Another Half Dome death – Saturday, June 13, 2009

Climbing Half Dome was the second most terrifying experience of my life and just thinking about a person falling off of that face makes my stomach lurch. I can barely imagine meeting an end like that.

Although I think the cables were safe despite how I felt at the time, I encountered two problems: 1) a lot of idiots who couldn't make it to the top but refused to go down getting in everybody's way, and 2) the temptation to unsafely go around these people. Since it's probably unreasonable to educate the public about what kind of climb this is and discourage people from attempting it if they will become paralyzed with fear, the next best option would probably to make going around these people easier and just install a third cable, with a sign at the bottom: "this cable for serious climbers only. If you want to take a 20 minute rest in the middle of the climb, use a different cable."

agree with alot of what you wrote Art. However I would much rather have two sets of cables one to go up and one to go down. That in itself takes away alot of the cluster problems. Not to be a safety nut here. But why not require all hikers to bring a harness, gloves and suitable shoes for the climb. Maybe even make it a permit hike ie Mt. Whitney, charge like ummmm $5.oo for the hike? Rangers are already stationed at the bottom of the cables anyways. The $5.oo would help pay park costs and maintenance there. By others bring harnesses and proper footwear it might weed out those that are kooks. Have a ranger that is a climber check harnesses before they clip in. Most problems solved

and this is in response to what I have seen up there. I know activities in the backcountry come with some risk. However, 99% of us reading this or on the Mt. Whitney Message Board understand the risks and are fine with it. Alot of the people that I see hiking up from Yosemite Valley to undertake the hike, scare the crap outta me. That is why I wrote that last post.

Ken, your recommendations for a fee- makes a lot of sense. The equipment could be rented there too. But if this is done, the extra expense for inventory, extra personnel etc., should turn it into a $15 charge to cover extra help hired, etc. The park should have all expenses covered plus perhaps a meager 10 percent profit to demonstrate to the NPS that such actions are worth it from all angles.

In hindsight, Roleigh $15.00 does sound more like it. In todays times, that still is a bargain for something as cool as doing that hike. I also like the idea of renting the gear if nescessary. Also, you should have to sign a waiver if you do rent stuff stating that Yosemite has no legal responsibility. I am not a lawyer, but I would hate to see a wrongful death suit against the park. Comparing Half Dome to Mt. Whitney is an interesting comparison for me. People do die each year on Mt. Whitney and they have rangers and it is a permit type hike. It does get dangerous up there and the weather too can be quite tricky. The difference between the hikers that attempt Whitney vs. Half Dome is in my opinion they research the hike, are usually more experienced than the hikers traipsing up Half Dome.

I all for others enjoying the backcountry as well as Half Dome too. It's just that I think possibly it could be a little more controlled. I wonder if Yosemite has thought of my ideas. With budgets being cut and the Government needs money, why not implement them?

The fees in our parks are already out of control. We shouldn't have to hunt for bargains just for the privilege of using our public lands.

One of the reasons I advocated $15 was that it seemed like up to 1,000 people do Half Dome a day sometimes (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_dome ) and 50,000 a year — meaning to do the paperwork on the permit will mean probably 2-4 newhires, plus the ordering of supplies, renting, space occupied — that all costs money. Yes, I definitely agree, a waiver form should be filled out.

.

"Climbing Half Dome was the second most terrifying experience of my life and just thinking about a person falling off of that face makes my stomach lurch. I can barely imagine meeting an end like that."

So you're married too, huh?

Just a light hearted joke so please no hate mail.

I was a YOSAR member for a few years and even after all the rescues and recoveries I was still always surprised at the number of visitors who just did not understand that they were in the mountains where the risks can be different.

People die in Yosemite every year from regular accidents, mountain acccidents, acts of nature, regular medical conditions, suicides, etc. Just like in any other place.

I just missed getting scrubbed off Glacier Pt Apron in 1996 by THE huge rockfall that killed one and injured 7- and all those were non climbers on the valley floor foot paths far from the rock face. There's been plenty of rockfall deaths…Point is – you never know- it's the mountains.

It's always sad when someone dies in an accident and we all feel sorrow for their family and friends. I don't know anything about the man who most recently died, so I'm not really replying about his individual circumstances that led to his terrible accident.

Overall I'm left with the general observation that personal responsibility and sometimes common sense is to often left at the park gates and then when bad things happen some tend to look around for other answers…

Nice one, Tom. We're trying to plan a trip to SW Utah for October to Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, and The Wave. I think we're going to try Angel's Landing. For me, doing that may be scarier than getting married, but it ranks right up there – hate to admit it.