He's got a ticket to climb

[Gob]

Yosemite national park is instituting a permitting system for overnight rock climbers. Many see it as inevitable as the sport gets more popular



For years, rock climbers Graham Ottley and Keith Bouma-Gregson dreamed of scaling the 2,800ft (853 meters) pillar of granite known as the Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite national park.

In early May the pair finally got their chance, making a climb that required spending two windy nights camped on tiny ledges with harnesses holding them to the rocks. But Ottley and Bouma-Gregson realize that soon it may not be as easy to enjoy Yosemite’s anything-goes climbing culture.

The national park is preparing to bring in a first-of-its-kind permitting system for overnight rock climbers, citing an effort to collect data on the large number of climbers who descend on the park each year, and concern for climbing’s effects on the park’s unique landscape.

Some worry the move will rein in the free-spirited culture that made the park a renowned playground for climbers. But many climbers also see the permit system as inevitable, considering how popular the sport has become.

While the park doesn’t keep stats on how many individual climbers visit every year, it estimates they cumulatively account for 25,000 to 50,000 days of park use each year. Recent documentaries such as Free Solo and The Dawn Wall have publicized the beauty and adventure of climbing in Yosemite, drawing even more visitors.

“We miss the old days when you could do what you want and have free rein in the place,” said Ken Yager, president of the Yosemite Climbing Association. “But the park service is doing its best to respect the spirit and freedom of Yosemite climbing. This is an opportunity to engage with the park service and get some rules in place that we can live with and that could make things more livable and fun in the future.”

The permit system will take the form of a two-year pilot, requiring climbers to register four to 14 days in advance for overnight climbs.

The park will issue an unlimited number of free permits to climb the big walls, such as El Capitan and Half Dome, on overnight trips, creating a system that rangers hope will allow them to collect data on climbing trends for future planning.

The National Park Service web post announcing the permit system last week, said climbing’s growing popularity was having increasing effects on the park environment, including disturbance of cliff-dwelling animals, litter and “the visual blight of chalk marks, pin scars, bolts, rappel slings, and fixed ropes” on Yosemite’s famous rock walls.

“The impacts of your actions may seem insignificant, but when multiplied by the thousands of people who climb here every year they can have a significant, long lasting effect,” it said.

The sport, even for experienced climbers, also comes with considerable risks. More than 100 climbing accidents occur in Yosemite each year with 15 to 25 of those requiring a rescue, according to the park’s website. A park analysis of injuries between 1970 and 1990 estimated that 2.5 climbing deaths occur each year. In 2018, the veteran climbers Jason Wells, 46, and Tim Klein, 42, died in a fall from El Capitan. Hans Florine, another record-holding climber, broke both legs in a fall a month earlier and climber Quinn Brett was paralyzed in a 100ft fall the previous October. All were participating in speed-climbing ascents that have recently become more popular.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/ ... ing-permit

[Long Run]

The National Park Service web post announcing the permit system last week, said climbing’s growing popularity was having increasing effects on the park environment, including disturbance of cliff-dwelling animals, litter and “the visual blight of chalk marks, pin scars, bolts, rappel slings, and fixed ropes” on Yosemite’s famous rock walls.

“The impacts of your actions may seem insignificant, but when multiplied by the thousands of people who climb here every year they can have a significant, long lasting effect,” it said.

Yosemite is an awesome place. Trying to balance usage and protection of the environment has been a difficult task for over a hundred years.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Could not agree more. I'd hate to see El Capitan festooned with climbing litter.

I used to do a bit of caving (spelunking) and I've done a lot of scuba diving and for both sports, the word is always leave nothing behind. Don't touch coral (unless doing scientific studies designed to improve our understanding) or stalactites so the next guy sees what you saw. Most divers and cavers seem to live by that basic rule. There are always exceptions however . . .

[Big RR]

While most of it makes sense,don't chalk marks wash off in the rain?