This new Big Wall Permit System will result in added bureaucracy that will not achieve its goal of keeping Yosemite's walls clean of trash, but will instead limit climber freedom with a system that will end in monetized quotas.

The men and women of the National Park Service are wonderful people. They work tirelessly to protect our Nation’s wild places.  But even well-meaning people can make mistakes.  In their effort to minimize trash around Yosemite’s cliffs, they are finalizing a permit system that will not reach its goals:

·         Climbing ranger Jesse McGahey claims that 95% of big wall climbers are good stewards and that only 5% of climbers are responsible for the mess.  No system is 100% effective.  It is illogical to add bureaucracy and limit freedom for such a small increase in possible compliance.

·         Some of the trash around the walls (especially El Cap’s summit) is left by climbers doing the wall in a day (eg NIAD ascents) and folk camping on the summit for multiple days while rappelling down to work on free routes.  NEITHER of these demographics are affected by the permit system, despite their being a major part of the problem.

·         The permit system as currently designed doesn’t have a cost or a quota; however, it is clear that it will soon.  NPS has recently created for-profit “lotteries” for the quotas involving staying in Camp 4, hiking up Half Dome, and even getting a reservation to enter the park during “peak hours.”   NPS could guarantee that this won’t happen, but they haven’t done so.  Their track record is clear.  

Small aside:  all of these park lottery fees are collected by Rec.gov, which, despite its government domain, is actually run by Booz-Allen-Hamilton, a SEVEN BILLION a year private corporation that “won” a contract to run government websites for their own profit.  Let’s not give NPS another reason to give this corporation more money.  The fees don’t go to the parks!!!

Climbers as well as the NPS have the same desire:  to keep Yosemite’s big walls clean.  The climbing community has done a stellar job cleaning up after itself.  Ken Yager’s annual Facelift is a wonderful example of climbers coming together, volunteering their time to pick up climber as well as tourist trash.  We already have 95% compliance with keeping the walls clean.  The remaining focus needs to be on further clean ups.  The climbing community would jump at the chance to help.  But a misguided, inefficient permit system will not achieve the goals they have set for it.  But this system would limit the freedom of climbers, and it will grow into a monetized quota system feeding dollars to a multi-billion dollar corporation.

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Please sign this petition.  It will maximize climber freedom and eliminate added government bureaucracy that cannot achieve its proposed goals.