FINDING HETCH HETCHY: The Hidden Yosemite, a film highlighting the extraordinary rock climbing opportunities at Hetch Hetchy is now available for viewing online. Have a look and let us know what you think. And please share it with your friends.
Timmy O’Neill and Lucho Rivera climb the rarely-visited walls of Hetch Hetchy Valley, famously compared by naturalist John Muir to Yosemite Valley itself.
Finding Hetch Hetchy tells the story of Timmy O’Neill’s first trip to Hetch Hetchy. Timmy has spent three decades scaling the monoliths in Yosemite Valley (and is currently Executive Director of the Yosemite Climbing Association) but, like so many climbers in the park, had never visited Hetch Hetchy. He is guided by Lucho Rivera who, along with his wife Mecia Serafino, is one of the few climbers familiar with Hetch Hetchy’s granite walls. Shortly after the filming, Lucho and Mecia joined the board of Restore Hetch Hetchy.
Joining Timmy and Lucho on Hetch Hetchy Dome were filmmaker James ‘Q’ Martin and his crew, cinematographer Mikey Schaefer and sound man/rigger Nelson Klein. Burkard Studios put the team together and Chris Burkard also supplied rarely seen footage of the top of Wapama Falls.
Rock climbing is not for everybody; but it’s something we can all appreciate. The walls at Hetch Hetchy provide wonderful opportunities for climbers willing to go a bit further and work with the National Park Service’s limitations to access the area.
Restore Hetch Hetchy wants to improve access for all visitors to Yosemite – families, hikers, birdwatchers, fishermen as well as rock climbers – everyone. There’s lots to see and appreciate – even with the dam in place. Importantly, we are confident that people who visit Hetch Hetchy, see its beauty and learn its story will support relocating the existing reservoir and returning Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural splendor.
“What is really unique about climbing in Hetch Hetchy is how few people are there. It is truly this wild place. You always hear Hetch Hetchy is equal in beauty to Yosemite Valley. That is true, “ says O’Neill in the documentary. Of the mission to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley, O’Neill says: “I see the ability to have a clean slate, a blank canvas, where you take the lessons learned from Yosemite Valley but have it be cleaner, quieter and less congested.”
When Congress created Yosemite National Park in 1890, Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy, once home to Native Americans, was to be protected in perpetuity. In the early 1900s, however, San Francisco launched a campaign to dam and flood Hetch Hetchy and won Congressional approval, in 1913, to do so, burying the extraordinary valley under water and making the surrounding canyon nearly inaccessible to visitors. Although the unprecedented battle to stop the dam was unsuccessful, it helped launch the international environmental movement.
“Yosemite Valley is well-known as the epicenter of American climbing, but Hetch Hetchy, its sister valley to the north, has long been left in its shadows, despite being part of Yosemite National Park. When Hetch Hetchy is restored to its natural splendor, it will be another mecca for climbers—as well as for those who simply like to watch them from terra firma,” said Martin who co-directed the film. “It was thrilling to shoot on those towering granite walls as Timmy and Lucho took on this climbing challenge, and an honor to be part of bringing a message of both access and restoration, to climbers and the outdoor community, about this remarkable place.”
Restore Hetch Hetchy staff and volunteers joined the climbing team and film crew for a hearty dinner at the Evergreen Lodge the evening before the three day ascent of Hetch Hetchy’s granite cliffs. Clockwise from lower left, Erika Ghose, Evan Ruderman, Jeff Brundage, Chris Burkard, Mikey Shaefer, Timmy O’Neill, Mecia Sarafina, Julene Freitas, Virginia Johannessen, Spreck Rosekrans, Lucho Rivera, James Q Martin, Nelson Klein and Jack Pier.
We are proud to have worked with these extraordinary filmmakers and climbers to help raise awareness of our mission to relocate the reservoir outside Yosemite and restore Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural splendor. Our vision is to return this glorious place to the people as a new kind of national park, with shared stewardship, an improved visitor experience and protection of its natural and cultural heritage. We believe restoration will be an inspiration to people across the globe.