Half Dome is a widely recognized granite formation in Yosemite National Park that visitors have eagerly ascended for years, permit-free. But due to an increase in visitors, as well as four deaths since 2008, Yosemite has decided to require permits for all visitors who want to summit Half Dome. Officials began the permit law in January of 2010, and hope that this will reduce the amount of visitors who come specifically to do the 17-mile-round-trip hike. As many as 1,200 people at once have come to fight their way to the cables, which aid visitors in getting up the steep granite hill. “People have had to wait at the base of the cables for up to two hours,” says Kari Kobb, a spokesperson for Yosemite National Park. Hopefully permit requirements will allow individuals to enjoy the hike and the subsequent view of the valley without the crowds.
[Via: The Goat]
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