A small snowplay area for children will open at Paradise this Saturday once the road opens, Mount Rainier National Park officials said. The road has been opening between 9 and 11 a.m.

However, the groomer that prepares the larger runs is being repaired, said ranger Curt Jacquit. He said they hope to have the groomed runs ready by Dec. 27.

The snowplay area is the only place where sliding is allowed to avoid injuries to people and damage to plants, he said. Soft devices like innertubes and foam pads are allowed. Hard devices like wooden sleds or anything with metal runners are not allowed.

In his time as a rescue ranger on Mount Rainier, Mike "Gator" Gauthier became an accomplished photographer as well. Several of his images were displayed at the Washington State History Museum during the 100th anniversary of Mount Rainier National Park in 1999.

Gauthier, who has climbed Rainier more than 180 times, also took photos for us in areas that our photographers - or anybody for that matter - simply couldn't be. Here are three of those photos.

A shot of his rescue rangers performing a rescue on Liberty Ridge in 2004.

A shot of climbers on Liberty Ridge.

An aerial shot of Rainier's most popular climbing route.

If you read this blog earlier this week or today's Adventure section, you know that Mike "Gator" Gauthier, an iconic figure in the climbing community, is leaving Mount Rainier National Park.

Here's the story we ran in 1998 when he pulled off one of his most famous rescues:

By Sandi Doughton, Lisa Kremer, Bruce Rushton, Stacey Burns, Aimee Green and Skip Card
The News Tribune

Swept from her feet by a churning wave of snow, Ruth Mahre fought to stop her slide. She jabbed repeatedly at the snow with her ice ax, but the tool wouldn't bite into the deep, mushy mass.

As Thursday's avalanche propelled her toward a rocky cliff high on Mount Rainier, images of death flooded her mind.

"When you're flying down rocks, and snow is pushing you down, and the people roped to you are pulling you down, you can't stop, you don't think you're going to live," recalled the 25-year-old climbing guide.

When she finally came to a stop, the situation was hardly less perilous.

Mahre and her rope team of four climbers were tangled with another five-person team, and several were dangling across the face of Disappointment Cleaver - a jagged fin of rock and ice at 11,400 feet.

The nylon rope that tethered Mahre's team to a fixed line on the slope above was nearly severed by sharp, volcanic rocks. Only a few strands remained intact.

"We were really hanging by a thread," she said. "If anybody moved, we were going down the cliff."

It would be nearly 24 hours before Mahre and some of her fellow climbers were back on the pavement at Paradise Ranger Station at Mount Rainier National Park, after one of the mountain's most dramatic rescues.

One of their number - 29-year-old Patrick Nestler of Connecticut - perished from exposure. Eight were treated for injuries and released from area hospitals.

But in the sunshine that bathed the mountain Friday, shadows from the tragedy didn't deter scores of other climbers determined to pit themselves against the mountain.

"If you live by your fears, you stay at home," said Karen Peterson of Denver, who hoped to reach the top.

Several of those who nearly lost their personal battles with Rainier showed less bravado.

"I don't think so," whispered a red-eyed Scott Pressman, one of the rescued climbers, when asked whether he would tackle the mountain again.

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