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If you have sticky rubber shoes and know how to friction walk (keep the entire sole of your shoe on the rock), it can be done. You will probably see a few people doing it when you're there. As with most things in climbing, it is a matter of your skill and experience. You could easily make a simple belay device of a short sling and a carabiner that attaches to the cable as you climb. Then, even if you fell and let go of the cable, you would only slip to the next support.
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'SC Dad:
The cables extend about 300 yards up the steep 45 degree or so shoulder of Half Dome. Some sections of this granite slab are slippery. I don't think "tourists" are the only ones who'd have problems ascending or descending its 45 degree slope of 300 yards without them. Yep, use of the cables is essential and not optional.
As for going up or down on "the outside" of the cables when "the inside" is occupied by the line-up of hikers, that's your call ... lots of people do it, but in my opinion only using one cable is pretty risky in that you're banking on the "inside" hikers giving up or providing you cable space upon which to grab.
And by going "outside", you'd essentially be working without the other means by which you'd stay attached to the mountain -- namely, the second cable, the metal support posts through which the cables are strung (and against which you can jam your boot and rest or wait for the next guy ahead of you to move), and the wooden struts that run between and are attached to the posts (again, upon which you can stand and rest/wait, if needed).
Now, if you wait a month, and do Half Dome just before they take down the cables around Columbus Day, the crowds are minimal. When we pulled our way up the cables a couple of years ago one early-October morning, only about a dozen folks were on them at one time. Makes for a much different experience.
(And, with the football season coming up, the only reason this Bruin is posting a response here is because I'm trusting you are a Univ. of South Carolina dad.)
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USCDad: I always go outside the cables. Going up, on the right (north side), coming down on the south side. If you click on the full-size original link in the top post, you can see several people at the top on the outside.
I find it no problem at all. I just grab open sections of the cable -- there are always spaces between everyone else's hands. Using the outside is so much easier when it is crowded, because you don't spend so much time tensed up while hanging on waiting for people ahead of you to move.
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WA: I have no doubt that it never really quite made out what I was. However, I did not want to lose site of it and have to wonder where it was. I look at it as another adventure in my life. My family thinks I'm nuts. Adventurer sounds better to me! And that was a great rewrite of that adventure! Hope to see you some day on the trail. Bob
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I just did Half Dome two days ago myself and believe me it was an amazing experience. The cables were just a surreal thing because you either staring at sky or staring at the sunbathers below as you're coming down.
But I was thinking this is a good warmup hike for not only Whitney, but for Longs Peak as well. I'll be on Whitney this coming Sunday. See you then.
SeanB
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Bob, your mountain lion story is amazing. You're very fortunate to have seen one of these magnificent animals in a natural setting. I was talking to a ranger in Zion National Park last week and he's worked there for 31 years and has never seen a mountain lion. It's always been his greatest wish to see one, and the park has many of them, but's he's yet to see one.
Your story also is very sobering. I've been in Little Yosemite Valley many times at 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning and I will certainly be on guard for the lions after hearing your story! It never occured to me that there would be mountain lions in that area, intently watching hikers 50 feet off the trail. Thanks for posting that bit of info.
A word to people who support the hunting of mountain lions in California: please watch a video of the actual hunt before making up your mind. The typical method of hunting mountain lions is chasing them with a pack of dogs until the lion is exhausted and escapes to a tree. The dogs then surround the tree and hunters blow away a treed lion.
Not my idea of "sport," but horses for courses.
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I've seen exactly one mountain lion in the wild. Back in 1987, I was running with a fellow near Canyon Lake in Riverside County. We were on a quiet trail when I saw an animal ahead of us which I took to be a dog. As we got closer, it was obvious that it moved like a cat. We got close enough to get a clear look before it disappeared into the brush. It was a magnificent sight.
When we got to our turn around point, we started joking about what the lion was up to. My claim was that it had gone to fetch a friend, saying "they may be scrawny, but there are two of them and they will make a nice snack." We didn't know enough at be more than a little nervous -- there was not nearly so much talk about mountain lions back then.
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WOW, great stories and comments! I never realized how lucky I was when I did the Half Dome video taping. It was just after Labor Day on September 10th 2004 and as one can see, not much traffic at that time of year. The camera is quite shaky as it was hanging from my neck while I was hanging on for dear life on the cables. Click on the Video Links below to see the entire 15 minute climb on the cables. The fourth clip takes you to the top of Half Dome. Clip 5, 6 and 7 takes you down the cables.<TABLE border="2" align="center" style="font-size: 8pt"> <CAPTION style="font-size: 10pt">TRAIL CLIPS</CAPTION> <COLGROUP align="center"><COLGROUP align="center"><COLGROUP align="center"> <TR><TH>Duration<TH>Video Links<TH>Area Covered <TR><TD>5:05<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables1B.wmv">Bottom third of cables<TD>Start ascending the first part on the cables</a> <TR><TD>4:47<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables2B.wmv">Mid section of cables<TD>Climbing the second part on the cables</a> <TR><TD>5:41<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables3B.wmv">Upper third of cables<TD>Climbing the final section on the cables</a> <TR><TD>3:42<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables4B.wmv">Top of Half Dome<TD>The last steps to the top of Half Dome</a> <TR><TD>4:56<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables5B.wmv">Descending Half Dome 1<TD>The first steps down the cables</a> <TR><TD>4:28<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables6B.wmv">Descending Half Dome 2<TD>The mid section</a> <TR><TD>5:08<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables7B.wmv">Descending Half Dome 3<TD>The lower part of the cables</a> </TABLE> .
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Hey Pete. Some amazing video... was neat to relive last Sunday like that from the safety of my desk. It was funny, after the thing I was thinking "I want no part of this again". Now I find myself wanting to go back to experience the thrill of that climb because while tiring it was a thrilling experince both going up and down..(until you hit traffic then the climb up and down sucks)
Thanks for the links!
SeanB
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For those that don't like crowds nor "eyes in the dark", why not just do what I did a few weeks ago and leave at 5am? The trailhead parking lot is empty, it's very light by the time you get to Little Yosemite Valley (avoiding the mountain lions) and you are on top by 9am or so, way before the crowds.
Plus, while hiking back down, you get the fun of seeing the hordes of folks hiking up, looking tired, dressed in jeans and tennis shoes and not carrying any water.
I just shake my head and smile....
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There are several hilarious hiker-related things I've seen on the Half Dome trail. I think it's because most of the people on the trail are not regular hikers, but want to say they've been to the top of Half Dome. Many are simply unprepared. How some of them make it is beyond me.
In the last few years, I've seen the following:
1. A group of 3-4 young men from Europe in Levis and bringing no water except for a pitcher of coffee. I know it was coffee because I stopped to ask them what it was. This was a hot day and they were in Little Yosemite Valley at noon, with a long way still to go.
2. A middle-aged lady with her teenage daughter in flip flops and a thermos of hot chocolate (no other liquid).
3. A man in a suit with loafers on the rock section above the Mist Trail at 6:00 in the morning. Yes, he was also wearing a tie. Again, I looked to see if he was carrying any water and I didn't see any.
Last year I saw a girl about 18, clearly struggling at the fork of the Half Dome trail and the JMT. She didn't look well. When I offered her a bottle of water (she had none with her), she declined, saying, "I am sucking on Life Savers so I don't have to drink." My husband implored her to take one of our water bottles, which she finally did, and then continued on her way.
How do these people hike 16 miles in hot weather without drinking any water?
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I dont know...I hiked up with about 4 liters and THAT wasn't quite enough for me. Had to go out of my way a bit on the way back to provision more from the river and wait for the iodine tablets to kick in
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What I want to know is: where do I get those nutrient-replenishing, hydrating life savers?!?! THOSE would come in handy during some of my races and hikes!
I would say Darwin's Law, but that would be mean.
;-)
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A couple of years ago we hiked up to Half Dome. We started at 7:00 AM and made it to the top by noon. It was a perfect day weather-wise and the Mist trail was beautiful. Going up, the cables weren't busy but coming down there was a massive traffic jam because someone spooked halfway up and literally wouldn't move. While waiting, a hiker lost his water bottle and it dropped 2,000 feet. At the intersection of the JMT we saw someone going up just carrying a shopping bag. While passing Little Yosemite a girl was handing out M&Ms as a reward for those who had made it to the top. Here's a picture showing what it's like going down the cables: http://www.eefoof.com/image/9968
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28 years ago, I ate breakfast in the Curry Cafeteria, left Happy Isles at 8:30AM, zipped up to the top of Half Dome, and made it down in time for lunch. The last time I went up (2 summers ago) the line from the base of the stairs at the sub dome to the base of the cables was longer than my total ascent time.
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Even though our trip up Half Dome was with a bit of a crowd..I'll never forget our hike. We came down from Glacier Point..so we missed a majority of the crowds for the first and last parts of the hike.. It was so beautiful though...and I asked Marisa to marry me on the top...so it will always be a special place for me. Here are our pictures: http://www.mudspike.com/california.htm Awesome hike..crowd or not... Regards.. Chris
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I hiked Half Dome midweek in August 2003 and had the ascent to myself. I was staying in Camp Curry so had to hoof it up to Happy Isles as the buses didn't run at that hour. I left Happy Isles at 2AM, made the summit around 6AM, and back down to the trailhead by 9AM. The only route-finding difficulty I had in the dark, although with a headlamp, was before Vernal where the trails turns left over a granite slab before crossing a bridge. This month's Backpacker has a great article about hiking the classic trails and they detail a night-hike of Half Dome as a good optin to avoid the crowds.
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Hey Steve C, is there gold on them Half Dome? Your picture looks like the Klondike Gold Rush, miners heading up White Pass from Skagway! I have added two more clips from my Half Dome DVD collection to show the complete trip (up and down) along "the cables" on a much quieter day in mid September. Once more, here are the links to the Half Dome Cables:<TABLE border="2" align="center" style="font-size: 8pt"> <CAPTION style="font-size: 10pt">TRAIL CLIPS</CAPTION> <COLGROUP align="center"><COLGROUP align="center"><COLGROUP align="center"> <TR><TH>Duration<TH>Video Links<TH>Area Covered <TR><TD>5:05<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables1B.wmv">Bottom third of cables<TD>Start ascending the first part on the cables</a> <TR><TD>4:47<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables2B.wmv">Mid section of cables<TD>Climbing the second part on the cables</a> <TR><TD>5:41<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables3B.wmv">Upper third of cables<TD>Climbing the final section on the cables</a> <TR><TD>3:42<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables4B.wmv">Top of Half Dome<TD>The last steps to the top of Half Dome</a> <TR><TD>4:56<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables5B.wmv">Descending Half Dome 1<TD>The first steps down the cables</a> <TR><TD>4:28<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables6B.wmv">Descending Half Dome 2<TD>The mid section</a> <TR><TD>5:08<TD><a href="http://www.hikealongvideo.com/media/HDcables7B.wmv">Descending Half Dome 3<TD>The lower part of the cables</a> </TABLE> .
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So how hard is it to climb up Half Dome without the cables? I'm assuming dry conditions of course. Is it next to impossible or a Class 4+ climb or something? Just curious...
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It's probably a class 4 I'm thinking because at the steepness that it is, shoes have a really hard time adhering to the surface, and a fall without cables will put you in a world of hurt. I know I absolutely couldn't do it without the cables myself, but I'm speaking just for me. Supposedly it's possible to walk it without the cables, but i've not seen anyone able to do this
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