Comment from Doyle, Timothy

Like many others, climbing is the means by which I have explored this country, developed friendships, and experienced the challenges and personal rewards of navigating the beautiful and diverse terrain found around America. Exploration of these lands is a tradition older than America itself, and climbing is a beautiful and appropriate way to do so. Climbing has become more than a hobby for myself and thousands of others who have found jobs in the climbing industry. The wild and wonderful places that we climb must be protected for future generations to enjoy. This must be done in a sustainable and accessible way that allows for folks to explore and climb freely while protecting the environment that we recreated and work on. 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.