Half Dome

{{main|Geology of the Yosemite area}}

File:Half Dome10.jpg

The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome that has lost its northwest half, is just an illusion. From Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock, an arête, that is 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.

File:Rainbow at Half Dome.jpg over Half Dome]]

As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible" by Josiah Whitney of the California Geological Survey.{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Climbing in North America |publisher=American Alpine Club / University of California Press |year=1976 |location=Berkeley, California |page=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/26 26] |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/26 }} The summit was reached by George Anderson in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eye bolts into the smooth rock.{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Climbing in North America |date=January 1976 |page=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/27 27] |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/27 }} Anderson had previously tried a variety of methods, including using pitch from nearby pine trees for extra friction.{{cite book |last=Hutchings |first=James Mason |authorlink=James Mason Hutchings |title=In the heart of the Sierras |url=https://archive.org/details/inheartofsierras00hutc_0/ |accessdate=September 25, 2022 |year=1888 |publisher= |location= |isbn= |pages=458–459 }}

Anderson subsequently went on to add ropes to his eye bolts, so that other people could climb. Among those who took advantage was the first woman to climb Half Dome in 1876, S. L. Dutcher, of San Francisco. In 1877 James Mason Hutchings along with Anderson led a climb which included Hutchings' daughter Cosie, his son Willie, his mother-in-law Florence Sproat, aged 65, and two other women.{{cite book |last=Huntley |first=Jen A |authorlink= |title=The Making of Yosemite: James Mason Hutchings and the Origin of America's Most Popular National Park |url= |accessdate= |year=2011 |publisher= University Press of Kansas|location= |isbn=978-0-7006-1805-7 |page=160 }}

Today, Half Dome may be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hikers reach the top each year by following an {{convert|8.5|mi|km|1|abbr=on}} trail from the valley floor. After a rigorous {{convert|2|mi|km|1|abbr=on}} approach, including several hundred feet of rock stairs, the final pitch up the peak's steep but somewhat rounded east face is ascended with the aid of a pair of post-mounted steel cables originally constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919.

Alternatively, over a dozen rock climbing routes lead from the valley up Half Dome's vertical northwest face. The first technical ascent was in 1957 via a route pioneered by Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas, today known as the Regular Northwest Face. Their five-day epic was the first Grade VI climb in the United States.{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Climbing in North America |date=January 1976 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/207 207–211] |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/207 }} Their route has now been free climbed several times in a few hours' time. Other technical routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder.

Image:Half Dome--cables.jpeg

The Half Dome Cable Route hike runs from the valley floor to the top of the dome in {{convert|8.2|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} (via the Mist Trail), with {{convert|4800|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}} of elevation gain. The length and difficulty of the trail used to keep it less crowded than other park trails, but trail traffic grew to as many as 1,000 people a day, and about 50,000 per year, before a permit system was introduced in 2010.{{cite news|title=Death of Sunnyvale hiker on Half Dome called unusual|author-last1=Skipitares|author-first1=Connie|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=2007-06-19|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6180679?source=most_emailed}}{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31348114 | title = Hiker falls to death from Yosemite's Half Dome | website = NBC News | date = 14 June 2009 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm|work=Yosemite National Park|title=Half Dome Permits|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|date=2010-01-31|archive-date=2010-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202062129/http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm|url-status=live}} The hike can be done from the valley floor in a single long day, but many people break it up by camping overnight in Little Yosemite Valley. The trail climbs past Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall, then continues into Little Yosemite Valley, then north to the base of the northeast ridge of Half Dome itself.

The final {{convert|400|ft|m|-1|abbr=on}} ascent is steeply up the rock between two steel cables used as handholds.{{cite web|title=Half Dome Day Hike|url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/halfdome.htm|work=Yosemite National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2007-08-12}} The cables are fixed with bolts in the rock and raised onto a series of metal poles in late May. The poles do not anchor the cables. The cables are taken down from the poles for the winter in early October, but they are still fixed to the rock surface and can be used. The National Park Service recommends against climbing the route when the cables are down, or when the surface of the rock is wet and slippery. The Cable Route is rated class 3, while the same face away from the cables is rated class 5.{{cite book|last=Secor|first=R.J.|title=The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails|year=1999|edition=2nd|publisher=The Mountaineers|page=391|isbn=0-89886-313-9}}

Image:HalfDomeTraffic.jpeg

The Cable Route can be crowded. Since 2010, all hikers who intend to ascend the Cable Route must first obtain permits when the cables are up between May and October.{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm|title=Yosemite National Park: Half Dome Permits|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2011-08-20}} Permits are limited to 300 per day, and {{as of|2022|lc=y}}, more than 70,000 applications were received in the pre-season and daily permit lotteries.{{cite web |title=Half Dome Permit Lottery Statistics - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermitsapps.htm |website=www.nps.gov |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=15 November 2023 |language=en |date=9 June 2023}} Permits are checked by a ranger on the trail. Hikers without permits are not allowed to hike beyond the base of the sub-dome or to the bottom of the cables. Hikers caught bypassing the rangers to visit either the sub-dome or main dome without a permit face fines of up to $5,000, and/or 6 months in jail.{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/02/yosemite-half-dome-permits.html|title=Yosemite will require permits for Half Dome hikes, starting in May|newspaper=LA Times|access-date=14 December 2010|date=February 1, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329100701/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2010/02/yosemite-half-dome-permits.html|archive-date=29 March 2010}}

Backpackers with an appropriate wilderness permit can receive a Half Dome permit when they pick up their wilderness permit with no additional reservation required. Rock climbers who reach the top of Half Dome without entering the subdome area can descend on the Half Dome Trail without a permit.

The top of Half Dome is a large, flat area where climbers can relax and enjoy their accomplishment. The summit offers views of the surrounding areas, including Little Yosemite Valley and the Valley Floor. A notable location to one side of Half Dome is the "Diving Board", where Ansel Adams took his photograph Monolith, the Face of Half Dome on April 10, 1927. Often confused with "the Visor," a small overhanging ledge at the summit, the Diving Board is on the shoulder of Half Dome.{{cite web | url = https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/historyculture/ansel-adams.htm | title = NPS: Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park }}

The Cable Route was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.{{cite web |date=September 7, 2012 |title=Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 8/27/12 Through 8/31/12 |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2012-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf |access-date=September 19, 2013 |publisher=National Park Service}}

{{As of|2024}}, there have been 10 confirmed deaths on the cable section since they were erected in 1919.{{cite news |last1=Steade |first1=Susan |title=Half Dome deaths: The hikers who fell from the cables |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/05/30/half-dome-deaths-hikers-fell-from-cables/ |access-date=27 May 2025 |work=The Mercury News |date=1 August 2024}} The latest fatality occurred on July 13, 2024.{{cite web |last1=Mojadad |first1=Ida |title=Experienced 20-year-old hiker slips to her death at Yosemite's Half Dome |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/experienced-20-year-old-hiker-slips-death-half-19592656.php |website=San Francisco Chronicle|date=24 July 2024 }}{{As of when|date=April 2025|reason=latest fatality as of when?}} In August 2024, there were calls to double the number of wooden rungs on the climb, to increase safety.{{cite news |last1=Dolan |first1=Jack |title=After a young woman falls to her death in Yosemite, Half Dome's risks are on everyone's mind |url=https://news.yahoo.com/news/young-woman-falls-her-death-100006306.html |access-date=9 August 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 8, 2024}} Most accidents occur when the rock is wet, and climbers are advised to check the weather before attempting the summit.{{Cite web |last=Moye |first=Jayme |date=Jul 30, 2024 |title=Should Yosemite Close the Half Dome Cables? We Asked Alex Honnold. |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/yosemite-half-dome-cables/ |website=Outside}}

Lightning strikes can be a risk while on or near the summit. On July 27, 1985, five hikers were struck by lightning, resulting in two fatalities.{{cite news | title=Lightning at Yosemite's Half Dome Kills 2 Climbers; 3 Hurt|date=July 29, 1985|work=Los Angeles Times }}

File:Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California, June 18, 2019 SkySat.jpg satellite]]

• 1875 (October 12) George Anderson via drilled spikes on the east slope.{{Cite book |last=Hutchings |first=James M. |title=In the Heart of the Sierras |chapter=Chapter XXVI – Grizzly Peak, Half Dome, and Cloud's Rest |chapter-url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/in_the_heart_of_the_sierras/26.html#page_456 |date=1888 |access-date=October 9, 2022}}
• 1875 (before November 10) John Muir{{Cite journal|last=Muir|first=John|date=November 10, 1875|title=South Dome, Its Ascent by George Anderson and John Muir-Hard Climbing but a Glorious View Botany of the Dome-Yosemite in Late Autumn.|url=https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmb/34/|journal=Daily Evening Bulletin [San Francisco]|pages=1}}
• 1946 Salathe Route on southwest face (IV 5.7 A3), FA by John Salathe and Anton Nelson{{Cite book | last = Roper | first = Steve | title = A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley | publisher = Sierra Club Books | year = 1971 | location = San Francisco, USA | page = 178 | isbn = 9780871560483 }}
• 1957 Northwest Face (VI 5.8 A3), FA by Royal Robbins, Jerry Gallwas and Mike Sherrick. First Grade VI in North America.{{Cite book | last = Roper | first = Steve | title = A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley | publisher = Sierra Club Books | year = 1971 | location = San Francisco, USA | pages = 174–176 | isbn = 9780871560483 }}
• 1963 Direct Northwest Face (VI 5.9 A5), FA by Royal Robbins and Dick McCracken{{Cite book | last = Roper | first = Steve | title = A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley | publisher = Sierra Club Books | year = 1971 | location = San Francisco, USA | page = 176 | isbn = 9780871560483 }}
• 1967 Liz Robbins becomes the first woman to complete a Grade IV climb when she and Royal Robbins repeat the Direct Northwest Face route.{{Cite web |title=AAC Publications - A Woman's Place is On Top |url=https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200511300 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=publications.americanalpineclub.org}}
• 1969 Tis-sa-ack (VI 5.9 A4), FA by Royal Robbins and Don Peterson.
• 1973 First "clean ascent" of NW face by Dennis Hennek, Doug Robinson, and Galen Rowell, Hennek is on the cover of June 1974 National Geographic leading a nut protected traverse see Super Topo too

{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

• 1987 The Big Chill (VI 5.9 A4), FA by Jim Bridwell, Peter Mayfield, Sean Plunkett and Steve Bosque{{Cite book | last = Reid | first = Don | title = Yosemite Climbs, Big Walls | publisher = Chockstone Press | year = 1993 | location = Evergreen, CO, USA | page = 205 | isbn = 0-934641-54-4 }}
• 1989 Shadows (VI 5.10 A5), FA by Jim Bridwell, Charles Row, Cito Kirkpatrick, William Westbay{{cite journal | last = Bridwell | first = Jim | title = Shadows - Half Dome | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 33 | issue = 65 | pages = 118–123 | publisher = American Alpine Club | location = New York, NY USA | year = 1991 | isbn = 0-930410-46-7 }}
• 1989 Kali Yuga (VI 5.10 A4+), FA by John Middendorf, Walt Shipley{{cite journal | last = Middendorf | first = John | title = Kaliyuga | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 33 | issue = 65 | pages = 171–172 | publisher = American Alpine Club | location = New York, NY USA | year = 1991 | isbn = 0-930410-46-7 }}
• 1997 Blue Shift (VI 5.11c a4) FA by Jay Smith and Karl McConachie.{{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Jay | title = Half Dome, Blue Shift | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 40 | issue = 72 | page = 188 | publisher = American Alpine Club | location = New York, NY USA | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-930410-78-5 }}

File:Half Dome in Yosemite Valley.jpg

• 1964 Salathe Route (5.10), FFA by Frank Sacherer, Bob Kamps & Andy Lichtman
• 1965 Snake Dike (5.7), FFA by Eric Beck, Jim Bridwell and Chris Fredericks{{Cite book | last = Roper | first = Steve | title = A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley | publisher = Sierra Club Books | year = 1971 | location = San Francisco, USA | page = 179 | isbn = 9780871560483 }}
• 1976 Regular Northwest Face, Higbee variation (VI 5.12d) by Art Higbee and Jim Erickson.{{Cite book | last = Reid | first = Don | title = Yosemite Climbs, Big Walls | publisher = Chockstone Press | year = 1993 | location = Evergreen, CO, USA | page = 204 | isbn = 0-934641-54-4 }}
• 1985 The Autobahn (5.11+/5.12a) by John Middendorf and Charles Cole.{{cite web |url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198615703 |title=Climbs and Expeditions

|author=Don Reid |date=1986 |access-date=15 August 2019}}

• 1988 Southern Belle (V 5.12d) by Dave Schultz and Scott Cosgrove
• 2008 Regular Northwest Face, Higbee variation (VI 5.12a, 23 pitches), free solo climb by Alex Honnold.{{cite web |url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08f/newswire-honnold-solo-half-dome |title=Updated: Honnold Free Solos Half Dome 5.12

|author=Erik Lambert |date=September 9, 2008 |access-date=15 April 2011}}

{{Clear}}

File:Ansel-adams-monolith-the-face-of-half-dome - edit1.jpg photograph Monolith, the Face of Half Dome]]

File:California quarter, reverse side, 2005.jpg

Half Dome was originally called "Tis-sa-ack", meaning Cleft Rock in the language of the local Ahwahnechee people. 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. Tis-sa-ack is the name of a mother from a native legend. The face seen in Half Dome is supposed to be hers.{{cite book|title=The Lore and Lure of Yosemite|last=Wilson|first=Herbert Earl|year=1922|chapter=Legend of Tis-sa-sack|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/lly/lly28.htm}}{{Cite journal|last=Hartesveldt|first=Richard J.|date=1955|title=Yosemite Valley Place Names|journal=Yosemite Nature Notes|url=https://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/yosemite_valley_place_names/|access-date=28 December 2024}} Tis-sa-ack is the name of a Mono Lake Paiute girl in the Yosemite Native American legend.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} John Muir interchangeably used "Tissiack,"{{cite book|quote=I have gazed on Tissiack a thousand times — in days of solemn storms, and when her form shone divine with the jewelry of winter, or was veiled in living clouds; and I have heard her voice of winds, and snowy, tuneful waters when floods were falling.|title=Steep Trails|chapter=A Geologist's Winter Walk|last=Muir|first=John|year=1918|url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/steep_trails/chapter_2.html|location=Boston|publisher=Houghton-Mifflin|isbn=0-87156-535-8}} "South Dome,"{{cite book|quote=With the exception of a few spires and pinnacles, the South Dome is the only rock about the Valley that is strictly inaccessible without artificial means, and its inaccessibility is expressed in severe terms.|title=The Yosemite|chapter=South Dome|last=Muir|first=John|year=1912|url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/john_muir_writings/the_yosemite/chapter_10.html|location=New York|publisher=The Century Company}} and "Half Dome" in his writings.

Others say Ahwahneechee Native Americans named Half Dome "Face of a Young Woman Stained with Tears" ("Tis-se'-yak") because of the colonies of brown-black lichens that form dark vertical drip-like stripes along drainage tracks in the rock faces.My Yosemite: A Guide for Young Adventurers, Mike Graf[http://backcountrypictures.com/bcp_writing_yosemite.pdf Spirit Of Yosemite, BackCountryPictures.com]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}Lichens in relation to management issues in the Sierra Nevada national parks, McCune, B., J. Grenon, and E. Martin, L. Mutch, Sierra Nevada Network, Cooperative agreement CA9088A0008. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, California, [http://openjournals.wsu.edu/index.php/pnwfungi/article/view/1031] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082622/http://openjournals.wsu.edu/index.php/pnwfungi/article/view/1031|date=2014-08-19}}

Jack London's 1900 short story "Dutch Courage" tells of a fictional climb of Half Dome.{{cite web |title=The Project Gutenberg eBook, Dutch Courage and Other Stories, by Jack London |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14449/14449-h/14449-h.htm |website=Project Gutenberg |access-date=August 31, 2021}}

Monolith, the Face of Half Dome is a black and white photograph taken by Ansel Adams in 1927 that depicts the western face of Half Dome as seen from the "Diving Board".{{Cite book|title=Ansel Adams|last=Alinder|first=Mary|publisher=Henry Holt and Company, Inc.|year=1996|location=Canada|pages=57–60}} It was used by the Sierra Club as a visual aid for the environmental movement, and was a part of the portfolio Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras. The ashes of Ansel Adams were later scattered on Half Dome after he died.{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Scott |title=Resting Places: The Burial Site of 14,000 Famous Persons |date=2016 |edition=3rd |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-078647992-4 }}

Half Dome was used as the logo for a software company, Sierra On-Line.

In 1971, outdoor recreation and climbing equipment company The North Face created their company logo, based upon a stylized depiction of the Half Dome formation. It is still their logo 50 years later.{{Cite web|title=A History of The North Face|url=https://www.thrifted.com/blogs/the-edit/a-history-of-the-north-face|access-date=2021-12-13|website=Thrifted.com|language=en}}

In 1988, Half Dome was featured on a 25 cent United States postage stamp. An image of Half Dome, along with John Muir and the California condor, appears on the California State Quarter, released in January 2005.

From 2010 until the introduction of REAL ID, California driver's licenses featured an illustration of Half Dome.{{Cite web |date=2010-10-06 |title=New look for California driver's licenses and ID cards |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/10/06/new-look-for-california-drivers-licenses-and-id-cards/ |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}[http://www.ca-cpi.org/docs/Is-It-Valid-2010.pdf] Driver License & Identification Card Verification Guide

{{panorama|image=File:Half dome summit panorama 360.JPG|caption=A 360° panorama from the summit of Half Dome, taken in July 2005|height=150}}

• El Capitan
• Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, a photograph by Ansel Adams
• Quarter Domes
• Sentinel Dome

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons and category|Half Dome}}

• [https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/halfdome.htm Half Dome Day Hike on the NPS website]
• [http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/geologic_story_of_yosemite/ Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park] by N. King Huber, USGS (adapted PD source)
• {{cite summitpost|id=150378|title=Half Dome}}
• [http://www.halfdome.net/ Daily updating time-lapse movies of Half Dome]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081224000346/http://www.hctc.commnet.edu/artmuseum/anseladams/details/monolith.html Monolith, The Face of Half Dome, Ansel Adams]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130114081542/http://shop.anseladams.com/Moon_and_Half_Dome_p/5010117-u.htm Moon and Half Dome, Ansel Adams]
• {{cite web |title=Chronicles of Early Ascents of Half Dome |url=http://dome-early-ascents.s3-website-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/ |access-date=30 June 2023}}

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Category:Geology of Yosemite National Park

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