Summit fee resistance? A hypothetical.

[Alpine_Tom]

Here’s a question, because I’m bored at work.

You’ve climbed Rainier without paying the summit fee, for whatever reason. You’re hanging around the summit, relaxing with your climbing partners, and a climbing ranger comes up to see your fee slip. You say you don’t have one. He pulls out his citation book to write you a ticket, and you say that you don’t have any ID, and the high altitude has caused you to forget your name, address, etc. What happens then?

Presumably he’s not going to handcuff you and call for a helicopter to fly you off to jail, if you refuse to cooperate. He could, I suppose, call down Paradise and have a ranger meet you and follow you to your car, and nail you that way. But how would they know whether you were parked at White River or Paradise?

One option, I suppose, would be for him to march you down the mountain, and nail you then. You’d complain that your tent and gear is at Camp Hazard or someplace, and he’d say “tough.” That would call for him assuming a tremendous amount of liability, though, in the event of an accident of some sort on the descent, both for you and for your remaining partners, if they’d all paid and were left behind to fend for themselves.

I guess this applies to Adams or St. Helens, as well as a lot of other places as well, where overnight camping is restricted (Boston Basin, the Enchantments, etc) I’m not advocating this, by any means, just wondering how they enforce it.

Has anyone seen this happen?

 

[AlpineK]

On Rainier I believe they will register you by radio. Of course you could make up a name and address and not pay. Some of the climbing rangers on Rainier are pretty laid back and anti cop by nature. Be nice and don't do anything that that violates common outdoor ethics and you will probably be ok.

[Drederek]

Common outdoor ethics? Educate me, please.