Half Dome
Half Dome is a
granite dome at the eastern end of
Yosemite Valley, possibly the Valley's most familiar sight. The
granite crest rises more than 4,737 feet (1,440 m) above the Valley floor.
As late as the
1870s, Half Dome was considered completely unclimbable, but it may now be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of
hikers reach the top each year by following a
trail from the valley floor. The trailhead is only two miles from Half Dome itself, but the circuitous route is 8.5 miles (13.5 kilometres) long. The final ascent is accomplished by following a pair of metal cables raised on posts up the peak's steep but somewhat rounded east face. The cable route was constructed in
1919.
Alternatively, over a dozen
rock climbing routes lead from the valley up Half Dome's vertical northwest face. Other routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder. The
first route climbed was the
Regular Northwest Face route - originally climbed in 1957 by
Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas. This 5-day ascent was the first
Grade VI climb in the
United States.
Half Dome is nearly as whole as it ever was. The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome which has lost its northwest half is an illusion. From
Glacier Point or from
Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as
a thin ridge of rock oriented northeast-southwest, with its southeast side almost as steep as its northwest side except for the very top. Although the trend of this ridge, as well as that of
Tenaya Canyon, is probably controlled by master
joints, 80 percent of the northwest "half" of the original dome may well still be there. What probably happened is that frost splitting of the rock at the back of a tiny glacier against Half Dome above
Mirror Lake gradually quarried back the steep northwest face. As the base of the cliff was hewn away, ultimately parts of the sheets parallel to the original upper surface of Half Dome were left projecting outward at the crest of the vertical cliff.
An image of Half Dome, along with
John Muir and the
California Condor, appears on the California
State quarter, released in January,
2005.
Half Dome was originally called "Tis-sa-ack," meaning Cleft Rock in the dialect of the local
Native Americans. Tis-sa-ack is also the name of the fourth route on the formation, ascended by
Royal Robbins and Don Peterson over eight days in October,
1969.
Half Dome is the logo for
Sierra On-Line.
|
Hikers use cables to ascend Half Dome |
The Half Dome hike is 8.2 miles from the Valley floor to the top (Very strenuous 4,800 ft. elev gain). The distance required to reach the zenith and the intimidating nature of the eventual climb make Half Dome less populated and less popular than other trails in the park. However, a suprisingly numerous amount of people climb the dome every day. The trail includes hiking to the top of Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls which together is 3.4 miles. From there hikers will continue on a progressive climb to the back side of Half Dome. Depending on who is hiking, it can be treated as a multi-day trip or a 9 to 10 hour one day trip. Many will insist that one requires training or good cardiovascular conditioning to make the trip, while others will admit to it being hard, but at the same time believe it is manageable. People recommend taking 4 liters of water per person for the hike and enough food to re-energize the 2500 calories you will likely burn on the trip. At the tail end of the hike there is a steep climb of
switchbacks that lead to the base of Half Dome where cables help the hikers climb the side of the dome. Depending on the time of the day the cables can be very crowded and it is likely you will experience a climber turning back due to fear. Once at the top of Half Dome you will find a very large area where 100+ people are relaxing and enjoying their accomplishment.
*
Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park by N. King Huber, USGS (adapted PD source)
*
Half Dome on Summitpost.org*
Hiking Half Dome Report*
Hiking Half Dome on OutdoorDB.org
