Mount Rainier Guide

[JERRY_SANCHEZ]

Interesting article. What do you guys think of this?

 

 

Thursday, April 21, 2005

 

Mount Rainier guide services to be put out for bid

RMI's near monopoly to be broken

 

By MIKE LEWIS

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

 

A slimmed-down version of the free market completed its ascent to the top of Washington's highest mountain yesterday when National Park Service officials announced that for the first time they will open bidding on Mount Rainier's valuable guide contracts.

 

The decision, which has been debated for several years, will remove Rainier Mountaineering Inc.'s near-monopoly on guide services to the 14,411-foot summit and instead divide the contracts, called concessions, largely among three winning bidders. As a nod to RMI's long history on the mountain and its investment there, park officials confirmed that Ashford-based RMI is the presumptive favorite for the largest of the three contracts.

 

Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga said the decision grants RMI a good chance at a well-earned share of the concession while not freezing out other highly qualified guide services for the 2006 climbing season.

 

"The public process really worked here," said Uberuaga, who has worked in the park for 20 years. "They said they wanted competition among the guiding services. That's what we are going to have."

 

Peter Whittaker, whose father co-founded RMI, said that while he wasn't thrilled with the decision, he's happy to know what's in store for his business.

 

"Nobody's happy when your business gets downsized, but overall we're OK with the plan," he said. "I think we're also relieved that this process is moving into the future."

 

Park Service officials said they received more than 1,900 comments on the plan, most in favor of ending RMI's exclusive deal. Washington guides, some of whom had long groused about RMI's exclusive concession, were thrilled about the change.

 

"It's going to be really good for the public. They are going to have choices," said Dunham Gooding, president of Bellingham-based American Alpine Institute. "Some people have really enjoyed RMI and others have not. Now people interested in a different style of guiding will have a chance to benefit from other styles."

 

The changes, which won't be implemented until next year, will structure climbing concessions on Rainier like those on Alaska's Mount McKinley, where five guide services hold concessions.

 

 

 

Under the Rainier plan, three selected concessionaires would split up the most popular paths to the peak: the Muir, Emmons and Kautz routes. The plan limits the number of guided trips to the top to approximately 6,000 guides and clients annually.

 

One company, likely RMI, would get rights to about half of those. The other two would split the remaining 50 percent. Other, smaller operators would receive permits on other routes. The plan also seeks to push more climbs to less trafficked weekdays and earlier in the June-through-August climbing season.

 

RMI has operated guide services on the mountain since 1968. Privately, the owners of competing guide services have said that RMI didn't provide good service for all of its clients because it had little competition on the mountain. Whittaker has said that it would be much easier for the park service to police one company than a handful of them.

 

About 10,000 people set out for the summit annually, with about half making it. Currently, RMI, the nation's largest guide service, provides the vast bulk of the guiding to the top. The plan isn't supposed to increase the number of climbers overall, park service officials said.

 

Whittaker said he likely will lay off some guides. However, owners of other guide services said they would hire more guides if they scored one of the contracts. Gooding said if his company became one of the big three, his business would expand from 36 Rainier clients annually to a maximum of 12 each day of the climbing season.

 

"It's an enormous jump," he said.

 

Critics of the plan have suggested that its vague language regulating bids would allow one company to secure multiple concessions, rendering the open competition largely useless. Uberuaga said no one company will have more than one contract within the overall concession.

 

"The point is for the public to have a choice," he said.

 

With many of the nation's top guiding services based in the Puget Sound region, park officials expect no shortage of applicants.

 

Guide George Dunn, who is believed to have reached the top of Mount Rainier more times (477) than anyone else, said having a contract to guide clients on Washington's most famous natural icon is a lure for every local guide.

 

He's planning to make a bid through the guide service he partly owns, International Mountain Guides.

 

"It's where we live and where we grew up. It's where we come back to after we guide in other countries. It's what we love most. Every mountaineer here looks to it as their home peak."

 

P-I reporter Mike Lewis can be reached at 206-448-8140 or mikelewis@seattlepi.com

[olyclimber]

I can't help but think this will result in more guided parties on the mountain per year, even if they're telling us it won't. There will be three companies out there scrouging for clients instead of one. They will be competing against each other, and that will mean more advertising. If they regulate it heavily they'll be able to keep it at todays levels, but my guess is that the market will drive more guided parties if it is allowed to.

[sobo]

This decision is the result of all of the planning meetings that were held over the past several years, culminating in the public input workshops of last spring held throughout the state. While some may be happy with this decision, others will surely not be.

 

But it's kind of like an election: if you didn't vote, then you can't really bitch. I just hope that all of you out there that feel strongly about this issue got to a workshop or wrote a letter last spring and got your comments entered. I know I did.

[Couloir]

While some may be happy with this decision, others will surely not be.

That's actually the best outcome of any decision. It's only bad if it goes one way, but everyone except one or two people voted against it. [insert Bush election(s) comments here]

 

In terms of additional traffic, there shouldn't be any. RMI has been the staple up there and they seem (I have not heard any complaints, personally) to do a great job. Do others deserve a chance to guide up there? Sure, why not? Will this increase traffic? Probably not. If a market is worth say $1 million, and one company has that market, then adding competitors only reduces the market share of the incumbant. It doesn't increase the actual market. Due to the increased marketing from new companies in he heap, overall sales might increase, but they would level off in a short period of time. There have been situations however where new competitors have entered a market, and it did grow, substantially. But that was largely due to either a marked improvement, or a technoligal advance. So, unless they pave a path to the summit, keep it plowed, and provide special sheltering options for the "clients," nothing much will change. Afterall the market is what it is. It's influenced by many more things than the number of guide services at MRNP.

[sobo]

I'm largely in agreement with your statement. I think it will be good for the majority of those wishing to be guided to the summit. Lou and I had a pleasant exchange over this topic at the Yakima workshop.

[Couloir]

Thinking more about this, RMI is in a great position. RMI does a really good job of customer service. But where they can capitalize is in "delighting" their clients. Since they ARE the incumbent guide service, they have a really good idea of who their customer is and what they want for their money.

 

Well, everyone else will be struggling to get where RMI is. RMI needs to go from where they are now, to really setting themselves apart from the others by truly focussing on the client. Making them feel that whether they reach the summit or not, not only did they get their money's worth, but they want to spend more. There are many ways to do that. MANY ways. If you boil it down, climbing really has nothing to do with it. This could be a good time for them.

[sobo]

Somehow, I'm pretty sure that Lou realizes this, even if Peter might not have initially. I'm sure they're both on the same page by now. They are not dummies. Not at all.

[Redoubt]

I just hope that all of you out there that feel strongly about this issue got to a workshop or wrote a letter last spring and got your comments entered. I know I did.

I wrote as well. And my biggest concern is one I still have. I can't help but think that the total number of guided climbers on the mountain will increase, that MRNP will continue to control the total number of climbers on the mountain, and that independent climbers will find it that much harder to get a permit. It's great that the commercial companies will be concentrated on a small number of easier routes, but RMI in the past has taken seminar groups elsewhere on the mountain. It's one thing to find that you can't get a permit for the Tahoma Glacier because other private parties beat you to it, but it's another thing entirely to find out that it's an RMI seminar group that has filled up the backcountry zone.

 

From a discussion with a ranger last season, it is clear that RMI knew better than anyone how to play the reservation system. I've not yet made any reservations, but I've twice had to change routes due to full zones, so I guess it's only a matter of time before I need to start playing that game.

 

It will be interesting to see how easy it is in 10 years to climb Rainier without being a paying customer, or without having made a reservation far in advance.

[JoshK]

Maybe we will soon be able to hire Scot'teryx to guide us up Rainer??

[kurthicks]

only if he wasn't selling his business.

[Bill_Simpkins]

The only clients I've heard complain amout RMI are the the disgruntled ones that can't make it to the top and have to be told they can't do it.

From what I've heard, RMI does a good job. However, I do agree that hiking up like cattle and sleeping in a stone and metal fort could be imporoved upon. That is where the other guiding companies come in. If you want to get to the top, go with RMI. If you want to do it in more of an Alpine style, to know more of what climbing is really like, and to not be dragged up by the rope, go with someone else. It's good for folks to have that choice now.

Hurray!