Yosemite’s Climbing Legacy May Get New Museum

The Yosemite Museum at Yosemite National Park is currently featuring a new exhibit dedicated to rock climbing.  Ken Yager and Mike Corbett, who have been collecting Yosemite rock climbing artifacts and information, are responsible for setting up the 1,800 sq. ft. exhibit that features pieces from the more than 10,000 artifacts collected since 1991.

Ken Yager and Mike Corbett are hoping that their efforts will lead to the establishment of a new rock climbing museum dedicated to Yosemite National Park.  They are already working with a nonprofit organization to push the initiative forward and try to draw interest in the history of one of the world’s elite rock climbing areas.

The Fresno Bee has put up an excellent article detailing the new exhibit at the Yosemite Museum, as well as discussing the ongoing efforts to establish a museum specifically garnered towards Yosemite’s rock climbing heritage.

With the recent establishment of the Bradford-Washburn Museum of American Mountaineering in Boulder, Colorado, plus the news of a possible museum dedicated to climbing in Yosemite National Park, it looks like mountaineering and the history of this dangerous sport may be heading to a more ‘mainstream’ and accepted future in the years ahead.  We can only hope that the United States’ climbing legacy can be preserved and shared  with future generations and inspire those who come after.  With guys like Ken Yager and Mike Corbett leading the way to preserving the history of climbing, it is only a matter of time before others jump on board.  I look to that future–