Contact: Fawn Bauer, Education Specialist 360-569-6037
With these recent storms that have hit the Cascades, the Education Staff at
Mount Rainier National Park is offering additional curriculum-based
snowshoe education programs for school groups. If you are a teacher
looking to bring your students on a field trip to Mount Rainier during the
school week, don’t miss this opportunity. These programs are available at
no charge to school groups and are tailored to the teacher’s identified
learning objectives.
Through a “Connecting Kids to Parks” grant from Washington’s National Park
Fund, several mini-grants are available to help subsidize the
transportation costs for schools to bring students to the park during this
spring 2011 school year. These mini-grants are intended to be cost-share
subsidies for bus transportation, so that the maximum amount of students
can benefit. Number and size of grants will vary, with most grants being in
the $100-$250 range. These mini-grants are made possible in an effort to
increase the accessibility of park experiences for youth who may not
otherwise have an opportunity to visit a national park.
For more information about these school snowshoe education walks and the
bus subsidy grant, please contact Fawn Bauer at 360-569-6037.
Please check the Mount Rainier National Park website at
http://www.nps.gov/mora/forteachers/index.htm for more information about
field trips and teacher workshops.
Please remember that roads in the park may be closed at any time due to
hazardous conditions. General park information is available at
www.nps.gov/mora or by calling 360-569-2211.
-NPS-
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Mount Rainier Press Release - Spring Opening Beginning
March 18, 2011
2011 SPRING OPENING BEGINNING
The calendar may say it’s almost the first day of Spring, but at Mount
Rainier National Park Spring is still a long way off. But, despite the
fact that Paradise currently has 203” of snow on the ground (121% above
normal) staff at Mount Rainier is once again beginning the annual spring
opening. This process, which begins at the lower elevations of the park
such as Longmire and Ohanapecosh and moves up the mountain to the higher
elevations of White River and Sunrise as the snow melts or is plowed away,
is like bringing a small community back to life every year. Roads that
have been completely snowed in since last fall are blown out with snow
equipment; removal of slides, boulders and rocks and fallen trees from
these roads, cleaning ditches of debris and repairing any damage; shoveling
snow from park buildings; reactivating water, sewer and heating systems
that have been shut down since fall; repairing damage from winter’s harsh
conditions and many other maintenance activities associated with getting
the park’s public facilities ready for another season of visitation.
SNOW PLAY AND SNOWSHOE WALKS ENDING MARCH 27
The public snow play area at Paradise will be staffed and groomed through
Sunday, March 27. After that date the snow play runs will not be
maintained and sledding will not be permitted due to safety concerns.
The ranger-led snow shoe walks will also end that same date - March 27.
The new Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center is open weekends only, 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. until May 7 when it will begin 7-day a week operation.
The Paradise Inn is scheduled to open for the 2011 season on Friday, May
20. Reservations can be made by phone – 360-569-2275, or on line at
www.mtrainierguestservices.com
While snow play activities will be ending, great opportunities still exist
for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the Paradise area. Before
heading out, visitors are advised to check with park staff for current
weather and avalanche conditions. Spring can be a wonderful time to
experience the park, but dangerous conditions can exist.
For current road and weather information, visit the park’s web page at
www.nps.gov/mora, or call 360-569-2211 for recorded updates. For local
business information web sites visit: www.visitrainier.com,
www.mt-rainier.com, www.staycrystal.com, www.minerallake.com,
www.destinationpackwood.com, or www.mtrainierguestservices.com
-NPS-
2011 SPRING OPENING BEGINNING
The calendar may say it’s almost the first day of Spring, but at Mount
Rainier National Park Spring is still a long way off. But, despite the
fact that Paradise currently has 203” of snow on the ground (121% above
normal) staff at Mount Rainier is once again beginning the annual spring
opening. This process, which begins at the lower elevations of the park
such as Longmire and Ohanapecosh and moves up the mountain to the higher
elevations of White River and Sunrise as the snow melts or is plowed away,
is like bringing a small community back to life every year. Roads that
have been completely snowed in since last fall are blown out with snow
equipment; removal of slides, boulders and rocks and fallen trees from
these roads, cleaning ditches of debris and repairing any damage; shoveling
snow from park buildings; reactivating water, sewer and heating systems
that have been shut down since fall; repairing damage from winter’s harsh
conditions and many other maintenance activities associated with getting
the park’s public facilities ready for another season of visitation.
SNOW PLAY AND SNOWSHOE WALKS ENDING MARCH 27
The public snow play area at Paradise will be staffed and groomed through
Sunday, March 27. After that date the snow play runs will not be
maintained and sledding will not be permitted due to safety concerns.
The ranger-led snow shoe walks will also end that same date - March 27.
The new Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center is open weekends only, 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. until May 7 when it will begin 7-day a week operation.
The Paradise Inn is scheduled to open for the 2011 season on Friday, May
20. Reservations can be made by phone – 360-569-2275, or on line at
www.mtrainierguestservices.com
While snow play activities will be ending, great opportunities still exist
for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the Paradise area. Before
heading out, visitors are advised to check with park staff for current
weather and avalanche conditions. Spring can be a wonderful time to
experience the park, but dangerous conditions can exist.
For current road and weather information, visit the park’s web page at
www.nps.gov/mora, or call 360-569-2211 for recorded updates. For local
business information web sites visit: www.visitrainier.com,
www.mt-rainier.com, www.staycrystal.com, www.minerallake.com,
www.destinationpackwood.com, or www.mtrainierguestservices.com
-NPS-
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
CLIMBING FEES CHANGING AT MOUNT RAINIER
Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga announces that the
proposed increase in climbing fees at Mount Rainier has been approved by
Pacific West Regional Director Christine Lehnertz, and is effective
immediately.
Climbers will now be charged $43 for an annual climbing pass which is good
through December 31 of the year it is purchased. This is a $13 increase
from the previous fee of $30 which has been in effect since May, 2003.
In addition, the park is implementing a new $30 “youth” climbing pass for
climbers 24 years old and younger, in support of National Park Service and
Department of Interior initiatives, and in response to comments made during
public meetings the park held in November and December of 2010. It is
estimated that 5-10% of the total climber volume is in this age group.
The public comment process involved three public meetings held in Seattle,
Tacoma and Ashford in November and December as well as one additional
meeting held in early February in Bellevue. Attendees included
mountaineering groups, professional guides, rangers, independent climbers
from broad backgrounds, non-climbing public and mountain rescue groups. An
Executive Summary, a Frequently Asked Questions document, and a Climbing
Program Cost Analysis were produced and posted on the Mount Rainier web
page (www.nps.gov/mora) and widely distributed.
After a thorough analysis of all of the comments submitted, the park staff
decided on the above fee structure for implementation.
Climbing fees, in addition to other park funding sources are used to
support climber services and management of climbing activities on Mount
Rainier. These services and programs include: registering approximately
11,000 climbers each year; providing up-to-date climbing route and safety
information; updating weather, climbing, route, and climbing related
information on web blog; staffing ranger stations at Paradise and White
River; issuing climbing passes and providing updated information for
climbers; staffing two high camps (Camp Muir & Camp Schurman); briefing
hundreds of climbers during peak season; responding to numerous search and
rescues and emergency medical situations on the upper mountain; operating
and maintaining high camp facilities and communications systems;
maintaining toilets at the high camps and managing the “blue bag” and
“Leave No Trace programs; hauling several thousand pounds of human waste
off the upper mountain to processing facilities. In addition, the revenue
from these fees allows the park to provide the climbing ranger staff
training in core skills, including mountaineering, search and rescue,
emergency medical services, incident management and aviation-related
training, to be able to perform their jobs in the extreme environment in
which they work. Part of their job responsibilities also involves
monitoring the alpine wilderness areas for impacts related to visitor use
and climate change.
Superintendent Uberuaga said “I very much appreciate the ideas,
recommendations and feedback from all of the people who provided comments,
either at the public meetings or in writing. Their participation helped us
make better decisions that will guide management of the climbing program
for the next several years.”
-NPS-
proposed increase in climbing fees at Mount Rainier has been approved by
Pacific West Regional Director Christine Lehnertz, and is effective
immediately.
Climbers will now be charged $43 for an annual climbing pass which is good
through December 31 of the year it is purchased. This is a $13 increase
from the previous fee of $30 which has been in effect since May, 2003.
In addition, the park is implementing a new $30 “youth” climbing pass for
climbers 24 years old and younger, in support of National Park Service and
Department of Interior initiatives, and in response to comments made during
public meetings the park held in November and December of 2010. It is
estimated that 5-10% of the total climber volume is in this age group.
The public comment process involved three public meetings held in Seattle,
Tacoma and Ashford in November and December as well as one additional
meeting held in early February in Bellevue. Attendees included
mountaineering groups, professional guides, rangers, independent climbers
from broad backgrounds, non-climbing public and mountain rescue groups. An
Executive Summary, a Frequently Asked Questions document, and a Climbing
Program Cost Analysis were produced and posted on the Mount Rainier web
page (www.nps.gov/mora) and widely distributed.
After a thorough analysis of all of the comments submitted, the park staff
decided on the above fee structure for implementation.
Climbing fees, in addition to other park funding sources are used to
support climber services and management of climbing activities on Mount
Rainier. These services and programs include: registering approximately
11,000 climbers each year; providing up-to-date climbing route and safety
information; updating weather, climbing, route, and climbing related
information on web blog; staffing ranger stations at Paradise and White
River; issuing climbing passes and providing updated information for
climbers; staffing two high camps (Camp Muir & Camp Schurman); briefing
hundreds of climbers during peak season; responding to numerous search and
rescues and emergency medical situations on the upper mountain; operating
and maintaining high camp facilities and communications systems;
maintaining toilets at the high camps and managing the “blue bag” and
“Leave No Trace programs; hauling several thousand pounds of human waste
off the upper mountain to processing facilities. In addition, the revenue
from these fees allows the park to provide the climbing ranger staff
training in core skills, including mountaineering, search and rescue,
emergency medical services, incident management and aviation-related
training, to be able to perform their jobs in the extreme environment in
which they work. Part of their job responsibilities also involves
monitoring the alpine wilderness areas for impacts related to visitor use
and climate change.
Superintendent Uberuaga said “I very much appreciate the ideas,
recommendations and feedback from all of the people who provided comments,
either at the public meetings or in writing. Their participation helped us
make better decisions that will guide management of the climbing program
for the next several years.”
-NPS-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
