Half Dome Scramble in Yosemite
45 deg angled smooth rock-face ascent
Well, that’s what we did — my younger brother and I, this year in June 2024. And what an incredible (literally) jaw-dropping adventure it turned out for us.
Some Context
Half Dome is a rock formation in the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park, standing at nearly 8,800 feet above sea level. Half Dome hike, via the Mist trail (which is the one we completed) is a 15 miles strenuous trek with 5,719 ft elevation gain, taking about 10 to 14 hours roundtrip. The final 400 ft are on sheer rock face with a 45 to 50 deg angle, installed steel cables and wooden planks — pretty much rickety.
A maximum of 300 hikers are allowed each day on the Half Dome Trail beyond the base of the subdome, through a permit system. Permits are required only for the final 7 miles of the trek (commencing at the subdome) during May-Oct when the cables are up for the season. But they can be incredibly hard to procure through the annual and daily lottery system, and are diligently checked by a ranger on the trail. Hikers without permits are not allowed to hike beyond the base of the sub-dome or to the bottom of the cables.
Better (or worse) yet, Half Dome hike is considered one of the most dangerous hikes in the continental United States, claiming over 14 deaths in the last 10 years. The steel posts and unevenly spaced wooden rungs anchored into the rock along with the two steel cables throughout the length of the smooth granite rock are insufficient at best, and ramshackle at worst (people are calling for the National Park Service to do more; make the cable system safer to protect visitors who ascend Half Dome). Even worse, the vertical rockface can get slippery and treacherous during storms, so even with the support of the flimsy cables, you’d have to watch out for unpredictable weather, in addition to your own exhaustion, stamina and agility levels. Lightening strikes are another danger on or near the summit, so this is one hike you’d want to consciously think about.
Then why do people attempt this visibly dangerous slog? Well, as George Mallory, the English mountaineer to climb Mount Everest, replied to a reporter — “Because it’s there.”
It’s the thrill, it’s the suspense, it’s the anticipation of conquering nature. Or just to complete a checkbox from your list of resolutions.
The Prep
Whilst my brother had won the lottery and secured the much coveted permit earlier in the year, I wasn’t so sure of accompanying him or his friends to this risky adventure — I’ve become more risk-averse in the recent times. But after some goading from my family, I finally caved in and spent a few days in careful planning and consolidating inventory — snacks from Trader Joe’s, flashlight, water-purifying tablets (as a precaution since we’d be hiking in the peak of Californian summer), bear-bell and the works.
Plan was to get to an Airbnb near Yosemite the evening before, and start the hike at an early morning hour so as to complete the hike well within daylight hours. Upon reaching the Airbnb, we took a final stock of the weight of our backpacks. It was going to be an exacting all-day hike in the relentless sun, so having good water supply (3–4 litres) and food was a priority, along with the basics of good hiking boots, layered clothes, and last but not the least — our own willpower.
P.S. — our food stock consisted of chicken/turkey sandwiches, bananas, cherries, oranges, protein bars, chocolates, chips, electrolytes and a few more items.
We re-calibrated the weight of our backpacks and crashed for an early night. Alas, sleep didn’t come readily.
The Hike
Ungodly wakeup time at 3am. Left Airbnb at ~4am. Reached Yosemite valley i.e. Happy Isles Trailhead parking lot at ~515am. This was the starting point of Misty trail, which is a picturesque route passing through some spectacular waterfalls — Vernal and Nevada Falls.
Dawn was peaking through the sequoia and pine trees, with moonlight darting across the mountains as we began our walk from the parking lot to the trailhead, and started a gradual climb through the forest.
We go steady, passing through other hiking groups, building momentum and pausing for breaks every now and then. This is the easiest part — starting the hike, nudging your breath and muscles that a hard days’ work is ahead of us.
Vernal & Nevada falls
1.5 miles in (1000 ft elevation gain), we come to Vernal Falls. The steps leading up to and along the falls are hard (nature’s “giant staircase”), but it’s fun to be sprayed from the absolute force of the waterfall; hence the name — Misty trail. Ponchos were not required, but are good to have.
Another 1.3 miles and 1000 ft elevation gain in (so now we’re at ~2000ft elevation gain in total), we near Nevada Falls. We take a snack break here, down some water and rest up a bit. Meanwhile my brother and his friends are already halfway through their lunch — Mr. Pickles sandwiches.
Little Yosemite Valley
Fortunately the steepest climb is over — Little Yosemite Valley to the rescue, which is largely a flat section along the Merced River — and from thereon comes the more gradual incline. I’m fired up after the sluggish start, energized from the brief breaks and keep a steady pace. After a few hours of long but steady and gradual climb along forested paths, we’ve built up ~4500 ft of elevation gain already.
Subdome
We near the subdome and decide to take a short break to wait for our group which is trudging behind. Shelter is scarce and its scorchingly hot, so we find some shade under some scattered trees, replenish some fluids into our bodies and catch our breath. The entrance to the subdome is guarded (literally and figuratively) by a park ranger diligently checking for permits, so we buck up, id ourselves and cheer for our semi-final stretch.
The subdome consists of steep rock steps (~400 ft elevation gain) to the base of the cables (from where the final ascent on the Half Dome starts). Note that this is granite rock in the middle of summer and there’s no tree cover. Nowhere to hide.
Final Stretch — Half Dome
The last bit was indeed hard, but we reach the flat rockface near the base of the cables for the final push. We take a breather here, shove our backpacks to the ground, rest our aching backs and contemplate our futures. From our vantage point head-on, the dome looks straight up 90 deg, but that’s just an illusion — it’s indeed 45 to 50 deg and more importantly, doable.
Still I’m a wooz, and want to back out of the plan to climb this godforsaken dome — what’s the incentive anyway, I ask. But that’s why the universe has given us siblings — to push you to your limits and annoy you at the same time. Remember that most people do this final climb without a harness, with the support of only the steel cables. Having gloves (we purchased garden gloves from HomeDepot) and boots with good friction is half the battle won here, whilst the other half is skillful navigation and a tiny sprinkling of luck.
After a wee bit of sweet encouragement from my brother, I finally throw caution to the wind, and line up for the final ascent along the steep slope to the summit. There’s already a queue up the narrow cable path that is shared by both the ascenders and the descenders.
We gingerly take the first few steps towards the cables, and I must say, up close the first section is not too steep, so we ease in. We line up and slowly make our way up the sleek rock using the friction from our gloves to hold the cables, the friction from our shoes to grip the rock/ground/wooden planks, and a combination of our arm and glute strength to hold onto the cables when we need to wait for the line to move.
It’s staggered movement since the wooden planks are paced out widely and it takes some flexibility, swiftness and strength to move from plank to plank, all the while coordinating with people coming down the dome along the same cable route. The views around me are great, but I dare not look down frequently lest I numb out. I focus on my grip — my feet and hands — and my brother ahead of me who’s silently checking in with me.
Near the top, the angle of the rock-face eases out a bit, but the wooden boards are gone, so we carefully make our way to the summit. We finally make it to the dome summit! It’s a large granite surface with spectacular views of the Yosemite valley.
We hi five and slap each other’s backs, heave a deep sigh of relief, have our much awaited lunch, chug down copious amounts of water, and literally collapse for some much needed rest. After some exploration around the dome, it’s time for us to make our way down the cables. The descent also looks risky, however through some skillful bouldering maneuvers (sliding while still maintaining tension in your grip and lowering yourself whist softly jumping down the cables), we finally land smoothly. Victory all around! We feel accomplished and on top of the world — we leave our gloves as mementos along the cables as a gratitude to this sheer dome.
Last few hours
We take another 3–4 hours to hike back —hunker down at the stunning Emerald pools, and catch a rainbow along the way.
As we reach the final few miles of the Yosemite valley, I realize we’ve begun to hallucinate slightly— we see the shape of a bear at a far corner, only to realize it’s a tree branch jutting out at an unseemly angle. We’re bone-weary, my vision is blurry, it’s twilight already and we feel the urgency to pick up pace to reach the parking lot before we get stuck in the dark.
We reach the parking around 7/730pm, so it took us around 14 hours to cover the entire distance, not considering the almost restless night and the early wakeup time. We’re exhausted but all diners are closed by the time we finally start heading back to the Airbnb, so we survive on some eggs and toast that evening.
We reach home the next day after an early start from the Airbnb to the Bay area, and after some much needed breakfast, snore away for 6 hours straight! It was one of the deepest slumbers I’ve had in a while.
So will I do this again? Hell no! I’m glad I hiked Half Dome — it was surreal and a real test of endurance. And to be able to do this nerve-wracking feat with your sibling, that’s a bonding experience for eternity.
But surely in the near future, other comparable or more gruelling hike/s await!
