Okay, I'll bite, for the fun of discussion.
Theatrical Title of Outside article:
Whitney Has Turned Into an Overcrowded Catastrophe
"Turned into an overcrowded" -
-well not turned into, has been for some time.
Same for Half Dome, and many popular small and large peaks in both the East and the West.
"Catastrophe"
- no, think of the hundreds and hundred of good stories.
Yes, there are, sadly, injuries and deaths, but it is probably safer than living in Chicago. The author happened to be there on a bad day with dangerous conditions and unprepared or inexperienced people. This is not new.
Is there objective proof of this catastrophe? Here is a quote from the article
"the public information officer at the Inyo County Search and Rescue office that serves Whitney, told me that accident rates jump up and down. Over the past five years, they’ve performed between six and 20 rescues a year within the Whitney Basin," i.e. it varies widely.
Are these rescues actually more than there were 50 years ago. Is there any solution?
Education/experience requirement versus restricting access, or both. But Park Service does not have capacity to do the former, only the latter.
