I have not been to Yosemite (Its the one major Western park I haven't done) so I don't know anything about the trail. How does it compare to the cables on Angels Landing at Zion? My wife and I did that hike one weekend when we wren't originally planning to. We figured we could got to Scout Lookout and back, but when we got up there she wanted to push on. The trail was fine for us but it sounds like Half Dome is significantly harder than that was. As it was there were people on the cables at Angels Landing that I thought had no business out there, including one parent who was carrying their infant on their back in a carrier!

I have written the only guide book on the Half Dome hike, "One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome." I also give over 40 talks on it, teach Adult Ed on it and maintain a website and daily blog on it. http://hikehalfdome.com I've done the hike 24 times and did it Saturday. Here is my June 15 blog on the fall.

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Where do I start? By now you’ve heard about the death of Manoj Kumar, 40, from San Ramon, CA. He slipped off the Half Dome cables Saturday afternoon. I did the hike that day. I have a lot of info to share about change at the park, but will defer them.

My party left the trailhead at Happy Isles at 5:30 am. We were in shorts and light shirts. The hike up to Little Yosemite Valley was beautiful – blue sky with just a few clouds. It was cool, so I drank way less than usual. I didn’t even need to pump-filter water at the Merced. We arrived at the cables about 10:15 and still it was very pleasant. Low clouds but no indication of bad weather. We knew that the recent weather was unpredictable in the afternoons, so we wanted to be heading back well before anything arrived. On the top it was still good, but a small cloud was moving in towards the northeast side of the rock. At 11:15, (checking time tags on the JPEGS) we took a photo of the flag of Wales that my 3 British companions brought. While we were on the Visor, a cloud danced in and back. We even had 15 minutes of clear sky overhead then it would move back in - just touching the visor and stopping. It was as if the sheer size of Half Dome was a barrier to the cloud’s progress. There was even a line of white “cloud” to the north of Tenaya Canyon clear towards the south of it. We descended about 12:15 and watched the cloud continue its in/out dance. The cables were always in the clear and people continued up the cables. Going down Sub Dome, it got pretty chilly so I put on my zip-off legs and a jacket. I felt very light drops of moisture. Continuing down into the forest, at 1:15, it started to hail. Only 5 minutes or so, but real small hail. I thought “Oh boy, those folks on the cables are in trouble.” People were still going up the trail towards the dome. About 2:30 it starting raining in earnest. I put on my poncho and continued down. It rained real heavy as we continued down the John Muir Trail. About 3:45 I could hear the helicopter heading up towards the dome with no indication of what was going on. I knew this was not a training mission. I did not heard about the accident until Sunday am. Turns out the park chopper dropped off 2 rangers who assessed Mr. Kumar and determined he was dead, but apparently in such a place that he could not be retrieved. His body remained overnight. Meanwhile 5 more rangers were dispatched to assist the estimated 41 hikers unable to get off the top or down the cables. This took until 8:30 Sat night and it was not until 1:45 am Sunday that everyone was back at the Happy Isles Trailhead!! I saw many that day with shorts and T-Shirts going up. (More typical of July.) I also saw a multitude wearing smooth soled sneakers on the cables and took a photo of a couple with TEVA sandals on. (I can only post 1 shot, so will delay that one.) As we have preached, the cable route is very smooth when bone dry and like motor oil when wet. Smooth soles shoes are pretty dumb. Clouds are full of moisture, folks. You do not “conquer” Half Dome, it lets you pass. Do not get cocky – it will be here another day to hike. Do it safely – get educated and prepare. R.I.P. Manoj.

Someone asked about the difference between the Half Dome cables and what's there at Angels Landing. I've done both and I think I can comment a bit.

Angels Landing is different. It's more exposed climbing with the possibility of falling off a sheer face. The hand-holds are actually heavy linked-chains, which provide pretty good grip on the basis of the links. If you slip on one link, you'll regain grip on the next link. They're left in there permanently and are located in places all the way up from Scout Lookout all the way to the top. There are points where holding onto the chains is helpful but not necessarily critical. There is decent grip for the feet since the sandstone is inherently like sandpaper, although it does sometimes slip a bit.

Half Dome is very different. The cables are left permanently in place. The stanchions are placed in there around late May where they're inserted into previously drilled holes and the cables are secured at the top of each with some sort of screw-in device. I don't know how to describe it other than the top is threaded and there's some sort of screw-top cap; there must be a technical term for this kind of device. It would be possible to replace the stanchions, but the cable is pretty much permanent now. At each stanchion pair there's a wooden board which can serve as a resting point or a stopping point in case of a slip. These things aren't glued in, so you can often sense the stanchions coming out a bit (gravity keeps them in the holes), and some of the boards have loose fixtures to the stanchions.

The cables have been made somewhat smooth over the years. In order to get good grip, you need gloves; I recommend the rubber-dipped palm ones like those made by Atlas Glove. There is a pile left in a drilled hole near the base of the cables, but often the NPS will remove them. Many are rotting because they're natural materials left out too long. The granite surface between the cables is noticeably worn, and reportedly it had decent grip as late as 20 years ago. You generally climb up with your hands/arms, and your feet follow. Most people climb down backwards. It's easier to stay upright w/ respect to gravity, and you don't have to look down. I would say it was much better when I was climbing up early morning before the day hiker rush (early afternoon) arrived. I could use both cables most of the way up. When going down, it's usually hand over hand on one cable.

I didn't do it as a day trip (I was backcountry camping nearby and the round trip was maybe 5 miles) but most people do this as a grueling 16-18 mile round trip with an over 5000 ft one-way cumulative elevation gains (it dips sometimes). Angels Landing is maybe 6 miles round-trip and relatively easy until you get to Scout Lookout.

This latest death on Half Dome is a tragedy, as they all have been. However, it makes me crazy when folks blame the Park Service when something like this happens. If it was hailing and raining, why the HELL were people up there to begin with, despite MANY signs warning you not to get on the cables if there's a possibility of inclement weather? I understand that sometimes you get caught out, despite doing everything right, but from what I can tell from the first-hand accounts, it sounds like people were on their way UP when the rock was already wet -- that's just plain foolish. But this doesn't surprise me. I have been up Half Dome twice, and both times I saw what I can only characterize as completely inappropriate attire and behaviour out there. I saw people doing the hike in flip flops and Birkenstocks and even leather loafers. I saw a woman who was 6 months pregnant attempting the climb, with her friend who had just had major knee surgery 3 weeks prior. They had 1 sixteen oz. bottle of water between the two of them for the whole hike, and no food at all -- we shared ours with them because we were worried they wouldn't make it back down, otherwise. We saw kids as young as 7 up there. And yet, if you are paying any attention at all, it's perfectly clear from signs everywhere, as well as what any ranger will tell you if you talk to them, that this hike is VERY strenuous and that you need to be properly prepared and not be up there if the conditions are poor. The Park Service has a responsibility to make people aware of the dangers of such a hike, and instruct them on how to prepare, but they can't legislate stupidity with quotas or anything else. People who don't properly prepare are making a very stupid decision, but it is one for which we can't hold anyone else responsible.

Also, to the people who are clipping onto the cables with ropes and harnesses, that's all well and good for YOU, but what about the other people who are on the cables at the same time? Seems to me that you're making your own life more secure while potentially endangering them, if your gear inhibits their ability to grab onto the cables where they need to, etc.

Hi Rick,
I just returned from Yosemite today, I climbed Half Dome for the first time Monday 6/15/09. I purchase your book about a year ago, and I've been training for this hike very seriously. I knew starting out on this hike I would be turning back if the weather didn't cooperate. Thanks for writing this most helpful guide. Hiking is my passion, thanks for getting me started. Julie
P.S. Five years ago I was in a car accident and broke my wrist,hip and a compound break to my left femor.
Hiking is great rehab. THANKS AGAIN .....Oh by the way the hike took me 12 hours, an hour and a half longer than your book says. Did you take into consideration age???? I'm 55 .

We've had quite a bit of comment traffic about this on my blog too.

One thing about the harness/carabiner setup that worries me: if you fall and tug hard on the cable, wouldn't the cable bounce equally hard and perhaps cause others to lose their grip?

As for taking others out -- it could happen but you'd never go farther than the next vertical pole with its T connector. I too have wondered about the domino effect, but it could be that the people are spaced far enough apart that the risk is not as great as it seems.

All I can say is I guess most people don't have a clue what they are in for on this hike. I plan to go this upcoming Friday and will DEFINITELY be taking a harness with me......It seams like there will be a lot of other people there without harnesses and I don't want any of them falling onto me and taking me out!...I got babies to attend to. Respect the elements!

The cable itself is bouncing from all the people using it. As far as spacing goes, has anyone here seen how crowded it gets on a weekend? The problem is that if it were somehow restricted to only one person between each pair of poles, the wait would be several hours rather than maybe 30-40 minutes during peak season. If you've seen it when it's crowded, that's maybe 2-3 people in each segment. There are often gaps because one or more climbers gets terrified and slows down or take time to get recomposed at each plank.

I don't recall exactly how many pairs of stanchions there are, but a quick look at photos and I'd guess maybe 36-40. That's a lot of clipping and unclipping.