Mount Rainier's 15 minutes of fame has been greatly extended over the past few months. It seems that every week there are more stories about the park. These days, those stories are positive and involve funding. The San Fransisco Chronicle diverged momentarily from the affairs of Mayor Gavin Newsom to discuss the proposed increases to the National Park Service's budget. The News Tribune honed in on Mt. Rainier's own version of the good news. Along the way, one newspaper reporter inquired if the climbing program would be getting more climbing rangers...
The last few weeks have brought very little snowfall and considerably warmer temps to the mountain. Recently, I have noted a number of "roof-a-lanches" around Longmire. What's a roof-a-lanche, you ask? That's when the 2-3 feet of snow sitting on your roof finally decides to give way. If you're in the building, it feels and sounds as though the earth is giving out below you. If you're outside the building and under the slide, you're probably in a considerable amount of trouble. I've heard that people have been seriously injured from these slides, which is easy to believe.
So there you have it! Here is some favorable information about your national parks, a safety tip, and a few more posts to the Flood Photos blog.
