Clinic and workshop registration reserved for participants and volunteers, and is included in registration! Sign up for all clinics, workshops, and stewardship projects opens on Monday, June 5th.
Locations TBD. If you have any accessibility concerns about attending a clinic, please email [email protected] and we will work with you to accommodate your needs.
2 extra raffle tickets for all who participate in a stewardship project!
9am-3pm Climbing Clinics
*All clinics presented in partnership with Yosemite Mountaineering School*
Intro to Trad with Eddie Taylor and Genevive Walker (Black Affinity Space)
How do you climb a wall that doesn’t already have protection bolts in place? Learn the basics of traditional (“trad”) climbing from Eddie and Genevive, including different types of protection gear, when and how to place gear, how to remove gear, and basic trad anchors.
Gym to Crag hosted by Yosemite Mountaineering School and ParaCliffHangers
A mellow, at-your-own-pace introduction to climbing welcome to all. Come with a little experience climbing in the gym, or come with no experience at all as your first time climbing! We’ll have ropes set up for climbing, and cover some basic climbing and belay techniques. This clinic will foster an environment where people of all abilities and experience levels will be able to get a hang for Yosemite climbing.
Intro to Trad with Kelly Fields and Miranda Oakley
Miranda Oakley was the first woman to rope solo El Capitan in less than 24 hours. Kelly Fields grew up eating cams for breakfast. Between the two of them, they know all the tips and tricks to help you place good gear quickly and with confidence.
Bouldering Photography with Felipe Nordenflycht Tapia
Presented by RAB
Up your photography game with this clinic taught by professional climbing and adventure photographer, Felipe Tapia Nordenflycht. You’ll learn how to apply concepts such as framing, composition, lighting, and movement on the wall. Put it all together as you practice your new skills shooting a photogenic route in the iconic Yosemite area.
9am-3pm Bouldering Meet-up
Bouldering Workshop with Nina Williams and Shondeen Chavez
Join Nina and Shondeen on a mellow introduction to outdoor bouldering. Practice safe bouldering by positioning crash pads and “spot” a falling climber correctly! While Yosemite is most well-known for its sweeping granite walls, find out for yourself why it is also an undercover world-class bouldering destination!
9am-2pm Stewardship projects
Park beautification / Litter Pick Up
Difficulty: low to moderate
Requires: walking up to 2 miles, possibly off trail.
Capacity: 12
Join leaders of the Yosemite Climbing Association on a mission to clean up Yosemite Valley! From 9am – 12pm, walk from Yellow Pines campground and rescue trash, helping it to find the appropriate waste stream. What volunteers collect will be sorted into appropriate waste streams and weighed to measure the impact of our awesome crew! Bring lunch, water, sunscreen, and be prepared to walk as far as you want. All protective equipment will be provided.
Weed Warriors
Difficulty: Strenuous
Requires: walking off trail, using shovel or loppers to remove plants. Takes place in sunny areas.
Capacity: 12
Bull thistle is a plant introduced to this continent. While native to eastern Europe and western Asia, bull thistle can be detrimental to native ecosystems across this North American continent. They can create thickets in open, recently disturbed areas, and reduce biodiversity of native plants, pollinators, and birds. This project will work to remove bull thistle from a location within the valley, allowing native vegetation to thrive in the open space. Bring lunch, water, sunscreen, and be prepared for potentially sweaty labor. All protective equipment will be provided.
2-5pm Workshops
Ancient and Revolutionary: Block Printing in Yosemite Valley
Join print maker Santiago Palacio for a 2-3 hour block printing class. Santiago has lived and worked in the Yosemite now for 27 years and spends much of his time exploring the natural landscape. You will be guided in this ancient and revolutionary art form. With instruction students will develop their print from drawing to a complete printed piece. Students will learn about drawing, transferring drawings onto blocks, carving with specialized tools and printing. From beginning to end this process is completely analogue. Novices and experts are welcomed. The class is a safe space where all can explore their creative force without any fear or judgment. Students will be able to keep their blocks and take their prints home with them.
Leave No Trace hosted by Latino Outdoors
Through this workshop, participants will gain a better understanding of the Leave No Trace (LNT) principles and how they may apply within the framework of rock climbing. We will discuss relevant examples of recreation scenarios that may be encountered while experiencing Yosemite National Park. Participants should expect to move locations at least once during this workshop as leaders will utilize the landscape to educate participants as part of the real-world examples. While this workshop aims to be as informative as possible during our allotted time, it is not intended to be a replacement for personal research or education on the principles and scenarios that someone may encounter while recreating outdoors.
9am-3pm Climbing Clinics
*All clinics presented in partnership with Yosemite Mountaineering School*
Big Wall Basics with Stefan Hadeed and Merryn Venugopal
Have you gazed up at the tall walls of Yosemite Valley, and wondered how to climb them? This clinic will cover the essential skills for ascending walls that are too hard to climb without aid – that’s placing and pulling up on gear, rather than making upward progress with just our hands and feet. We’ll go through basics of aid climbing with and without ladders, and “jugging” or ascending a fixed rope.
Crack Climbing 101 with Patrick Dunn and Anna Pfaff
Learn the secrets of crack climbing with Patrick and Anna! We’ll cover how to climb cracks of various sizes – fingers, hands, fists and wider – with plenty of time for everyone to practice on the wall!
Mental Game / Falling with Lor Sabourin and Carlin Reynolds (Queer Affinity Space)
Being effective in climbing requires us to understand the consequences of our decisions and actions. In climbing the main consequence is falling. By understanding how to fall we diminish the chance of injury and allow us to focus attention effectively on climbing. You’ll learn how to: fall safely through progressive falling practice; give a dynamic (cushioned) belay; fall while clipping or committing; distinguish between no- and yes-fall zones; deal with fear of falling; focus on what you can control; reduce fear, and more
Intro to Trad hosted by Brown Girls Climb with Cindy Su and Marian Perez (People of the Global Majority, women + gender expansive affinity space)
Have you always been curious how to climb routes that don’t have bolts, and how to use those funky-looking stoppers and cam widgets? In this course we will cover when and how to place traditional gear, how to assess placements, when and how to extend placements and some simple anchors. The goal is to create a supportive environment for everyone to learn at their own pace and take away as much as possible from the course.
Bouldering Photography with Felipe Tapia Nordenflycht
Presented by Rab
Up your photography game with this clinic taught by professional climbing and adventure photographer, Felipe Tapia Nordenflycht. You’ll learn how to apply concepts such as framing, composition, lighting, and movement on the wall. Put it all together as you practice your new skills shooting a photogenic route in the iconic Yosemite area.
9am-3pm Bouldering Meet-up
Bouldering Workshop with Keenan Takahashi and Katie Lamb
Keenan and Katie will be running a bouldering meet-up for any experience level and hope to showcase the supportive and fun elements of bouldering. Come hang out and stay cool in the powerful presence of the forest and learn the intricacies of climbing on the ever-cryptic granite. Take home problem solving tactics to apply to a lifetime of climbing.
9am-2pm Stewardship projects
Seed cleaning
Difficulty: Easy
Requires: sitting, attention to detail
Capacity: 8
Staff at Yosemite National Park collect seeds from over 150 different species of native plant for restoration and rehabilitation projects throughout the park. In an average year, they collect over 200lbs of seeds! For long term storage, seeds are cleaned (excess chaff removed) so they have a longer shelf life. This will involve using various hand tools to break up the chaff and separate it from the seeds. The work is indoors, repetitive, and requires an attention to detail. It is an amazing opportunity to get to know plants on a deeper level.
Climbing Trails in collaboration with the Access Fund
Difficulty: Strenuous
Requires: Walking, kneeling, lifting heavy objects, using hand tools
Capacity: 12
Informal trails can lead to erosion, loss of plant habitat, and disrupt cultural sites. Join the Yosemite Climbing Trails Coordinator and the Access Fund to move some dirt and rocks around and stabilize a trail to a popular climbing destination! This work can be strenuous and may require lifting up to 40 lbs. Requires long pants and closed toed shoes. Bring lunch, water, sunscreen, and be prepared for strenuous. All protective equipment will be provided.
2-5pm Workshops
Plein Air Painting 101
Capacity: 10
Latasha Greene (@jitterbug_art) on the art of observing nature from a place of stillness while completing watercolor studies. No experience necessary. Bring your watercolor materials if you got them, otherwise they will be provided!
Vulnerability as a SuperPower with Marcus Garcia brought to you by RAB and the Climbing Grief Fund
What is it we are fearing? What is the root of our fear and how can we use it to rediscover ourselves? We will be in a safe space to have an open discussion. We get raw here. You can share are just listen. It is ok not to be ok. Professional climber, RAB athlete, and guide Marcus Garcia will share his own journey of finding healing with grief and resiliency.
9am-12pm
Merced River: Wild and Scenic
The Merced River, which flows through the heart of Yosemite Valley is designated as a Wild and Scenic River. However, once indigenous stewards were removed in the late 1800s, early settlers and park managers made many alterations to the river and adjacent meadows, which have negatively impacted their health and vitality to this day. Learn about what is being done now to restore the river, meadows, and how we can let natural processes prevail once again.
Difficulty: Not strenuous, but will involve walking off trail on relatively flat terrain along riverbanks.
Location: Meet at Stoneman Bridge, we will walk up the riverbank to Ahwahnee Bridge and then down the bike path to Sugar Pine Bridge. We will see three restoration projects in various stages of recovery (2016, 2017, 2020) and then will see my crew actively working along the riverbank between Ahwahnee Bridge and Sugar Pine Bridge.
2pm-4pm
Climb Stronger For Longer Clinic w/ Dr. Davis Ngo, PT, DPT
Have you ever had a finger injury that just wouldn’t heal, no matter how many Google rehab protocols you put it through? Have you ever gone to the doctor and been told to “just stop climbing for a couple weeks” to see if your shoulder pain would improve? Or are you just starting out with climbing and hoping to improve as quickly as possible without getting an overuse injury? Then this clinic is for YOU!
Dr. Davis Ngo is a licensed and practicing Doctor of Physical Therapy with over a decade of climbing experience. Join him on Monday, June 26th for a fun and dynamic clinic where you will learn the fundamental principles of rehab, prehab, and training. At the end of this clinic, you will have a deeper knowledge of topics such as: common injuries and how to prevent them, physiological healing processes and timelines, progressive loading, proper warm ups for climbing, the neuroscience of pain, and more!
Davis believes rehab, prehab, and training do NOT have to be mutually exclusive, and they should NOT be over-complicated. In this clinic, you will gain simple and practical tools which you can easily apply to your own training in order to Climb Stronger for Longer!
Come prepared for a fun day filled with movement, education, and maybe warm-up dance or two! And as always: Have fun, try HARD, DON’T GET INJURED!
Location: Yellow Pines campground
