Comment from Yin, Kevin
Kevin YinSupportIndividual
Summary: The commenter supports the recognition of climbing as a legitimate wilderness activity and the use of fixed anchors for safety. They advocate for easier authorization processes for new routes and programmatic preauthorization for certain climbing areas to ensure climber safety and access.
Climbing is a legitimate and relatively low-impact use of public lands. In my opinion climbing is lower impact than hiking. Fixed anchors in wilderness areas should be considered thoughtfully, but not restricted to an arbitrary amount (e.g. 5 bolts per 100ft). I understand the concern about increased use caused by "sport" bolting but believe that a happy medium can exist between a crowded "sport" crag and untouched/off-limits rock.
I support the recognition that climbing is an appropriate Wilderness activity and that fixed anchors, critical pieces of the climbing safety system, are allowable in Wilderness. I also support provisions to allow climbers to place or replace fixed anchors without authorization in the event of an emergency. I appreciate that the policy protects existing climbing routes that were developed before the PARC Act was passed into law. Legacy Wilderness climbs should remain available in order to preserve America’s rich climbing legacy.
Please improve policies to expedite timely replacement of fixed anchors in order to avoid unnecessary barriers to climber safety. The authorization process for new climbing routes that require fixed anchors should be easier to navigate. Please provide a clear path for programmatic authorization, or preauthorization, at climbing areas that do not necessitate case-by-case special use permits.