UKC

So a permit will required to overnight on a big wall. 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/16/yosemite-national-park-rock-c...

I don't think it's a huge issue.

If the article is correct it says "the park will issue an unlimited number of free permits" (for big wall climbing)

That seems way better than the system for Half Dome that's been going for many years now. I was travelling through for 5 days in 2015 and tried in advance in the ballot. Didn't get a ticket so resorted to the scramble up the front to the shoulder and on to the cables instead. 

It's all a bit of a pain but with busy National Parks we can expect more and more of this. That's life

The requirement to apply 4 days in advance is likely to have an impact if you need to adjust your plans during a trip.

On my last trip I bailed off Washington Column due to a nasty stomach bug and was back on Lurking Fear 2 days later.

That's "unlimited" and "free" for now 😉

Of course it’s a huge issue. Anyone that’s spent a long time in the valley will tell you as much. It’s a load of crap. Goes against everything that climbing is. I’d rather get locked up than bow to another rule imposed on climbers.

People need to clean up and be respectful of the walls. Which most are I might add. TC and Hondo should be a massive part of promoting good etiquette and responsibility while climbing in the valley because some tools can’t seem to grasp how to do that. 

I'm not at all convinced. I wonder what the future holds and things like what happens to climbers on the wall if the parks are defunded again? I'm a bit peeved with the reporting of Jesse: just emphasising a few climbers are scum when I know from speaking to him how supportive he is of the positives of climbing, like most big wall climbers are the exact opposite and things like the annual Facelift clean-up, mostly of masses of tourist litter thrown off the road.

Have you ever turned up at a crag with a plan and then had to change that plan for some reason? I have many times.

This new requirement stops that in Yosemite. What if the weather changes just as you are about to set off on your booked four days on The Nose and have to wait until the weather improves? Do you lose your slot or is it easy to change the booking?

This is a huge change to the way people climb in Yosemite. Next it will be limiting numbers, then charging to book and so on.

THe Yosemite El Capitan permit system now seems to be in place - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/yosemite-tells-el-capitan-climbers-to-ge...

It's a thin-end-of-the-wedge thing I think. The permit system could be enlarged to cover other cliffs. A fee could be added to cover 'administrative costs'. Numbers could be limited to enhance 'safety' or for some other reason. And then it could spread to other rock climbing areas.

Could such a permit system come to the UK?

You can't exactly climb El Cap multi-day with a low profile and it's a national park with a sizable ranger force well used to policing regulations. There is no equivalent in the UK and raising the subject seems to me a distraction from the problems here. There has to be some flexibility as days to climb can't be predicted nor the need to bail or move onto a faster easier route if supplies won't last or the weather is turning unexpectedly.

Yeah seems very impracticable... like is it illegal to go off route? There's so many things that change dynamically on a wall. A permit system is daft. The summit plateau of el cap feels like a pretty wild place, topping out at night would be very hard to police 

Close the roads at Crane Flat, Wawona and El Portal and put a sign up saying pedestrians only beyond this point. Issue 2 week wilderness permits.

Voila! Problem solved.

E

That would certainly be nice for the valley.

But lugging all that big wall gear by foot......