Nisqually to Longmire & Paradise, Road washed out!

[tytyler]

If anyone is thinking about heading down there, don't bother. The park is closed due to all the rain. The road is washed out between the Nisqually entrance and Longmire. Hopefully it won't be all winter!!!!

 

http://www.mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/

 

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/6218616p-5432653c.html

[kurthicks]

Surely a bummer, but perhaps mother nature is saying something.

[Arc]

DAMN!!!!

[gregc]

Hmmm....

Tsunami in Thailand

Earthquakes in Iran

Earthquakes in Aphganistan

Katrina..

Rita...

.

..

...

Trying to say something?

Sounds like a continuous cacophony ....

Maybe the bitch should just shut the fuck up.

[Arc]

Just signs of the times.

Sad to say, we were already warned about what is to come.

[Farrgo]

I'm sorry but I'm with the neo-cons here. Unless there is absolute, catagorical, smoking-gun, direct evidence that global warming was a factor than its not. Unless, I hear that global warming got a hummer from its secretary...

[dmuja]

From this morning's Daily Ranger Report:

 

 

Mount Rainier National Park (WA)

Storm Rains Hammer Park, Forcing Closures

 

Rain continues to pound Mount Rainier National Park, causing flooding along the Nisqually River that has washed away the Sunshine Point Campground and a quarter-mile stretch of the Nisqually Road. "The news is not good. There has been significant damage in several areas," said park spokeswoman Lee Taylor. "The Sunshine Point Campground no longer exists. The Nisqually Road, at Sunshine Point, the road is washed out for about 1/4 of a mile, the full width of the road. There is no way to get from the Nisqually entrance to Longmire. That could remain true for weeks or months to come." The 18-site campground is less than a mile from the southwest entrance to the park. It sits on the bank of the Nisqually River. The road from the Nisqually entrance is the most heavily traveled in the park, leading up to the Paradise area. A long closure would prevent park visitors from using that area for snow activities, such as sledding, snowshoeing, skiing and snowboarding. Closure also will likely impact work being done on the Paradise Inn and the new visitor center at Paradise. There also is damage in the Longmire area. The river bank has been eaten away to the corner of a building on the west side of the bank. On the other side, the road from the suspension bridge to Community Building has been washed away. The river is about 17 steps from the building itself. In the southeast corner of the park, the Ohanapecosh Visitor Center has about an inch of water in the back offices. Water is three to four feet deep over the roads in the area. The Carbon River Road in the northwest corner of the park has washed out in three areas. Park employees who work in Longmire remain on administrative leave. For photos of the flooding, click on "More Information" below. [submitted by Jeffrey Mayor, The Tacoma News Tribune]

 

for the record, this totally sucks!

 

There goes my xmas vacation.

 

Is there anohter way to Paradise this year? Anyone know?

[Arc]

................

[dmuja]

 

After I get done cryin in my beer, it maybe time to get my 4 (check that, 6) wheelin on.

 

Mine runs on biodiesel!

 

 

In all seriousness, this is going to effect a lot of people judging by the numbers I have seen up there in the last four winters.

[Weekend_Climberz]

Maybe this is a question for Mike G, but if they plan on several months for the road repairs to begin or be completed I would assume they would not be plowing the road to Paradise. If the repairs cut into the normal winter plowing season would it be feasible (in terms of moving equipment and staff, terms of road hazards, and terms of enviromental impact) to have them shift plowing operations to the road up to Sunrise? I imagine a lot of people would be stoked to ski there since normally it is inaccessible during these months.

[ClimbingPanther]

This is very sad. I hope nothing historic is lost. But hey, if they do plow Sunrise, you can get dropped off and then picked up at White River! Can you say Car-Lift?

 

Oh yeah, and about Global Warming, does anyone find it funny that so many people believe in someone they can't prove exists yet don't believe something right in front of their nose? I get a kick out of that.

[Duchess]

it is totally not feasible to plow the road to sunrise. all of the permanent employees and equipment are based out of longmire. services (including water) are already cut off at white river, not to mention sunrise! and, keeping the road up to sunrise open would mean keeping part of 410 open, which is a state decision, not a park decision, and would probably never happen.

 

there's a ton of pressure for the park to move as fast as it can on the road, from the paradise construction contractors as well as the public. the park isn't going to slack on this one...

 

mother nature has spoken, y'all. much as it sucks, this is a lot bigger than our personal desire to ski.

 

that's the price of recreating on a volcano.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

This is very sad. I hope nothing historic is lost. But hey, if they do plow Sunrise, you can get dropped off and then picked up at White River! Can you say Car-Lift?

 

Oh yeah, and about Global Warming, does anyone find it funny that so many people believe in someone they can't prove exists yet don't believe something right in front of their nose? I get a kick out of that.

 

with the new congress, at least the parks might get the funding they need to make repairs/maintenance now

[Couloir]

This is very sad. I hope nothing historic is lost. But hey, if they do plow Sunrise, you can get dropped off and then picked up at White River! Can you say Car-Lift?

 

Oh yeah, and about Global Warming, does anyone find it funny that so many people believe in someone they can't prove exists yet don't believe something right in front of their nose? I get a kick out of that.

 

with the new congress, at least the parks might get the funding they need to make repairs/maintenance now

Pelosi said today that government corruption, global warming, the Iraq war, all terrorism, the Darfur crisis, and world hunger all ended yesterday. So that's good news!

[ClimbingPanther]

Pelosi said today that government corruption, global warming, the Iraq war, all terrorism, the Darfur crisis, and world hunger all ended yesterday. So that's good news!

That's definitely my favorite post of the week

[pup_on_the_mountain]

Pelosi said today that government corruption, global warming, the Iraq war, all terrorism, the Darfur crisis, and world hunger all ended yesterday. So that's good news!

 

All these are known unknowns... what about the unknown unknowns??

[Arc]

Im depressed.....only sunshine can fix this now.

[Weekend_Climberz]

I hope my post didn't come off as "I want to ski regardless of road problems, any body else's opinions". It sounds like the park will be closed for a while with all the damage. Cheers to those who are out there fixing the place up.

[Arc]

i'll drink to that WC.

[Arc]

No worries, as of tomorrow, I will be back in the park for the next few months...Longmire/ Paradise/ Muir.

I'll post some updates tomorrow and see if I can get the TLM station online again.

[Denizen]

this is gonna force everyone to get creative. sweet.

[Fairweather]

The Tacoma News Tribune reported that dozens of MRNP administrative/non essential staff were sent home with pay UFN. I don't mean to sound cold, but if the road to my place of employment were washed away I would be off work without pay as would most private-sector employees. As a regular visitor and observer, I hear NP employee's constant harping about underfunding - and now they get to collect their paychecks for doing.....nothing? Look, I feel badly for anyone who loses their job due to circumstances beyond their control - but am I the only one who sees a private vs public caste here? MRNP is not a jobs program.

 

....And let's get that road fixed before certain Oregon environmental lawyers get some goof-ball judge to halt repairs and demand an EIS.

[Careless_Ev]

No worries, as of tomorrow, I will be back in the park for the next few months...Longmire/ Paradise/ Muir.

I'll post some updates tomorrow and see if I can get the TLM station online again.

 

You're full of yourself.

[Duchess]

okay - i shouldn't even fall victim to fairweather's political rants... but i can't help it, i am SO going to open up a can of worms here...

 

the ROAD to the workplace didn't just wash away. half of the workplace washed away!! there was no power, no telephone, no internet. for a while, everyone thought their lives were in imminent danger. employees were EVACUATED. these employees don't work in a tidy nice office building in downtown seattle. they work on the side of a volcano. they live with constant "lahar warning alarms" being tripped. they monitor the roads for slumps, slides, damage. they drove home that first day, a few hours early, BEHIND a FRONT END LOADER that cleared their paths over washed out roads, leaving their valuables, their work, and for many, their personal vehicles, behind. they dodged fallen trees and rocks and drove through swift flowing water.

 

and this wasn't on the ROAD to their workplace. this was IN their workplace. and now many of them are working from home, or from temporary offices set up outside of the park. they are trying, with considerable incovenience, to do their jobs and meet their deadlines. And wondering what in the world is going to become of their workplace, and their jobs, in the future, while simultaneously planning for another similar event.

 

DO YOU PUT UP WITH CONDITIONS LIKE THIS IN YOUR PRIVATE-SECTOR WORKPLACE?!?! I think not.

 

And all of this for the salary that many NPS employees make (not much) and without insurance (for many seasonal employees). There is huge sacrifice that NPS employees make in their personal lives for the careers they have.

 

i can think of a lot more rational issues for you to gripe about, fairweather.

[ClimbingPanther]

FW, maybe you need a new job. Many (most?) respectable companies pay their employees for weather-related absences. Maybe this is a little different in that respect, but it's different it a lot of other ways too. Especially since those MRNP workers are only there because we want them to be there in that volatile environment and make a nice park for us to play in, the least we can do is not abandon them when they're forced away from their jobs by the environment we want them to work in. I appreciate that these guys are willing to take jobs in an uncertain place. If the government/people screwed them when the going got tough, what quality of people do you think would work there?