Quotas are a low resolution answer
I’ve heard several folk ask “What’s wrong with quotas?” when discussing introducing them to Big Wall climbing in Yosemite.
· Quotas unnecessarily lessen access to wilderness
· Quotas add increased danger
The role of NPS is twofold: they are supposed to allow Americans (and world travelers) access to the wild places in America. They must do this in a way, however, that preserves the wilderness for future generations. This is of course a balancing act. If they entirely closed the wilderness to people that would be great for preservation, but would totally ignore their first responsibility. If they allowed unlimited numbers of folk to trample pristine meadows and “love to death” the wilderness then it would be great access for a short while, but would be destroyed for future generations. So, again it’s a balancing act:
El Cap’s hard granite can be likened to a city sidewalk. It is very distinct from a delicate meadow or mountain lake shore. Like a sidewalk, it can withstand the passage of thousands upon thousands of people without showing any sign of wear…as long as the travelers treat it with respect. Compare a Tokyo sidewalk with one in New York. It’s not the number of travelers that despoils the area. It’s the respect given to the sidewalk. El Cap is similar. Even if we use quotas to cut the number of climbers by half, El Cap can still become an unsightly mess if those climbers don't treat the wall with the respect it deserves. We all agree that climbers need to be vigilant with their Leave No Trace ethic. And I think we all agree that if NPS wants to make education a part of big wall climbing that that would be a benefit. But it is a false dichotomy to say that permits are the only way we can educate climbers. And it's also incorrect to argue that lessening the number of climbers is the only way to clean up The Captain.
Thus, the second part of NPS’s role, the preserve the cliffs does not require quotas...it requires education.
Regarding the first role of NPS, the continued access to the wilderness for park visitors, it is a fact that any quota system NPS puts into place will necessarily lessen access to the walls compared to the way climbers have dealt with parties queueing up for the past several decades. Let me expand in order to defend this claim.
Quotas lessen access:
The NPS solution will necessarily be a low resolution answer. Let’s say NPS gives two daily permits for the Nose (El Capitan's most popular route). Maybe they would only say one daily, but let’s assume two parties a day are allowed. The route routinely supports more climbers than that currently.
Compare that level of access with the granular, high resolution solutions that climbers have utilized for decades which allow more climbers to achieve their dreams. Imagine five parties want to start the Nose on a Spring Monday. Party A is fast. They are headed to El Cap tower for their first bivy and will go to Camp V the next. They start predawn. Party B is going to go to Dolt Tower their first day, Camp V the second and then summit. They want to start predawn but party A is ahead of them. So they wait an hour, smoke a bowl, and then start their climb. Since they have three less pitches to do than party A it’s fine. Party C plans to fix up to Sickle ledge today and then will cruise to El Cap tower on Tuesday. They start around 9am when the other two parties are out of the way. Party D plans to climb to Sickle and bivy there. They are slow but that’s okay. It’s only four pitches to Sickle. They start around 11am, but that gives them nine hours of light to do four pitches. Party E also plans to climb and bivy at Sickle, but Sickle isn’t big enough for four people. Luckily party E has a portaledge so they can still be comfy at Sickle Ledge. They wait till 12:30 to start since party D is right in front of them. As you can see the granular solution allows many times more climbers on the route than a quota system ever could.
And this doesn’t even consider the fact that as Hans Florine states in his book On the Nose, half of the parties that start the Nose retreat after a day or two. The low resolution NPS quota system allows two parties per day, but that’s really only one party since half bail. Of course it’s nice to have the Nose to yourself, but we need to not limit all of those climbers from around the world that are dreaming of ascending one of the most amazing climbs in the world.
In summary, a NPS quota system will be low resolution which will not allow as many parties access to big wall routes that the high resolution granular solutions that climbers have already used for decades would.
Quotas add increased danger:
Hanging from El Cap for a week is an inherently dangerous undertaking. Besides the actual climbing there are weather and other logistical dangers.
Requiring quota-driven permits will likely cause climbers to make poor decisions. If you’re planning to climb El Cap but the weather is looking stormy tomorrow, you will wisely hang out in the valley till the weather clears before heading upwards. But with the new permit system there will be a pressure to “climb now” since you have a very narrow window in which to climb. Getting caught on El Cap during a storm has resulted in deaths multiple times over the years.
A similar argument can be made about running low on water, not having the right gear, or suffering a slight injury on the first day or two of a big wall. Where previously parties could be flexible with their climbing plans and bail, regroup and return in a day or two, these parties will now be under pressure to keep going due to the limited window their permit provides which may endanger them. We currently see this on Everest all the time where small windows of opportunity blind climbers to properly evaluate the dangers they face.
As well quotas will create a pressure for climbers to head up further out into the shoulder seasons in fall and spring and into the heat of summer. If one can’t get a permit for June or October, climbers will be tempted to take chances with the weather in early spring or later fall when temperatures are colder and storms are more numerous.
I’ve been on El Cap during storms. It’s serious and novice climbers without proper gear will be exposed to increased danger due to quotas.
The arguments outlined above are my reasoning for arguing against NPS introducing a permit and quota system for Yosemite big walls.
· Quotas unnecessarily lessen access to wilderness
· Quotas add increased danger
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