Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board half dome

i am going to yosemite before my whitney climb. dose anyone know where i can get info on half dome like this whitney site has?

howdy, what sort of info do you require? Have been up there at least 20x, and I bet many more of us have also done the dome. Ask away-no problem.

Type "Half Dome Yosemite" in the search engine and you'll get some good sites and pictures, especially of the cables etc. Good luck!

Try this link:

http://www.yosemitevacation.com/hike.halfdome.htm

Was up on the dome a week and a half ago, be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Have my pics from the trip up here:
<a href=http://www.fedak.net/albums/CloudDome.html>http://www.fedak.net/albums/CloudDome.html</a>
(I came in from the back- I assume you'll be hiking the standard route from the Happy Isles trailhead)

For a new twist, I am going with a Sierra Club group from Fresno to climb Half Dome this weekend, but we are doing a night climb -- meet at Happy Isles bridge at 9:30 PM Saturday (7/12), on top to watch the Sunday morning sunrise, then back down in the morning. There may be more than 20 hikers.

Coincidentally, there is another group doing it Friday night (7/11), also from Fresno. They are starting out later, I think around 11 PM.

Regarding gloves for the cables: I tried them once. They give you about half the grip compared to no-gloves. I always go without the gloves now -- and have never gotten any blisters or anything.

I also have a file that I wrote for new people on the trails. The recommendation that I give is to go up the Mist trail and come back the John Muir trail. Not only do you get a variety of scenery that way but the Mist trail is safer to go up than down (when you are tired).

The mist trail is wonderful to see in the sunlight--rainbows hang from your eyes,colors everywhere--cool mist with radiating colors--not unlike a crystal dangling in the sun.Beautiful reflections all around you. You might reconsider coming down the other way from top of Vernal Falls (JMT)--you are going to miss a highlight-something I have always fondly remembered.--plus--It is not hard coming down the mist trail way--but make a decision as you are going up-- Other way is lots longer--dusty--no water. It was always harder for me to go up the mist, down is a snap.---Also, FYI- last water before Half Dome is right after Clouds Rest trail trail joins into Half Dome trail.Small pool--cool water.-about 2 miles from the cables.

I went up JMT and down the Mist Trail on a night hike on Memorial day, and saw sunrise from the top all by myself. I went up JMT becuase I didn't want to get soaked to the bone in the middle of the night on the Mist. You might want to try to find out how much water is blowing over the Mist Trail before you head up it in the dark. I'm sure it is way less now than what it was on Memorial day, but I don't know by how much.

I did Half Dome by the YARTS bus from Merced in a day last year. My post is online at my website at http://webs.lanset.com/pyamagata, click Latest Peak Adventures.

The fare is $20 round trip, and avoids the $20 park entrance fee. A great deal! Thinking of doing it again, but Half Dome gets too many hikers. Anyone game for a carpool from Northern CA to whiz Whitney, for my 5X?

On the way back, you can also take the JMT down past Nevada Fall to Clark Point and then hike down the connecting trail to the top of Vernal Fall (and continue down the Mist Trail). Even with the added connector distance, this route is actually a little shorter than staying on the JMT the rest of the way down since there are fewer switchbacks. JMT route is about 1.3 miles longer than the Mist trail route (and the connector is under a mile).

YARTS (Yosemite Area Rapid Transit System) also leaves Mammoth Mountain Resort at 7 a.m. and arrives in Yosemite Valley at about 11:15, returns to Mammoth around 9 p.m.

The round-trip last time I checked is 20 bucks including pass into the park (a bargain). But you don't have enough time for "half" (0.75) dome unless you camp out a night. Choose your preference...