourcing their plowing operation to the state.

Perhaps -- I suppose if they outsourced Law Enforcement responsibilies to the WSP there might be additional efficiencies.

Or maybe  just privatize the whole park with Andrew and Gary leading the new private enterprise. 

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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. 

I've told by a responsible park employee that they budget +/- $1 million/year for snowplowing.  This, of course, includes whatever plowing they do from the entrance to Longmire and to the utilities below the old campground and FS Road 52 (Skate Creek Rd) for their own administrative purposes.  It would also include the plowing (several times) in the spring to open Paradise Valley Road, Stevens Canyon Road, and the Road to White River campground and Sunrise.  It also includes the plowing necessary to keep excessively heavy snow loads from forming on the Nisqually Bridge and to maintain access for maintenance to the sewage treatment plant and buildings at Narada Falls and Paradise.

How much would be saved if they totally closed the park for the winter?  Depends on whether the bridge would fail, buildings and other infrastructure would be damaged, and the how much it would cost to open the road in the spring given a winter's snow load.  Also would have to deduct the lost entrance fees for the winter and a surely delayed spring opening. I'm sure all the essential employees could find space at Tahoma Woods, but what would the majority be doing?  The people doing the plowing also do other duties but would have to be reduced to seasonal (summer status) along with the LEOs and, I would hope, the Superintendent.  Indeed, if summer use was all that was desired, a concessionaire could operate the park pretty cheaply.

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Or maybe  just privatize the whole park with Andrew and Gary leading the new private enterprise. 

Or hire competent managers attuned to providing opportunities to the public and efficient operations and keep the Park opened year round, restore the Westside Road and its campgrounds and picnic areas, Sunshine Point Campground, Carbon River ... etc. and open Sunrise 6 weeks earlier (park maintenance said they could do that with no additional funds) ... in other words provide and fully adequate budget, insist on high performance by employees, and serve the public well.

There was a time when things like that happened.

p.s. there was a time when people demanded high quality parks--and they won the establishment of Mt. Rainier; and Yosemite; and school children donated their lunch milk money to buy the land for Shenandoah NP; etc. etc.  A time before no new taxes, emphasis on world domination and overseas adventurism, and transferring wealth to the 1%.

p.p.s.: The people continue to speak, for example the Mount Tahoma Trail System (I'm on the Nordic Ski Patrol there) see this MTTA in the news ; beginnings of a community forest that would highlight multiple uses and mountain biking in the Upper Nisqually, and the Nisqually Land Trust buying up land to preserve the old forest character of the Upper Nisqually---but our representatives and their Republican colleagues prevent easy access to the National Parks and National Forests.

Perhaps -- I suppose if they outsourced Law Enforcement responsibilies to the WSP there might be additional efficiencies.

Or maybe just privatize the whole park with Andrew and Gary leading the new private enterprise. 

Sorry, Randy, I should have been clearer.  I wasn't advocating privatizing the park or even most of the snow removal.  Why couldn't the park reach some agreement with the state where DOT evening shift plows turned around at Longmire when it was snowing instead of drinking coffee at the Gateway Inn?  I doubt there is LE patrol below Longmire most winter nights now, even though the entrance is usually open all night.  A few passes by the state plows at about an additional hour round-trip, as needed, would provide extra eyes and faster response in emergencies by whoever was on LE night call at Longmire.  The lower road might be packed ice less often and the park crews could start right up the hill early.  Cooperative aggrements with the state already exist for the eastern passes.  Management could probably even work out a trade where the park plowed the rest of Skate Creek Road (proposed state highway) to Packwood for intermittent public day use, when no plowing was needed for Paradise.

Monday  2/10/2014
Just the opposite of what one would reasonably expect after this trying season...  Now I know this sets them up for being able to say  "damned if we do and damned if we don't" but hey The do and don't are never in the right columns.

I'd probably substitute 'rarely' for 'never'.  Still, the Paradise road opened today at 9:30, despite WSA (past excuse) and today's NWAC Avalanche Warning:
forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnz...t1=Avalanche+Warning
Maybe they're hoping for a SAR they can use to justify just closing for the winter.    ???