Half Dome, East Side Cable Ascent
A view of the east side cable ascent of the last 400 meters of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.
You start with hundreds of stairs carved in stone up to the top of Vernal falls, then a zigzag trudge up similar stone alongside Nevada falls.
This photo above was Vernal Falls in May. This photo below was Vernal Falls in September.
Then a hike through sand along the Merced River to the foothills of the backside of the subdome.
You think you're halfway at the Little Yosemite campground are, but then the endless, steep, switchbacks through the forest begin. We take a break on a downed tree and chat for a moment. We compare notes on how sore we are feeling and wonder if how much further to the base of subdome. Then we hear the bone chilling rattle of a snake at our feet. The five foot long rattler slithers along the underside of the downed tree and we count ourselves lucky to have avoided a bite this far into the hike. Rattlesnakes and bears (yes we saw them)...this adventure just got real.
Then you reach the base of subdome.
Subdome is actually steeper than the final stage of Half Dome. Just when you really need it, you start to lose your sense of balance at this point. Your brain’s stereoscopic sense of balance is challenged, because, above the treeline there are no vertical foreground objects. You see horizon unmoving in the distance, but you have no nearby vertical “things” to gauge your left and right balance. Normally your stereoscopic eyesight would indicate left and right movement by seeing the foreground move against the background. This sensory information is absent as you start climbing up subdome.
Since you are climbing on a dome, very much like the rounded surface of an egg, everywhere you look is going over and edge. You have to trust that you’re headed in the right direction and keep going up.
Then your reach the narrow saddle (about 20 feet wide) with drops of thousands of feet down on either side. That’s the point of view in the photo above. You squint at the little dots going up the last part of Half Dome and you try to make out the individual people on the cable section. You are exhausted at this point. The air is thinner. The sun is intense. There is no shade. Time to put on the gloves and do the final climb. This is a real arm and back workout, as you pull yourself up the cables and search for stable footing.
More to come next week as Adam and I go for a second round on Half Dome, 2019. Stay tuned for more photos and video all the way up to the top!
Keith
