Showcasing the rich history of Yosemite climbing the Yosemite Climbing Museum & Gallery is due to officially open on Saturday 23 April with completion of an outdoor seating area seating up to 60 people. This area will be used as both a picnic area as well as an outdoor speaker event and movie night area during the summer months.
The Yosemite Climbing Museum and Gallery in Mariposa, California is an invaluable asset to the global climbing community. The space provides a unique forum for displaying and curating historical climbing artefacts as well as photography, publications and memorabilia. Yosemite local Ken Yager realised there was a need for preserving climbing history decades ago; the Mariposa space demonstrates his commitment to filling that need.
Since the Yosemite Climbing Association (YCA) first started working on the space in 2019, they have arranged gallery walls of photography, which showcases Yosemite climbing history through the lens of prolific artists including legendary Yosemite photographers; Glen Denny, Bob Swift, Wayne Merry, George Whitmore, George Meryers, Dean Fidelmen and others. These walls are lined with display cases which feature impressive artefacts and hardware, showing the evolution of climbing and gear over time.
It was love at first sight when Ken Yager met Yosemite Valley for the first time in 1972. Yager, after serving his rock apprenticeship under Warren Harding, finally started living his Yosemite dream by moving to the Valley when he was 17. He has an impressive climbing resume and guesses he’s climbed El Cap around 60 times, but in his usual humble fashion, has not kept track. He worked as a Yosemite Mountain School guide over 11 years, when he guided the monolith three to six times a year. His love for Yosemite motivated him to establish the Yosemite Climbing Association in 2003. Under this umbrella, he has collected decades’ worth of climbing gear and history and advocated for the establishment of the Yosemite Climbing Museum. He also started Yosemite Facelift because of his embarrassment at guiding clients through trash and toilet paper. In 2015, his efforts earned him the David R. Brower Conservation Award from the American Alpine Club.
