Denali: Dirtbags Need Not Apply?
Posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
(Mount Foraker is America’s fourth-highest peak. Photo by Scott Schupbach.)
Word comes from the Access Fund and American Alpine Club that the National Park Service is considering raising the fees climbers pay to attempt some of the marquee peaks in Denali National Park.
The groups say the Park Service may hike the fee from $200 to $500 for climbing Mount McKinley (elev. 20,320) and Mount Foraker (elev. 17,400). The agency’s annual budget for its mountaineering program is more than $1 million.
Will America’s highest peaks be off-limits to all but wealthy climbers? That’s been the worry of advocates like Oregon-based Wild Wilderness since user fees became a prominent fixture in public land management in the late 1990s.
“The increase would make climbing in the national park impossible for some climbers and significantly damage local businesses that provide guiding and other services to visiting climbers,” the Access Fund posted on its news page.
The Access Fund and AAC have joined with the American Mountain Guide Association, guide services and air taxi companies to lobby Alaska’s congressional delegation against a possible fee hike. But with already-strapped land managers facing recessionary budget cuts, don’t be surprised to see more of these fee proposals raised.
They’ll raise it to $300. Even $500 is not an unreasonable fee – when you consider the services provided by the National Parks Service.