Climbing Half Dome, Yosemite National Park

by Tweeky on 20/07/09 at 1:11 pm

This photo was sent to us by John Turner in Fife.

John said, “I’d like to submit this photo of Half Dome. This was the third time we’d climbed it and once again it was a fantastic experience.

The ascent of the final face to the summit plateau involves steep rock that can be slick, especially after the afternoon shower that can be common in Aug/Sept. It’s not a ladder you can see on the face, it’s fixed (via Ferrata type) cables.

The wooden slats that hold the ‘guide’ steel cable poles are actually several metres apart. The feature is set up each April until around October as a safety measure. Old work or gardening type gloves are recommended for the route to protect hands on the steel wires. The colour of the granite in the sunshine, combined with the overlying ‘armadillo’ plates of rock – with the steepness of the face – makes this look a more frightening experience than it actually is.

Towards the bottom of the picture is an injured faller being treated by Mountain Rescue, the helicopter was behind me at the base of the face.”