We can protect America’s rock climbing — and its Wilderness Areas, too

As a professional rock climber and conservation advocate, I’ve spent my life and career in Wilderness areas. These places are iconic, inspirational, and — in many cases — downright sacred.

While simply gazing upon them is a powerful experience, they leave their most lasting impact on those of us who immerse ourselves in them. I want future generations to have that same opportunity, and I’m thrilled that Colorado has visionary leaders like Sen. John Hickenlooper and Rep. Joe Neguse working to make it happen.

I support the bipartisan Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act because it celebrates America’s climbing history and its Wilderness areas. Climbing in Wilderness is special and requires a light touch and a lowimpact style. The bill would bring much- needed consistency to federal climbing management policy and protect America’s iconic Wilderness climbing. It protects both Wilderness character and sustainable access to America’s most incredible vertical terrain. That’s just one of the reasons that the bill enjoys broad support from recreationists and conservationists across the country.

When I first started climbing in 1975, boldness was the currency of our small community. In places like Joshua Tree and Yosemite National Parks, we pursued ever- growing objectives with a “clean climbing” ethos — only leaving fixed anchors like pitons, bolts, and slings when absolutely necessary. Modern climbers who venture into these and other Wilderness areas adopt a similar ethic, which has enjoyed support from federal Wilderness managers since the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964.

But today, all of that could change.

Bureaucrats in the National Park Service’s Washington,

D. C. office have recently moved to upend the agency’s longstanding support for sustainable Wilderness climbing activities. This shift is a direct threat to the future of climbing in these areas, and could erase iconic climbs that I know well like The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

I became the first person to free climb The Nose in 1993, after years of effort. That process required me to know the climb in greater detail than I ever thought possible. It’s a bold adventure that captures the spirit of Wilderness climbing, and continues to challenge cutting- edge climbers today. That legacy could be erased with an ill- considered change in federal policy.

The Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act protects climbing and our Wilderness areas. It explicitly prohibits inappropriate climbing activities that could impact the wild nature of America’s Wilderness Preservation System.

I’m immensely proud to have helped push the standards of climbing forward, first alongside the “Stonemasters” of southern California in the 1970s and later through free climbing and worldwide exploration. There’s something uniquely satisfying about living on the cutting edge in any discipline, and I’m thrilled that the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act will also protect these climbs for future generations to enjoy.

Let’s embrace the nuts- andbolts policies and spirit of adventure that helped create a broad coalition of public lands advocates. Let’s support our federal representatives working to make it happen. Let’s pass the Protecting America’s Rock Climbing Act.

Lynn Hill is a living legend. Lynn changed the definition of what is possible in rock climbing with her first free ascent of the most famous big wall climb in the world called The Nose on El Capitan, located in a Wilderness area in Yosemite National Park, California. She has climbed extensively in and out of Wilderness areas in the United States and around the world.