El Capitan Meadow Peaches with Ken Yager

Ken Yager knew two things from an early age. He wanted to climb El Capitan and live in Yosemite. Having accomplished both his goals at such an early age, he now dedicates his time to fulfilling other lifelong dreams like establishing a Yosemite climbing museum and organizing the biggest yearly cleanup project in all the national parks.

Ken's Yosemite Facelift project has grown in popularity over the years, and is being recognized by receiving the David R. Brower Conservation Award in 2015. His love for Yosemite is evident and Ken is credited for bringing together many different user groups for this project. He is even regarded by the climbing community as the bridge builder who established significant breakthroughs in relationships between climbers and rangers. This is no small feat considering the rocky relationship that dated back to the early climbing days in the 1950s.