Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board First-Hand Account of Near-Fatal Fall, Half Dome

Friends of YOSAR has posted a fantastic first-hand account of a near-fatal fall this June from the Cables on Half Dome.

http://friendsofyosar.org/rescues/2009/6-4-09_HalfDomeFall_FirstHand.html


This story and photos were submitted by Good Samaritan rescuer/witness Rick Powell through FOYOSAR's story/comment/photo/video/etc submission line, stories@friendsofyosar.org.

Stay safe!

thanks for posting that...i enjoyed reading that
the hike and climb up half dome is nothing nice.
gina is a very lucky person.

I believe that it is only a matter of time before there are a pile of bodies at the base of Half Dome. The Park Service has several options.

1. Do nothing. People will die on Half Dome. People also die in Disneyland.

2. Remove the cables permanently. If you want to stand on top of Half Dome, learn to rock climb.

3. Helicopter diesel powered sand blasting equipment up and put some real rough on that slick granite.

4. Fulfill the first ascender George Anderson's vision and chisel a set of steps into the granite. For those who say this would mar Half Dome, isn't it already marred by the cables?

Just my 2 cents.

Cables can be removed, steps can not.

Very straight-forward & simple.

The granite between the cables has been worn as smooth as a headstone by a million pairs of boots.

Go outside, cable to the left both up & down. If that doesn't work for you, time to re-consider. In reality, you can walk up the first and last third without the cable. Easier & safer.

Girl was lucky, very lucky, given that what appeared to be the safe route was actually the worst possible choice.

Lawyers tend to call this an "Attractive Nuisance"

Eventually, the cables will/or will not be repositioned.

There is always the Snake Dike.

Make it into a Via Ferrata route.

I guess people will just keep recycling past accident stories until the next one comes along. This one should have started out with the opening line:

It was a cold, foggy day, with the worst weather yet to come -- snow*sleet*hail -- but we all persisted with our mission to conquer The Dome...

B

I second that Gunner! I was just there last thursday, it was a mess!

Thanks for posting the story. Gina is a very blessed woman to make it out of there alive. She had a great deal of people looking out for her and manly the man up stairs..

I will be up there mid September and this story will be fresh in my mind as I’m doing Half Dome.

As far as what to do to make it safer, well the cables could be repaired and as always we hike or climb at our own risk. Know what your limits are and listen to your own body. If you push yourself too hard you may not be able to recover. That is why it is so important to set your own limits and not listen to others when it comes to your own ability.
I give Vanessa a metal for how well she dealt with the whole situation. She is one strong woman.
Mouse

Reading the story (sheesh, it's long!), the ONE thing that sticks out in my mind, that I have not seen mentioned other places is how precipitation affects the route. The park has signs posted about staying off the cables if there is thunder in the area. But it should be even MORE emphatic (since people don't recognize the problem) about rain and temperatures.

If rain, or even worse, snow, is likely, everyone should

        STAY AWAY FROM THE CABLES!!!

It is probably as bad as the snow turning icy on the Whitney trail.

I guess that one must never over-estimate the power of common sense.

Bee

Can't agree with all of your ideas but I do agree that changes, for the better or the worse, could be coming.



Actually it's the NPS that controls the trail/cables.

My wife and I just ascended the cables for the first time a week ago. We were both amazed that they would allow anybody to do this route. It draws to much attention to people that dont belong thier. I saw a guy in sandles, and a guy in converse, that slipped the whole way down and looked SCARED TO DEATH! I believe the cables should be removed, and turned into a bolted route, just like everything else in Yosemite, access at your own risk! Or, at the very least, require a harness of some sort.

When I took my then 8 year old son up, He was wearing gloves,a climbing harness,was short roped to me AND He clipped into each section. He is thirteen now and I would do the same thing tomorrow.
A wise man I worked with was fond of saying "If common sence is so common, why don't more people have it?"
That climb is very real world and not a place for complacency.

Let me get my conjecture permit out.

I can see the NPS going one of two ways:

1) The permit/quota/required equipment/education/upgraded cable route (or any combination of the above) which would involve all kinds of legal, administrative and environmental hurdles.

2) Restore the rock to its natural state and treat it like any other similar climb in the park.

Then again there is often a "no action" option on many of the NPS plans that I have seen.

There was a death on Angel's Landing in Zion NP this year too. I've done both and I think AL is much more dangerous. But it doesn't get HD's crowds.

Also, as i was nearing Little Yosemite Valley around 12:30 on my way down, many hikers were stil pushing for the summit, asking how much further. I warned them all of the chance of T-Storms that evening, and most were oblivious, and blew me off, because there wasnt a cloud in the sky at that time. Back at camp, around 4, i saw big clouds building up back there. It is presented as being a dayhike, so most people assume its doable, wich attracts the type of people that dont belong out there!

So no climbing shoes on the rock slabs (which is what HD is)?

Actually, I never wear anything but trail runners. The soles are as good as hiking boots. Boots are just for winter conditions for me.

I think it is obvious climbing shoes would work, i wish i had mine!

If I were NPS, I would set a quota, at least from the base of the cables to the summit. I would also install one more cable (for a total of three), creating an "up" corridor and a "down" corridor, just like a two-way street. This would speed up the flow of traffic and hopefully discourage reckless folks from attempting to climb outside the cables. Purists may disagree, but I don't believe one more cable would have a major impact on aesthetics or the environment.

Outside the cables is safer, not reckless.

1) Traction. Beautiful Yosemite granite, not polished headstone granite.
2) Hang time. Spending minutes at a time hanging from the cables without gaining can be exhausting. On the outside, you rest/move as you wish.
3) Flying bodies. You are directly below any body that slips on the polished rock, overtired by hanging & waiting.

The use of "any body" rather than "anybody" is intentional.

At least give it a try. You don't even need the cable for the bottom third. Just don't go up a ways, then cut in. That's rude.

And 'tweeners have called me out for line-skipping. I just invite them out with me.

If anyone has statistics on falls inside vs. outside, please post.