Climbing The Face Of Half Dome

Chris Sharma, for instance, has taken many plummets that long on his limestone cave project out in the Mojave. That’s pretty stout for smearing, but hideously slabby to fall on. Somewhere on his descent Hank’s foot caught on the wall and stopped. Imagine rapping out of there on your knees, dangling ankles that crackled. I had never hiked the death slabs nor summited Half Dome. Hiking up the night before gave us additional time to find and hike the approach in leisure as well as feel fresh for climbing the following morning.

It distracts our attention from the climb itself, which in the end is what really matters. This whole dispute over how bolts are placed is badly skewed, as if the experience of the first ascent party matters more than how it feels for the thousands who come along after. But Sean and I would rather focus on these people, the ones who will actually climb the route. As an example, take the proud and wonderful Snake Dike around the corner. My life is richer for having climbed Snake Dike, and I’ve spewed about how cool the moves are to hundreds of people.

Has Anyone Died Hiking Half Dome?

It’s since been free-soloed by Alex Honnold, had parts of pitches fall off and become one of the must-do Yosemite big wall routes. First climbed in 1957, the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome stills draws climbers from around the world over 60 years later. In the last decade, it has become a popular in-a-day objective. This route sees the majority of it’s traffic in the early summer as it is shaded most of the day, and at higher elevation than other Valley formations. Climber Steward Alexa wrote a vivid account of what it’s like to climb this incredible wall. Happy Isles past Mirror Lake via the “Death Slabs.” This option is best for northwest-facing climbs, but is an advanced option that requires skilled route finding.

We hiked Half Dome as a family, probably a dozen times between 1990 and 2010. The first time our son was about 7, and he scampered up ahead of us. My husband realized that if he slipped there would be no catching him. We never again went up without webbing and carabiners . In all that time, I don’t think we ever saw more than a couple others who hooked into the cables like we did. I’m happy to see comments here that indicate people are beginning to take the cables more seriously.

How Long Does It Take To Climb The Cables At Half Dome?

Now, even though I live in Texas, every time I see a photo of Half Dome, I think of my late husband and his love of Yosemite. If it is raining or storm clouds are in the area, do not hike up Half Dome. People have been struck by lightning while on the Half Dome cables. Plus, the granite rock is already slippery…if it is wet, climbing the cables becomes very, very dangerous. The 23-pitch route was first climbed by Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick and Jerry Gallwas in June 1957.

He says this doesn’t change the path for hikers taking a cable route to the top of Half Dome. Nobody was injured or witnessed the fall believed to have happened one night last week. The fall happened on the northwest face, which is usually only tackled by serious, accomplished climbers. Army Major D.J. Skelton, the other co-founder of Paradox Sports, is climbing with them. During the second assault on Fallujah, Iraq, an ambush left him with one eye and bullet scars all over his body. Sometimes, Skelton says, the harder the climb, the better.

Its distinct shape lead geologists to believe that the other “half” eroded away. Today, many believe that it is quite possible that there never was another half, at least not one as well formed as the eastern slope. It offers a more slender profile of the large rock and is personally one of my favorite spots in the park.

We did have to stop and wait frequently since there was now two way traffic on the cables. We spent 25 minutes on top of Half Dome, which is not much time. We wanted to stay longer but we could see rain clouds in the distance. I planned on a longer stay here than what we actually did.

On the south face, though, we didn’t see a single visitor in four months of coming and going. Up on the wall there is a spread-eagle view of the high country. It’s a brilliant surface to be poised upon, and it had been locked away from the common enjoyment for too long.

The past few years have seen other climbers freeing new routes on Middle Cathedral, Mount Watkins and the smaller formations in the Valley. The ability of the average climber has increased dramatic with single day ascents of El Capitan happening regularly. El Capitan becomes more accessible and easier to free climb every year and climbers like Caldwell continue to raise the standards. The future of Yosemite remains unpredictable but very promising. In the early 90s, climbers began drag racing up El Capitan with Peter Croft and Dave Schultz climbing the Nose in under 5 hours. More impressively, Lynn Hill made the first true free climb of El Capitan, with an ascent of the Nose.

The route is also very steep climb and fixed lines are used. Ondra)—the climber in the red coat—reached the summit of El Capitan, officially completing the second free ascent of the Dawn Wall. At 3,000 feet long, and with a Yosemite Decimal System difficulty rating of 5.14d, the Dawn Wall is considered to be the longest hardest free climb in the world.

The Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome is a widely held tick for any Yosemite climber, and can also be a telling milestone for those with big wall aspirations. For these reasons, it is common to find multiple parties climbing the route in the same day. Jeff and I arrived at our cave just as the sun was setting.

John Long, John Bachar and Ron Kauk, three of the most influential Stonemasters, free climbed the East Face of Washington Column completing the first ascent of the sustained Astroman. During Robbins and Harding’s fight for Yosemite big wall supremacy, other Yosemite climbers raised free climbing standards and shortened ascent times. The Steck-Salathe, the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome and other Yosemite walls fell to single day ascents. Using only nuts and not the rock damaging pitons, Robbins and his wife, Liz climbed The Nutcracker on Manure Pile Buttress. Their clean ascent of the 800-foot route established a new ethic for climbing. I’m sorry to take up so much of this good community’s time and attention talking about ropes from above and how bolts get placed.

Advanced climbing gear allowed climbers to link delicate features on the sides of El Capitan. Jim Bridwell established a number of futuristic routes, including the Aquarian Wall, Pacific Ocean Wall and Zenyatta Mondatta. Beyond the advances in aid climbing, the 70’s saw a jump in the free-climbing standards.