Update- April 28, 2012. I’ve received a number of positive comments and feedback about this post, so I’ve added a couple more pics to show the scale of Half Dome.
So I realize that there are zillions of Half Dome pix out there. Here are a few from one of our trips up there (in the days before permits were required). I think these may even be old school camera pics (remember film?). Each time we went up Half Dome was during a 40-mile backpacking trip in Yosemite. We stashed our packs, stowed our bear canisters away from the packs, and jammed up to the summit.
Girl, on Cliff. H peers over the edge to the Yosemite Valley floor below.
Boy, on Cliff. I took the pic above (of H peering into the valley) from this cliff. An exchange of cliff pics I suppose.
So why is it called Half Dome? Find the right vantage point, and it’s obvious. There were wildland fires burning a few miles away inside the park, hence the hazy, smoky skies.
Why Half Dome gets its name.
Family pic on top of Half Dome. Miles of visually stunning granite and rock features are a what makes Yosemite a world renowned destination. Like anywhere, you need to get out of Yosemite Valley and a few miles out of the tourist mecca to really see the true beauty of Yosemite.
We were so excited about the hundreds of gloves discarded at the base of the cables. There must be some popular folklore about needing burly gloves. Apparently there is some folklore about not needing to pack them out too.
H, climbing the cables.
Yes, I’m in fact the only one on the cables. Apparently this is quite rare now. The next time we climbed Half Dome was an entirely different experience. The cables were packed and slow. The cables were not a big deal. What was scary, was the hikers who were absolutely paralyzed by fear by being on the cables. They were almost frozen in place with a white knuckle death grip. Both H and I had to pass around several hikers who were too scared to move.
Oh, just found this one, from our first trip up Half Dome in 2000. Yup, we had the cables all to ourselves. Made for a quick and drama free trip up.
H climbing the cables. Amazing that she is the only one on the cables. A rarity now.
Family pic- a year later. Taken in almost exactly the same spot on Half Dome.
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Wow.. awesome photos. Call me naive but these are the first photos I’ve seen of the cables. That shot with the valley below is breathtaking. It just makes me want to pack up and go see things first hand. Thanks for shots.
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Nice!
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Daisy wants to go up the cables!
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I climbed halfdome a long time ago. I don’t recall cables, only a chain lying on the rock? Maybe I should search old photos to check out my memory. Sometime prior to 1960.
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The first 2 photos are truly spectacular. Interesting read about the cables. Yes I remember film, and liked it.
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My reaction? Get down from there! Sit down and and scoot down on your butt. Don’t look over the edge, you might get dizzy. I’d have died if I’d seen these pictures while you were up there.
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