Half Dome
Encyclopedia
Half Dome is a granite dome
in Yosemite National Park
, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California
, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley
— possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation
. The granite
crest rises more than 4737 ft (1,444 m) above the valley
floor.
or from Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock
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.
On March 28, 2009, a large rock slide of 1500000 ft3 occurred from Awhiyah Point. The slide happened at 5:26 a.m and damaged a large area under the dome. No one was injured but hundreds of trees were knocked down and a portion of the Mirror Lake trail was buried. The slide registered on seismographs as a 2.5 earthquake.
An image of Half Dome, along with John Muir
and the California Condor
, appears on the California State quarter, released in January 2005.
Half Dome was originally called "Tis-sa-ack," meaning Cleft Rock in the language of the local Native American
s. 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. Tis-sa-ack is the name of a Mono Lake Paiute Indian girl in the Yosemite Native American legend.. John Muir referred to the peak as "Tissiack".
Half Dome is included in many company and organization logos, including that of the environmental group the Sierra Club
and the game studio Sierra Entertainment
.
Half Dome is the inspiration behind The North Face
corporate logo. Starting October 2010, an image of Half Dome is also included on the new revised California drivers license in the top right-hand corner.
Today, Half Dome may now be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hiker
s reach the top each year by following an 8.5 mi (13.7 km) trail from the valley floor. After a rigorous 2 mi (3.2 km) approach including several hundred feet of granite 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 braided steel cables originally constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919.
Alternatively, over a dozen rock climbing
route
s 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 5-day epic was the first Grade VI
climb in the United States
. Other technical routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder.
s, then continues into Little Yosemite Valley, then north to the base of the northeast ridge of Half Dome itself.
The final 400 ft (121.9 m) ascent is steeply up the rock between two steel cables used as handholds. 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 and 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.
The cable route can be crowded. In past years, as many as 1,000 hikers per day have sometimes climbed the dome on a summer weekend, and about 50,000 hikers climb it every year.
In January, 2010, the National Park Service
announced that permits will be required to hike the cable route on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays. The park service cited safety concerns and increased crowding on the route as reasons for the new regulations. Permits will be issued only through the National Recreation Reservation Service from four months in advance to one week in advance. A maximum of 400 permits per day will be issued, and a processing fee of $1.50 per permit will be charged. Permits will not be issued in the park.
In December 2010, NPS officials announced that the permit system would be expanded to seven days per week beginning with the 2011 ascent season. All hikers who intend to ascend the cable route must now obtain permits before entering the park. Permits will be checked by a ranger on the trail, and no hikers without permits are 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 $5000 and/or 6 months in jail.
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.
From 1919 when the cables were erected through 2011, there have been six fatal falls from the cables. The latest fatality occurred on July 31st, 2011.
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.
Granite dome
A granite dome is a dome of granite, formed by exfoliation.-Formation:Granite forms plutons of igneous rock several kilometers below the surface as magma slowly cools and crystallizes. The granite is under great overhead pressure....
in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California
Mariposa County, California
Mariposa County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It lies north of Fresno, east of Merced, and southeast of Stockton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,251 up from 17,130 at the 2000 census...
, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
— possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation
Rock formations in the United States
The following is a partial list of rock formations in the United States, by state:-Arizona:*Canyon de Chelly National Monument**Spider Rock*Chiricahua National Monument**Duck on a Rock**Organ Pipe**Mushroom Rock**Sea Captain*Monument Valley...
. The granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
crest rises more than 4737 ft (1,444 m) above the valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
floor.
Geology
Half Dome is nearly as whole as it ever was. The impression from the valley floor that this is a round dome which has lost its northwest half is an illusion. From Glacier PointGlacier Point
thumb|right|upright|Glacier Point, as seen from [[Yosemite Valley]]. In springtime, this cliff face is covered with dozens of freshets and tiny waterfalls from the snowmelt, the largest being [[Staircase Falls]]....
or from Washburn Point, Half Dome can be seen as a thin ridge of rock
Arete
Areté is the term meaning "virtue" or "excellence", from Greek ἈρετήArete may also be used:*as a given name of persons or things:**Queen Arete , a character in Homer's Odyssey.***197 Arete, an asteroid....
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
Tenaya Canyon
Tenaya Canyon is a dramatic and dangerous canyon in Yosemite National Park, California, USA, that runs from the outlet of Tenaya Lake 10 miles down to Yosemite Valley, carrying water in Tenaya Creek through a series of spectacular cascades and pools and thence into a deep canyon below Cloud's Rest,...
, is probably controlled by master joints, 80 percent of the northwest "half" of the original dome may well still be there.
On March 28, 2009, a large rock slide of 1500000 ft3 occurred from Awhiyah Point. The slide happened at 5:26 a.m and damaged a large area under the dome. No one was injured but hundreds of trees were knocked down and a portion of the Mirror Lake trail was buried. The slide registered on seismographs as a 2.5 earthquake.
In culture
John Muir
John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...
and the California Condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...
, appears on the California State quarter, released in January 2005.
Half Dome was originally called "Tis-sa-ack," meaning Cleft Rock in the language of the local Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s. Tis-sa-ack is also the name of the fourth route on the formation, ascended by Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
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. Tis-sa-ack is the name of a Mono Lake Paiute Indian girl in the Yosemite Native American legend.. John Muir referred to the peak as "Tissiack".
Half Dome is included in many company and organization logos, including that of the environmental group the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
and the game studio Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
.
Half Dome is the inspiration behind The North Face
The North Face
The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear, fleece, shirts, footwear, and equipment such as backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags....
corporate logo. Starting October 2010, an image of Half Dome is also included on the new revised California drivers license in the top right-hand corner.
Ascents
As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was declared "perfectly inaccessible". The summit was finally conquered by George Anderson in October, 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eyebolts into the smooth granite.Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
s reach the top each year by following an 8.5 mi (13.7 km) trail from the valley floor. After a rigorous 2 mi (3.2 km) approach including several hundred feet of granite 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 braided steel cables originally constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919.
Alternatively, over a dozen rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
route
Climbing route
A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and, once committed to that ascent, can be difficult to stop or return. Choice of route can be critically important...
s 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
Royal Robbins
Royal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas today known as the Regular Northwest Face
Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome
The Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome was the first Grade VI climb in the United States. It was first climbed in 1957 by a team consisting of Royal Robbins, Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas. Its current rating is VI 5.9 A1 or 5.12 for the free variation...
. Their 5-day epic was the first Grade VI
Grade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
climb in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Other technical routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder.
Hiking the Cables Route
The Half Dome Cables Route hike runs from the valley floor to the top of the dome in 8.2 mi (13 km) (via the Mist Trail), with 4800 ft (1,463 m) of elevation gain. The length and difficulty of the trail used to keep it less crowded than other park trails, but in recent years the trail traffic has grown to as many as 800 people a day. 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 and Nevada FallNevada Fall
Nevada Fall is a high waterfall on the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California. It is located below the granite dome, Liberty Cap, at the west end of Little Yosemite Valley. The waterfall is widely recognized by its "bent" shape, in which the water free-falls for roughly the first third...
s, then continues into Little Yosemite Valley, then north to the base of the northeast ridge of Half Dome itself.
The final 400 ft (121.9 m) ascent is steeply up the rock between two steel cables used as handholds. 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 and 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.
In January, 2010, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
announced that permits will be required to hike the cable route on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays. The park service cited safety concerns and increased crowding on the route as reasons for the new regulations. Permits will be issued only through the National Recreation Reservation Service from four months in advance to one week in advance. A maximum of 400 permits per day will be issued, and a processing fee of $1.50 per permit will be charged. Permits will not be issued in the park.
In December 2010, NPS officials announced that the permit system would be expanded to seven days per week beginning with the 2011 ascent season. All hikers who intend to ascend the cable route must now obtain permits before entering the park. Permits will be checked by a ranger on the trail, and no hikers without permits are 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 $5000 and/or 6 months in jail.
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
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
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.
From 1919 when the cables were erected through 2011, there have been six fatal falls from the cables. The latest fatality occurred on July 31st, 2011.
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.
Notable Ascents
- 1875 George Anderson via drilled spikes on the east slope.
- 1946 Salathe Route on southwest face (IV 5.7 A3), FA by John Salathe and Anton Nelson
- 1957 Northwest Face (VI 5.8 A3), FA by Royal RobbinsRoyal RobbinsRoyal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
, Jerry Gallwas and Mike Sherrick. First Grade VI in North America. - 1963 Direct Northwest Face (VI 5.9 A5), FA by Royal RobbinsRoyal RobbinsRoyal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
and Dick McCracken - 1969 Tis-sa-ack (VI 5.9 A4), FA by Royal RobbinsRoyal RobbinsRoyal Robbins is one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite...
and Don Peterson. - 1987 The Big Chill (VI 5.9 A4), FA by Jim BridwellJim BridwellJim Bridwell is a noted American rock climber and mountaineer, active since 1965 especially in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska. He is noted for pushing the standards of both free-climbing and big-wall climbing, and later alpine climbing...
, Peter Mayfield, Sean Plunkett and Steve Bosque - 1989 Shadows (VI 5.10 A5), FA by Jim BridwellJim BridwellJim Bridwell is a noted American rock climber and mountaineer, active since 1965 especially in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska. He is noted for pushing the standards of both free-climbing and big-wall climbing, and later alpine climbing...
, Charles Row, Cito Kirkpatrick, William Westbay - 1997 Blue Shift (VI 5.11c a4) FA by Jay Smith and Karl McConachie.
Notable Free Climbs
- 1964 Salathe Route (5.10), FFA by Frank Sacherer, Bob Kamps & Andy Lichtman
- 1965 Snake Dike (5.7), FFA by Eric Beck, Jim BridwellJim BridwellJim Bridwell is a noted American rock climber and mountaineer, active since 1965 especially in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska. He is noted for pushing the standards of both free-climbing and big-wall climbing, and later alpine climbing...
and Chris Fredericks - 1976 Regular Northwest Face, Higbee variation (VI 5.12) by Art Higbee and Jim Erickson.
- 1988 Southern Belle (V 5.12d) by Dave Schultz and Scott Cosgrove
- 2008 Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12a, 23 pitches), free solo climb by Alex HonnoldAlex HonnoldAlex Honnold is an American big wall free solo climber. He has broken a number of speed records, including a free climb of Salathé Wall, and a 5h49m aid solo ascent of the Nose of El Capitan, a route normally demanding two to four days. Honnold was born in Sacramento, California, graduating from...
.
See also
- El CapitanEl CapitanEl Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.The formation was...
- Sentinel DomeSentinel DomeSentinel Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, United States. It lies on the south wall of Yosemite Valley, southwest of Glacier Point and northeast of Profile Cliff....