Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Death on the Dome

The permit system may have reduced the number of climbers. But by creating scarcity when it comes to climbing opportunities, it is speculated that the permit system has made people take more chances. Because the permit system has eliminated the possibility of easily making another attempt at a later date, people may continue their climb despite dangerous situations like threatening bad weather or just plain fatigue. In fact, climbers slipped on wet rock and fell to their death in May of 2018 and September of this year. It is impossible to know whether these people would have aborted in the face of impending bad weather had they known they weren’t giving up a rare opportunity by doing so. But it would be foolhardy to believe that knowing that you can’t easily come back later ISN’T going to make at least SOME people take chances they wouldn’t otherwise.