Comment from Kiser, Karl

I started climbing in 1974 and climbed on public lands throughout the west. Clearly most of my climbing occurred on established historic routes which included fixed anchors. I oppose any effort to functionally employ a de facto ban on fixed anchors. It is a climbing safety issue and "purest" voices do not reflect the greater climbing community nor the public at large. 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.