• @[email protected]
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        5 months ago

        From a different, much more thorough article:

        "In 2010, the National Park Service took action to prevent overcrowding that was thought to lead to accidents, particularly in bad weather. It instituted a 300-person-per-day limit on the summit and required hikers to apply for daily permits through the lottery.

        Unfortunately, it didn’t work. A 2018 study by Wilderness & Environmental Medicine showed that after the permit system went into effect, the number of incidents per person doubled. The study’s authors theorized that the difficulty in obtaining a permit made people more intent on reaching the summit with their one chance, despite the risks.

        “I think it’s good to limit how many people are up there, because it’s obviously very dangerous,” said McGlynn, who despite heavy rain and hail climbed to the start of the cables with her mother to behold Half Dome from below. “But they really do nothing to disincentivize people from doing the climb in bad weather.”

        The park doesn’t issue refunds or allow a Half Dome permit to be transferred to another day, she said, and they don’t prioritize permit holders thwarted by storms in future lotteries."

      • Blackout
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        55 months ago

        I’ve been in this situation before and no. Usually to get these tickets you got to be near a computer when they release as they go fast. So there isn’t much alternative if they miss the time for any reason.

        • @[email protected]
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          5 months ago

          Usually to get these tickets you got to be near a computer when they release

          Many controlled access routes don’t use a lottery, instead are first come, first serve. I’ve hovered over the submit button many times.

          But, that’s not how it works in Yosemite. It’s a true lottery. There’s a window of time to submit. Then, selections are random.