SUIT TARGETS CLIMBER HAVEN; GROUP WANTS YOSEMITE TO DUMP BUILDING PLANS.Byline: Eric Leach Daily News Staff Writer Rock climbers This list of climbers includes both mountaineers and rock climbers, since many (though not all) climbers engage in both types of activities. The list also includes boulderers and ice climbers. have filed suit against the National Park Service over its plans to build motel rooms near a unique campground in Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park (yōsĕm`ĭtē), 761,266 acres (308,205 hectares), E central Calif.; est. 1890 as a result of the efforts of conservationist John Muir. Located in the Sierra Nevada, it is a glacier-scoured area of great beauty; Mt. where they and backpacking backpacking Sport of hiking while carrying clothing, food, and camping equipment in a pack on the back. In the early 20th century backpacking was primarily a means of getting to wilderness areas inaccessible by car or by day hike. vagabonds from throughout the world have been gathering for decades. The lawsuit filed last week in federal court in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden seeks to block development of Yosemite Lodge buildings and employee dormitories near the Sunnyside Campground, also known as Camp 4. Plaintiffs include Warren Harding, Royal Robbins Royal Robbins (born 1935) was one of the early pioneers of American climbing. Learning his skill at Tahquitz he moved on to put up many of the early Yosemite routes. A prolific writer, Robbins has written numerous influential magazine articles emphasizing a philosophy of minimal , Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born 1938 in Maine) is a rock climber, environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman, noted for his contributions to climbing, climbing equipment and the outdoor gear business. Chouinard is also a surfer, kayaker, falconer and fisherman. and Tom Frost - men who pioneered some of the most difficult ascents in Yosemite Valley Yo·sem·i·te Valley A valley of east-central California along the Merced River. It is surrounded by Yosemite National Park and has many waterfalls, including Yosemite Falls, with a total drop of 739.6 m (2,425 ft). , including the face of El Capitan El Cap·i·tan A peak, 2,308.5 m (7,569 ft) high, in the Sierra Nevada of central California. Its dramatic exposed monolith rises some 1,098 m (3,600 ft) above the floor of the Yosemite Valley. . Chouinard and Frost engineered climbing equipment A wide range of equipment is used during rock climbing. The most popular types of climbing equipment are briefly described in this article. The article on protecting a climb describes equipment commonly used to protect a climber against the consequences of a fall. that became the standard for the world, and Chouinard founded the Patagonia sports clothing Sports clothing is a general term for clothing while performing a sport. Each sport has its own styled clothes fitting their needs, e.g. regarding the textile (depending on the environment), the cutting and the form of clothing. company in Ventura. ``I was there in the early 1960s, and last year I came back with my son. What was just a handful of climbers in the '60s was an internationally important site for climbing,'' Frost said Friday. ``It's become the most important campground on the world stage as far as climbers are concerned.'' The plaintiffs say the planned development will bring too many people into the area, increasing noise and crowding and destroying the unique atmosphere of the campground. Sally Moser, executive director of the Access Fund, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the issue is particularly emotional because Sunnyside Camp is a mecca for climbers and a symbol of their lifestyle. ``Camp 4 symbolizes the climbing lifestyle - living with very little, living in the dirt, living in your tent. For many climbers, it's more than just a sport. For a lot of people it's a religion,'' she said. ``This idea was born in Yosemite years ago. That's where the mythology of the camp developed,'' she said. ``Many people who are bankers and doctors and lawyers speak reverently rev·er·ent adj. Marked by, feeling, or expressing reverence. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rever of the time when they lived in Camp 4 in their youth when they were traveling around climbing. You've got this group of people who gave up comfort to follow their passion, which was climbing, just testing themselves on Yosemite's walls.'' The National Park Service wants to replace some of the hundreds of cabins and lodge rooms destroyed during the 1997 floods by erecting buildings in Camp 4. Park spokesman Scott Gediman said officials have taken the climbers' concerns into consideration, but also have to provide for people who don't camp and want to stay at the lodge. The Park Service plans to build a number of motel-style fourplex four·plex adj. 1. Composed of four parts; fourfold; quadruple. 2. Having four apartments, divisions, or floors: a fourplex apartment building. n. guest units on the north side of the road across the street from the lodge, near the site of the old gas station. ``After the flood, we are saying we are not building in the flood plain. There simply wasn't anywhere else to put them. We were never saying we were kicking people out of Sunnyside,'' Gediman said. ``The bottom line is that there are 200 less rooms visitors can stay in until they are rebuilt,'' he said. As for concerns that employee dormitories will be built in the Sunnyside area as well, Gediman said there was an initial proposal for dormitories last year, but this proposal has been modified and no decision has been made yet. ``It might turn out that there will be no employee housing around the lodge and employee housing would be moved out of the Valley,'' he said. ``The campground as it stands in the area is not going to be affected,'' he said. In contrast to the other campgrounds in Yosemite, where campers need reservations, Sunnyside is a walk-in site where there are no reservations. It costs $3 per night per person. People are not supposed to sleep in recreational vehicles there, but there are usually a few old Volkswagen campers that serve as home to some climbers. The parking lot is a social gathering place, and plaintiffs in the lawsuit fear the parking lot will be moved across the street, disconnecting it from the campground. The plaintiffs say the housing projects will be illegal without a new environmental impact report, which they hope will preserve Sunnyside. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO The crags of Yosemite have drawn a generation of climbers, who are now suing to stop a proposed lodge project. |
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