Permit Needed To Spend Night On Yosemite Rock Routes

Yosemite photo

Yosemite, CA – While the thought of being suspended by ropes in a tent high along a rocky mountainside may induce vertigo for some, it is a dream experience for many climbers.

Come May 21^st a permit will be needed to camp overnight on rock climbing routes. It is a new free Pilot Overnight Climbing Permit System program being enacted by the park and scheduled to last two years. Park officials say this will help them better understand how park visitors use Yosemite’s big walls while helping to improve climbing wilderness ethics and reduce negative human impacts caused by that use.

Visitors can get an overnight climbing permit on Friday, May 14^th at 8 a.m. There will be no cost to climbers during the pilot program. It is unclear if that will change if the park decides to fully implement the program.

The park provided these additional details:

• This permit is only for climbers who intend to sleep on Yosemite’s climbing routes.
• Your application must be submitted between 15 and 4 days in advance of your entry date.
• Permits are free and issued without a quota.
• Applications will be reviewed and responded to within 48 hours.
• You must pick up your permit in person:
  • Behind the Valley Visitor Center (7:30 am to noon through October 31) at the wilderness climbing permit-issuing desk.
  • El Capitan Meadow (12:30 pm to 4:30 pm, May 15 to July 4, and September 1 to October 31) at the daily Ask A Climber program.