Yosemite News
Release
January 29, 2010
For Immediate Release
Yosemite National
Park Announces Interim Program for
Half Dome Day Use Permits to Address Visitor Safety
Program to begin May 2010
Hiking to the top of Half Dome is one of the most popular hikes in
Yosemite National Park. The
iconic granite monolith, at 8,842 feet above sea level, attracts
people from all over the world who
attempt to climb to the summit. Most visitors ascend Half Dome via
the cables, which are in place
from mid-May through mid-October.
Approximately 84,000 people climbed to the top of Half Dome in 2008.
Although there are
several trailheads leading to the cables on Half Dome, the majority
of visitors start their hike at
the Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley.
The increase in popularity of the hike has resulted in large numbers
of visitors using the cables,
particularly on weekends and holidays. During last summer, Saturdays
and holidays averaged
840 visitors per day. On peak days, visitor numbers were estimated
at 1100 to 1200. This
increase has resulted in significant safety concerns. Specifically,
there was both a visitor fatality
and a visitor who sustained serious injuries on the cables during
two consecutive crowded
weekends last summer. This increase in use has also impacted the
resources and has
negatively affected the visitor experience. For example, visitors
have had to wait up to an hour to
ascend the cables on a busy day.
In an effort to address these issues, the park will institute an
interim program that will require a
Day Use Permit to hike the cables on Half Dome on Fridays,
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
starting in May, 2010. Four hundred permits will be issued per day,
300 of these will be Day Use
Permits and 100 will be included in wilderness permits. These
permits are required for the use of
the trail from the base of the Subdome to the summit of Half Dome
and include the Half Dome
cable route.
The Half Dome Day Use Permits will be available starting March 1,
2010 through
www.recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Each person
climbing the Half Dome cables
will be required to have their own permit. Up to four permits may be
obtained under one
reservation. The permits are free, however, there is a
non-refundable $1.50 service charge for
each permit obtained.
During this interim program, visitor use and impacts to the park
will be monitored. Yosemite
National Park Rangers will be studying visitor use and safety,
assessing the visitor experience,
and compiling data that will be analyzed by park managers. At this
point, the interim program will
be in effect for the 2010 visitor season, as well as the 2011
visitor season. An Environmental
Assessment process for a long-term plan for the Half Dome Cables
will begin public scoping in
spring 2010. (K Cobb 1/29/10)
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