As discussions around the new Permit system have evolved over the past month, I’ve heard the bland acquiescence of climbers and other avid outdoors folk:’
“The permits are free..”
“There’s no quota or limit…”
“You can get into the park for free with this permit system…”
“Zero interest for six months…”
Okay that last one was mine, but it seems clear to me that NPS is offering attractive baubles with the permit system in an effort to lessen resistance to a system that limits climbers’
freedom to climb big walls in an unprecedented manner. To quote Napoleon, “It is with such baubles that men are led.” But look a little deeper, and it’s pretty obvious the quotas are coming.
Some climbers are under the impression that a “two year pilot program” is something temporary. Tommy Caldwell seems to hope it may be reversed. On Instagram he writes, “Could we view this program as a little guy check reminder of the privilege we are afforded by being the only users that don’t have to get a permanent for camping in wilderness. Maybe if we are up to the challenge we can revert back to the former system in the future.”
Climbing ranger, Jesse McGahey in an interview with the Daily Beast stated destroys thi
s possibility, “This will definitely grow into a permanent system.”
McGahey also claimed that last year’s required parking permits for overnight climbing would be temporary,
Gripped Magazine writes, “McGahey stresses that once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted parking permits for overnight climbs will no longer be required.”
Couple the last two lines from McGahey and it’s clear NPS is not being honest with the climbing community. “It will no longer be required” and “This will definitely grow into a permanent system” are not compatible statements. They are saying what they need to in order to convince the community that this is no big deal. Don’t worry frog, we’re just warming up the water a few more degrees.
Big wall climber Don Wilson climbed El Cap recently and wrote the following on Facebook, “When I picked up my permit I also had a few general questions on the permit system, and had a
nice conversation. The ranger seemed open about the plan and answered all my questions. Without any specific query from me, the ranger told me to expect quotas in the future on the 4 most popular wall routes, specifically the Nose, Salathe/Freerider, WFLT and SFWC. It came across as though that was already planned.”
The quotas are coming, my friends. Make no mistake about that.
PROBLEMS WITH CLIMBING QUOTAS
Quotas are certainly a good choice to balance use versus safety and preservation of both wilderness and wilderness experience at times. This has been successful in backpacking as quotas keep the crowds down which maximizes the wilderness experience. As well, alpine meadows and lake shores can easily be “loved to death” by back packers so limiting the number of folk visiting the
se pristine areas keep them wild and in their original state.
Climbing the most popular walls in the valley at peak season has long been a crowded situation. While I have done several El Cap routes I had shied away from The Nose for decades because of this for reason. I friend who was on YOSAR wanted to climb it so I finally did the Nose in 2010. There were plenty of other parties for the first slabby few pitches. Once the Stove Legs are reached the real exposure rears its head and 50% of the parties bail.
If things have really gotten out of hand to the point that NPS needs to step in with a quota system I think a couple of warning signs would first occur:
· Accidents. Overcrowding would result in accidents. We have not seen this. In fact an argument could be made for the opposite. There have been several serious accidents on El Cap where the close proximity of other parties has aided in the rescue of the injured climbers (eg Quinn Brett’s accident on the Nose where a party below assisted in anchoring ropes while YOSAR came with a helicopter).
· Requests from climbers. If the crowds were getting unbearable and the parties themselves weren’t able to successfully navigate granular solutions to queuing then there would be requests from the climbing community itself. This has not happened.
Quotas on El Cap are a bad idea because half of the parties bail according to Hans Florine. If half the parties bail and the number of parties is limited by quotas then that’s a lot of wasted opportunity on the upper part of the route. The crowding is merely a selective force separating the chaff from the wheat. In Bridwell’s words, “Ya gotta want it.”
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