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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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May 13, 2017 - 05:42am PT
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I thought you were able to just climb them for free--Fool from the Midwest--kind of sticks in the craw but I suppose there are a boatload of people who want to do this.
You would think that if it's just a click to sign on the price should be going down?
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c wilmot
climber
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May 13, 2017 - 06:02am PT
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The nps has a 13 Billion dollar backlog of deferred maintence. With all the new monuments Barry added to the nps budget something has got to give.
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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May 13, 2017 - 06:25am PT
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Not to worry, Doofus will be putting up a gondola before he's impeached.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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May 13, 2017 - 06:29am PT
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Once again, public lands becoming the playground of only those that can afford it.
Susan
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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May 13, 2017 - 06:32am PT
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The nps has a 13 Billion dollar backlog of deferred maintence. With all the new monuments Barry added to the nps budget something has got to give.
Come on wilmot, surely you are aware that something like 80% of the gross revenues remain in the park.
I hope that the new fees do not push more crowds to the less traveled trails. Clouds Rest might see a dozen hikers while hundreds are at Half Dome. Shame to see more areas get overcrowded.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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May 13, 2017 - 06:34am PT
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St. Moritz here we come.
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monolith
climber
state of being
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May 13, 2017 - 06:51am PT
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Still possible to do the runs, just get to the base before 9am or so before the rangers, then carry climbing shoes so you can claim to have done snake dike.
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Moof
Big Wall climber
Orygun
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May 13, 2017 - 07:40am PT
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$13B is what, 10 days of military spending? I'd rather have more parks and fewer wars.
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gunsmoke
Mountain climber
Clackamas, Oregon
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May 13, 2017 - 07:41am PT
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Government doing what government does. Taking more control. Needing more money. In 2010 when the notion of needing a permit first came up it was supposedly for "safety." Right! 400 person max, only on weekends. Permits were ... free. Admin fee was $1.50. The next year, predictably, it extended to all seven days. Then the number of permits issued went down. I guess that was for "safety" as well. Right? Then the revenue generation kicks in. What was once $1.50, then $8, now needs $20 to cover their cost. Why am I surprised?
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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May 13, 2017 - 07:53am PT
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Hey wilmot, maybe the 1% can trickle down a little of their giant ass tax cut. Or maybe the military can kick down a few coins from their 58 billion dollar increase. This is not "Barry's" fault, not by a long shot.
How many times do you people need to hear military industrial complex?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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May 13, 2017 - 09:07am PT
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Are free gloves still included?
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Matt Sarad
climber
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May 13, 2017 - 09:19am PT
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I first climbed the cables in 1980. It was already crowded. Carried a six pack of Heinekin with me and shared it with strangers who became close friends immediately.
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Killer K
Boulder climber
Sacramento, CA
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May 13, 2017 - 09:21am PT
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I hope they don't start mandating climbing permits....
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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May 13, 2017 - 10:05am PT
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The first time I ever touched the cables was on descent after climbing the RNWFHD in three days with a way too large haulbag.
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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May 13, 2017 - 11:30am PT
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Change sucks. I prefer large bills.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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May 13, 2017 - 12:33pm PT
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The last time I used the cables, was going up about 5-6am after a night hike with a bunch of friends. Just hours before, there had been a lightning storm; the crowds scared and rushing to get off had triggered a person to fall and die. We passed people wrapped in rescue blankets and the rescue crews coming out, who were dealing with their own trauma and frustrated that we were on our way up.
So I can see with the crazy demand for usage, and a fixed supply, and the risk factors that come from not regulating usage, they need a way to manage the demand:
1. lottery system is the most fair way to allocate when a bunch of people want it
2. Charging a fee reduces the demand so there are fewer people turned away.
It is the way of our world that money gives you access to stuff when many people want it and there is not enough to go around. That's why some people choose to buckle down and do things that aren't the passion of their lives, to make more money to give them more power do get other things they want in life. We all choose our paths and live with the consequences.
The ugliness of the competition is why I stopped taking my kids to busy national parks and why we camp in the boonies on USFS and BLM lands. At least until those get sold to states who sell them to developers, miners, etc.
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WBraun
climber
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May 13, 2017 - 12:49pm PT
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Why you climbers care?
Just climb Snake Dike or the face and it's free.
Oh wait .... none of you even climb .....
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aldude
climber
Monument Manor
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May 13, 2017 - 02:12pm PT
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More cap and trade regulations....just strip the dome and let people experience it in it's natural state.
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gunsmoke
Mountain climber
Clackamas, Oregon
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May 13, 2017 - 04:18pm PT
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I can see with the crazy demand for usage, and a fixed supply, and the risk factors that come from not regulating usage
The reason the permit system went into place is because the trail to Half Dome crosses into backcountry wilderness. The park service didn't want over a thousand people on weekend days concentrated in a small area of backcountry. But that's not the rationale they give, is it. They give the "safety" rationale because, although fictitious, it's easier to float. On a per-person basis, there is little if any indication that 100 persons per day is safer than 1000 persons per day. (The possible exception being a thunderstorm that causes a descent stampede.) When my son was young we waited in line to get onto the cables then proceeded up, packed like sardines. It was safer than any of my other ascents because you couldn't fall! On that day I was happy for the crowd.
My prior trip was guiding a friend who was in remission from cancer. Setting his sites to climb the iconic Half Dome became a huge motivator to get back in shape and get on with life. That was one of my most important trips into the backcountry. His cancer later recurred and he eventually passed. But I'm glad to have had the chance to guide that part of his journey. Many trips up HD may seem unnecessary or even frivolous. But who am I to judge individual motivations and outcomes? When the park takes away tens of thousands of trips up HD, they take away countless experiences that, for some, will last a lifetime. I think the trail to HD can bear the numbers. I don't support a permit system. And charging a fee that far exceeds expenses is wrong.
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