Mount Rainier National Park bypassed public
discussion and sprang a surprise fee on backcountry visitors
recently, drawing a protest letter from the Mountaineers, the
Seattle-based conservation group. The Mountaineers says the new
hierarchy of fees is too steep, especially for short visits. Two
visitors might pay $10 to enter the park, $20 to camp in the
backcountry for one night, then $15 each to climb Mount Rainier –
for a total of $60 over two days. The Mountaineers suggests
combining the fees for multiple uses, such as both camping and
climbing. Ranger John Wilcox admits that the experimental fees,
which pay for backcountry improvements, need fine tuning. “We’ll
work on making the fee structures fair and not so confusing,” he
says. Send comments to Superintendent, Mount Rainier National Park,
Tahoma Woods, Star Route, Ashford, WA 98304. To get a copy of the
nonprofit group’s letter, see the June 1998 issue of The
Mountaineer or contact Mountaineers Headquarters, 300 Third Ave.
W., Seattle, WA 98119 (206/284-6310).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline But trouble the Mountaineers.
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