Project overview: Host the third annual United in Yosemite multiday climbing event that elevates diversity, inclusion, and access in the climbing community through clinics, affinity-group spaces, mentorship, and stewardship opportunities.  

How your support helps: United in Yosemite seeks to address some of the barriers that marginalized or underserved individuals face in accessing climbing opportunities, mentorship, or community in Yosemite National Park. Climbers who identify as people of color (POC), queer, gender expansive, and/or disabled have faced historical exclusion from outdoor spaces, national parks, and climbing culture. In fact, only approximately 20% of climbers identify as POC. This is partly due to the challenges of finding affinity spaces within rural climbing areas and accessing climbing accommodations for physical or neurological disabilities. 

United in Yosemite is a free, five-day event centered on building community that includes climbing clinics and workshops, camping in Yosemite Valley, expert speakers, group dinners, and stewardship projects. While the United in Yosemite event is open to all people with an interest in rock climbing, it is specifically geared toward athletes who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+. For this reason, the program prioritizes breaking down financial barriers and bringing on instructors who share identity markers with participants to provide opportunities for mentorship and role-modeling. 

United in Yosemite elevates issues in diversity, equity, inclusion, and access in the climbing community by creating a sense of belonging for participants and giving them space to form unique connections with Yosemite. 

This year: The third annual United in Yosemite event is scheduled for summer 2025. With your support, the park teams will hire a project coordinator to develop and create opportunities for 100 participants to engage with the climbing community and Yosemite. 

Project partners: American Alpine Club, Access Fund, National Park Service Accessibility Office, and Yosemite National Park 

Jesse McGahey

Climbing Program Manager, Yosemite National Park

Project Notes

“Our goal is to plan and execute an event that includes the following: building a more open and welcoming community, celebrating and opening doors to these communities, facilitating conversation around challenges and opportunities in the park, connecting participants to the sacred and inspiring landscape of Yosemite, and having fun!”