Free solo ... with a permit: will Yosemite's new rules put a damper on climbing culture?

The national park is instituting a permitting system for overnight rock climbers. Many see it as inevitable as the sport gets more popularFor years, rock climbers Graham Ottley and Keith Bouma-Gregson dreamed of scaling the 2,800ft (853 meters) pillar of granite known as the Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite national park.In early May the pair finally got their chance, making a climb that required spending two windy nights camped on tiny ledges with harnesses holding them to the rocks. But Ottley and Bouma-Gregson realize that soon it may not be as easy to enjoy Yosemite's anything-goes climbing culture. Continue reading...