Here's Mark on the top of Half Dome!
As many of my clients know, I had always wanted to climb to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite.
Our first attempt was stopped before it began by a family emergency. One year later, we tried again and the result is shown here. For those of you who know the classic photographs of Yosemite Valley, you usually see the west side of Half Dome. Other than by scaling the face, which is a technical climb, the only other way is up the infamous cables on the east side. If you're young, fit and, well, in my humble opinion, a bit nuts, you can do the hike and climb in one day (17.5 miles round-trip, about 4,500 feet vertical gain.) Since I'm none of those things, we backpacked and made it a 3-day trip. True, we had to carry packs but at least we lived to tell the story.
The Target: the classic view of Half Dome
The Infamous Cables
Over the years we've seen certain problems crop up on a regular basis. Though common, the following short list of pitfalls often have innovative and even bold solutions that turn blunders into opportunities. In some cases they can be avoided entirely.