UKC

The time limit for staying in the Valley is now only 7 days. Since KJ and TC have clearly been there longer I'm wondering if (theoretically) the Park Service could arrest them? Or ban them from the park? What happens to climbers who get caught staying longer than 7 days?

Of course I know it won't happen what with congrats to them from the Whitehouse but it did make me think about the status of climbers spending more that a week on a big wall.

In reply to stp:

It's a camping limit, from the National Parks website:

"There is a 30-night camping limit within Yosemite National Park in a calendar year; however, May 1 - September 15, the camping limit in Yosemite is 14 nights, and only seven of those nights can be in Yosemite Valley or Wawona."

In reply to stp:
I'm pretty sure that only applies to paid accommodation in the valley.

In reply to Bob:

Interesting. So in the winter you can stay for a continuous 30 days, longer if spread over the change in a calendar year, it sounds like.

I suppose it depends whether living on a big wall is considered camping? In the film Valley Uprising Alex Honnold was driving out of the park each night to go and sleep in his van so obviously sleeping in one's vehicle is considered camping. And if one is on a big wall presumably one's vehicle will be in the park somewhere.

In reply to stp:

Time spent 'wilderness camping' isn't included in your 30 days per year. This includes bivvying under a route (which requires a permit) and spending a night on the wall. So none of their days on a portaledge will have counted towards their limit.

In reply to stp:

I think the rules came in to prevent people hogging the campsites all summer - there was a Yosemite scene in the 1960s and '70s where this was common. When I last visited (in the mid 1990s) you could extend the 7 days by moving between pitches, it was a bit like parking in a limited time parking space then simply moving your car to another space at the expiry time, it was a case of sidestepping the rules. The park authorities might have clamped down on this now.

Once outside the main holiday season I suspect that they aren't quite so strict about the time limits (but then again this is America and you must follow the rules) but I certainly wouldn't want my seven day limit to expire on Labour Day weekend (basically the same as our August bank holiday) for example.

In reply to stp:
If I remember properly from my visit earlier this year, the camping/stay limits don't apply if you're on a wall.