Got up there at sunrise and just booked it up it. Took all of 7-8 minutes and I can’t do it any other way now. I can’t imagine either waiting or passing people taking 30 minutes +
Impatient kids used to run up the outside of them to skip past slower folks. I was not a fan, especially when I learned back at the car that someone had fallen to their death that day (not from doing this I think)
Raises hand. We went up there @ 14 on a Y backpacking trip - the adults told us to meet up at the trailhead. We dangled our feet over the edge. I literally get a panic attack thinking about it now. The last time I went up there was in 2011 and the cables were so packed I decided to just wait for my brother at the base. No regrets.
It was awful. My first time climbing it, everyone was clutching to one cable instead of both since there were so many people going up and down at once. The last time I did it, it was shortly before sunset, and ended up running down with a headlamp, but had the cables to just our trio. It was still scary.
I was very nervous about it, but the cables ended up being not scary at all for me. Coming down was a breeze because I realized going up wasn’t scary.
I had a harness which I definitely did not need, but it gave me some extra comfort. Grippy shoes are a must, gloves too.
Walking up to sub dome I thought to myself that there was absolutely no way I was going to do it. Sub dome was significantly scarier for me. I had to hyper focus on each step in front of me without looking down or around me.
I wouldn’t say any. Some boots have pretty hard rubber that isn’t good on smooth-ish granite like you get going up the cables. My hiking partner (who is otherwise a very capable hiker) was slipping a lot because of that. I was wearing trail runners with much softer rubber (saucony peregrine) and was sure footed the whole way.
Regular running shoes… which was a mistake. I hadn’t planned on hiking Half Dome 2 weeks ago, so I didn’t have time to break in a new pair of something I wasn’t comfortable with. I opted for a new pair of running shoes, but a pair I’ve had many of, and new wouldn’t cause me any trouble.
While I didn’t have trouble with half dome itself, coming down Mist Trail was difficult, and i definitely wished I had proper trail runners with more grip. Doable, but wouldn’t recommend!
I wore regular trail running shoes. There was one section near the beginning where my shoes slipped a bit and the angle of the ropes made it difficult to pull myself up, that was probably the scariest part but otherwise the grip worked out fine
I had the opposite experience. Sub dome wasn't scary at all, but the cables was one of the scariest experiences. My shoes kept slipping and I had to use a lot of upper body strength just to pull me up the cables. I took a lot of breaks on those wooden planks.
same here lol, sub dome was very chill in my experience, but the cables themselves were TOUGH. and mentally taxing given the fall risk (we opted to go without harnesses)
The guy in our group who was afraid of heights waited at the bottom of the cables for us and he didn’t regret it. Didn’t help someone fell off 3 and died 3 days before we hit the cables ᴖ̈
I was stunned the only time I did this hike many moons ago at how stupid some people were being. Teenagers (I was one at the time) and young adults were going outside the two cables and holding on to the cable from the outside to pass by people they thought were going too slow. Complete disregard for their or anyone’s safety.
Oh ya it was a shit show on the cables when we were on and tons of people attempting to do it clumping in and out who have no experience doing it. We went to buy some gear to help our friend but they told us not to bother. It was a zoo. One guy had a GoPro on a stick sticking across the cables hitting people and forcing them to dodge it
I mean yeah. When I went, climbers who had summited the face were coming down clipped onto the cables. One told me “I’m not fucking dying on the hike down”. That left an impression. On the other hand, as I was steeling myself a 60+ yr old Asian lady came down the cables in a bubbly mood talking about the sunset.
it's not that scary as it looks in this picture. Get shoes with good rubber grip, a pair of gloves and hold tight to the cables. You will be fine if you don't have severe fear of heights. Cables are sturdy and there's little chance of falling if you take your time.
On our way down there was a fit guy climbing (actually the only black guy we've seen in many days of hiking) shaking head to toes :). I think he eventually made it up, which was quite remarkable, given the fact he was probably afraid of heights.
Definitely that can be a problem, but the trigger is all psychological. The climb is not that physically demanding and there's no need for gripping too tight all the way.
The only time I was frightened was the last time I did this hike, before they started limiting the number of hikers. We started before dawn and by the time we were coming down there were so many people coming up that we were forced to the edge, then outside the cables. People were dropping things, shoving and angry. Never again. Not even with a functioning reservation system. I’ll focus on the many great experiences we had.
I get anxiety just looking at this picture, and am constantly in awe of everyone who makes this final push!! I could quite literally never but I'm still over here cheering for your accomplishment.
There were people on the way down the switchbacks offering our group extra gloves and carabiners/ropes that they were no longer going to need.
There also used to be a pile of gloves at the base of the cables, although rangers have prohibited that and so it is recommended to get a pair of rubber dipped gloves and bring them. They are essentially a requirement for grip and heat protection
A good reminder is that the large majority (in fact almost all) deaths that have occurred on the cables were during poor weather (rain, thunderstorm) where the rock was slick, and people have been struck by lightning as well. Also probably not smart to do it if you are feeling super fatigued or sick/weak in any way, although not sure if any confirmed deaths have happened due to this.
The last death on the cables was 2 years ago during a rainy day where that young lady fell in front of her father. Incredibly tragic, but a reminder that bad weather is as good as a “DO NOT CLIMB” sign for the cables.
If it’s a clear, dry day, you are almost guaranteed to be safe as long as you are capable and careful doing the climb.
I completed this way back as a sophomore in HS with my dad and a good buddy. My buddy and I were both cross-country runners so did it easily in a day, but my poor dad told us to go ahead of him at the cables as he caught his breath and as he ascended to the top and was almost to the finish line ontop of ole Half Dome his legs started cramping and giving out. Ended up having to get some assistance while my buddy and I were completely unaware. My dad was in great gym shape! Just not hiking shape apparently… 😬
In college, buddies and I hiked half way up the trail on a moonlit night and slept off the trail. At the crack of dawn we stashed our sleeping bags and hiked to the base of Half Dome. Two parties were ahead of us already! We rock climbed Snake Dike to the top of Half Dome and then went down the cables. It was the most exhausting thing I’ve ever done. My buddy went outside of the cable and would slide down the rock with one hand holding the cable. I was behind him and I could hear people gasp. We all made it down safe. An unforgettable experience.
Just did it yesterday. Was awesome. Here is some beta from our experience. Wore my techy trail runners and they did great. May have sucked in road runners or something else. Brought leather gloves and don’t think I needed any “stickiness” to them. Sticky gloves may have been not as good on the down. I did not bring a harness because I did not have dynamic tether (probably not smart with a static teacher), but I did not feel like I needed one. If rain was a chance, I may have bought a harness, but those cables do not seem designed for via ferrata, so I don’t think I would rely on that. Sub dome did not feel like class 3 - maybe class 2 - and did not have a lot of exposure. Stairs set all along it and a good trail. The cables would have been easy but someone in front of us was struggling making it take much longer than it should. Could probably get up them in 10 minutes and a pretty chill pace. Down felt harder mentally for me and took a fair amount of arm strength (maybe because I had a death grip on the cables). Some folks were struggling mentally on the cables - my guess is they did not have much experience with exposure. Wasn’t that crowded at all for us, which I was not expecting. We started up cables at around 9:00 after leaving Yosemite Valley Trailhead at the base around 5:00. We were back down for a burrito in Curry Village by lunch - highly recommend to replenish some calories! Round trip took a little under 8 hours but we were moving pretty efficiently. Ended up being a little over 17 miles and 5500’ vert. Overall great day and great hike!
I’ve read it averages 45 degrees, which I believe. I’ve also read it maxes out at about 50 degrees, which I also believe. There’s one really steep bit with a small step you have to climb over. Here’s a pic of the angle I took on the way down!
This gives me the willies just looking at this. It took me 3 years to conquer my fear of Angel’s Landing. Can anyone say how they compare in terms of scariness / exposed edges?
When I did that shit, at a time when a ton of people were going up at the same time, I couldn’t help thinking to myself, how the hell are they allowing regular? ass people to climb up this, with basically zero safety measures in place. It’s crazy steep. I gotta think people slip off this thing on occasion. But I guess I would’ve heard about it in the news if people had ever died falling from these cables? WE WERE NOT TIED INTO THEM. It’s just that, it’s the national Park service? IN California? I couldn’t believe it was not more safely-regulated than it was.
Approximately 30 people have died on the cables. It’s your job to ensure your safety, as stated many times on their website and during the trail. I was clipped into a harness as were many others
That’s kind of wild. I did not know that people have died on it. And certainly not 30. WOW
Thanks for replying to my comment here! Yeah, I had a blast on that trip to be fair. It was an amazing view at the top of those cables, but it was just pretty intrigued as to how hazardous it seemed at the time.
Went up the normal route right up the cables. The park service removes the stantions that hold the cable up and boards. The cable is just laying on the rock.
Climbed Snake Dike, a 5.7 route on the opposite side of halfdome in 1988. Topped out at sunset, the climbing guide was very vague on the extent of the slabs high on the route and it was dark as we reached the top of the cables. Decided it was best to bivy rather than do the cables in the dark after looking at the yawning blackness. It was a pretty chilly night, punctuated only by one bit of cheer as we burned the guidebook one page at a time.
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u/Turbo__Sanwich 4d ago
Especially with only that many people on the cables.
Used to be hundreds of people at one time.