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--Oscar Wilde on Absinthe
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laxatives - Sep 26, 2023 9:59 am Date Climbed: Oct 1, 2022
Fun climb with Fernando, HannahHuge progress from Hannah, starting from Mount Diablo just two year priors to 20 miles with 5k ft ascent over 14 hours.
Hiking Metal Maniac - Aug 22, 2023 2:49 pm Date Climbed: May 20, 2021
A classicUp the standard route. People were slackjawed as I passed by them on the outside of the cables. Hit Liberty Cap on the way back.
https://hikingmetalmaniac.blogspot.com/2021/05/half-dome.html
Gimli160 - Jun 13, 2023 4:19 pm Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2023
cables downgot down right before thunder storm.
thebetawoman - Apr 5, 2022 10:41 pm Date Climbed: Dec 13, 2021
Trip Report: Half Dome - Cables Down editionTrip Report: Half Dome - Cables Down edition
I learned about Half Dome the hour I learned about Yosemite. The iconic, majestic hiking trail that is known to California and worldwide. Permits by lottery season most of the time. For 2 years, I've applied and never won the lottery. For 1 year, I posted, asked and there was no availability of groups going.
Half Dome cables are down for the season, which means that the cables are very low to the ground and not at the waist height that's usually used for hikers as handrails. We brought PAS (personal anchor system) and prusiks. We both brought our harnesses and gloves and drove to the park for the adventure.
We began hiking at 6:30am from Upper Pines campground and passed Vernal and Nevada falls via Mist Trail. At 10:45, we reached the bottom of the cables. I swallowed a big gulp of my saliva. Wow...this incline is much more than I had imagined. I questioned if I should switch to rock climbing shoes or keep my trail runners and decided to stick with the trail runners (Altras). We put on our harnesses and began the ascend. What an unbelievable and incredible experience it was. Surprisingly, the rocks felt very sticky and my gloves provided steady grip with the cables. I felt pretty secure and put on my PAS 25% in. The cable portion was a short segment but it took about 45 minutes to climb to the top. My heart was pumping from the adrenaline, my palms were sweaty and I was so happy to make it to the top.
After a lunch break and photos, we continued with the decent and thankfully it was breezy. I kissed the ground when I landed two foot on solid ground and at the moment, my heart was filled completely with pure happiness.
We arrived back at the campground just at dawn at 5:30pm.
Half dome from Upper Pines: 17.5 miles/5800 ft gain
Moving time: 7 hours
Cables down
No permits needed
Harness and gloves
Half dome completed
Would do it again
Tracy - Sep 20, 2021 4:23 am Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2021
Not too crowdedClimbed the cable route with Michael E. It was my first time and his 4th? time. Coming down we practically had the mountain to ourselves - there was only one other hiker on the cables as we came down them
philadendron - Sep 18, 2020 2:37 pm Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2020
Once in a lifetime due to COVIDLucked out as our permits were for the very first day Yosemite re-opened. Camped down by the JMT after Clouds Rest the day before. Made Half Dome easier, and we got up before the day hikers did. Had the summit to ourselves for about 20 minutes.
lateralus685 - Jan 6, 2020 11:39 am Date Climbed: Jan 3, 2020
Frozen cables :(Decided to take my first crack at Half Dome in winter. Overall good trail conditions with only short sections that were icy but manageable in trail runners. Trail eventually turned into snow a couple miles from the top but was firm enough to walk on without postholing much. The sub-dome was challenging as the foot tracks to follow went directly up the side without much switchbacking. Microspikes would have made it easier, but again it was manageable in trail runners.
Started the climb up Half Dome cables around 2:30pm using prusiks. Granite was dry and grippy, and easy to traverse around most ice patches. Unfortunately there came a point, maybe 2/3 of the way up, that both cables were buried under a thick sheet of ice and snow. I tried my best to lift and break the cables free, but did not have the leverage or energy to do so. I was not willing to unhook myself to climb over it so I called it a day and headed back down. Ran into 3 guys with climbing gear coming up the sub-dome and told them the conditions. They continued up so maybe their combined efforts knocked that ice loose—I didn't stay to find out. If so, then as far as I could tell that was the only buried patch and it was clear to the top from the other side.
Overall a really fun attempt, and I'm looking forward to doing it again when the ice melts!
climbvr - Sep 4, 2019 4:32 pm Date Climbed: Aug 31, 2019
CablesWent up the easy way, next time it's Snake Dike!
IdahoDaisy - Jul 7, 2019 5:12 pm Date Climbed: Aug 9, 2013
Annual girl trip successWonderful!!! Some slight congestion at the cables on the way down (someone was scared and didn't want to keep going) but otherwise a very smooth trip.
pezzotto - Apr 11, 2019 8:08 pm Date Climbed: Nov 18, 2018
Alone on Half DomeVery few people, at one point ended up being just my wife and me.
shanrickv - Mar 24, 2019 9:34 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2018
One of the best days of my life!Climbed this magnificent peak with 2 of my daughters on a beautiful Yosemite summer day
colingregory - Feb 6, 2019 4:05 pm Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2018
BackpackDay 3 of a 3 day trek. After about 25 miles we woke and headed up Half Dome Trail (without our packs!) Found a very small crowd atop subdome and was surprised to be as nervous as I was. Eventually found the courage and made my way up the cables. Finally summited a peak I had been dreaming of since my 8th grade class had the hike cancelled. After permit worries for a couple years I was lucky enough to secure two permits for this September, made my way up with a buddy and then my fiancé on a later trip. Disappointedly we didn't have our permit checked either time, the ranger wasn't there on this Labor Day at least through noon, and on the later trip we only ran into him below subdome still making his way up around 11:45. To be honest, was a little miffed to see this hard to get permit not even checked. This is not a suggestion to climb without a permit, I am an advocate of following the rules. Just wanted to share my two cents and see if anyone has any thoughts on this.
All said, the view from Clouds Rest blows this out of the water, but the experience was exceptional.
surfarn73 - Feb 1, 2019 4:24 am
Dicey slabThe face next time
T. White - Nov 5, 2017 3:45 am Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2009
MilestoneWent up on a weekday a few years before the permits came down. Most exhausting, and rewarding, hike I've ever done. Perfect weather. Will never forget the moonscape of the summit, nor looking down from the top of the cables for the first time, and the click, clack, clock of water bottles falling from climbers' packs down the granite below...
MikeLJ - Oct 7, 2017 10:30 am Date Climbed: Oct 6, 1992
Hot!Hot!
edge17 - Sep 19, 2017 10:48 pm Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2017
Main trailFirst time up. Hot day, went up the normal trail. Great view on top
Drewid - Sep 18, 2017 10:44 am Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2003
Many different ascentsSnake Dike in November was maybe the most memorable. Up the cables on so many glorious occasions. Never gets old.
Blackmouth - Aug 10, 2017 12:53 am Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2017
Beautiful DayFirst real hike post back surgery. Beautiful hike from start to finish. Looking forward to getting back to the old me.
kaylam87 - Jul 4, 2017 11:40 am Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2015
Shoes are everythingGot an early start from our campground in the valley. Really enjoyed the cables. Views were smoky. Hot day, drank 3L of water and had to filter on the way down. My shoes were a little too big and my feet were ready to be done!
BKiser90 - Jun 18, 2017 2:08 am Date Climbed: Jun 7, 2017
High Snowmelt, Memorable HikePerfect conditions. Weather in the 70s, clear skies, raging waterfalls from high snowmelt and relatively few crowds. Half Dome did not disappoint. Went up the John Muir Trail then down the Mist Trail. We got soaked below Vernal Falls. Also saw a bear 25 feet away from the trail below the Sub Dome.