Alex Honnold is certainly an experienced voice when it comes to Yosemite. Photos: Reel Rock//Screenshot (L), Alex Rich//Unsplash (R)
I have hiked Half Dome four times. I consider myself an experienced hiker, but I still breathe a sigh of relief every time I make it through the rope section. The final 120-meter climb to the summit is dangerous, crowded, slippery and unprotected, leaving little room for error.
The debate about Half Dome safety and management was in the news again this summer when Grace Rohloff, a 20-year-old hiker, sadly fell from the cables to her death when rain made the surfaces dangerously wet. Grace’s father, Jonathan Rohloff, who witnessed his daughter’s fall, told SFGate“It’s unnecessarily dangerous up there. It won’t bring my daughter back, but I want to strongly advocate for a safer route to the summit of Half Dome.”
The safety of Half Dome became such a hot topic that even the world-famous mountaineer and star of the film Free SoloAlex Honnold added his two cents. in conversation with OutsideHonnold advocated leaving the cable section as open as it is.
“People have completely transformative experiences hiking Half Dome,” Honnold said. “They propose and scatter ashes up there. It’s easier to pass people (if you walk on the outside of the ropes) and the rock is actually much more structured on the outside because fewer people have walked on it.”
“You have to go through a safety briefing to pick up your permit,” Honnold added. “There are signs at the trailhead saying things like ‘This is dangerous and you could die,’ and there’s even a ranger at the subdome to check permits.”
To fully understand what Honnold and Rohloff are talking about, you have to understand Half Dome. It is one of the iconic granite domes in Yosemite National Park and people from all over the world flock there to enjoy the incredible views from the top. But the dome is far too steep to climb, so in 1920 the first rope system was installed to assist hikers.
Currently, two metal poles are inserted into holes drilled about three feet apart, every six feet. Two-by-four-inch wooden boards run across the poles to create vertical treads, and a cable runs through the top of each pole, creating parallel handholds. Depending on the time of year, the cables are typically installed in late May and taken down for the winter in October.
In response to overcrowding, a lottery system for access to the ropes was introduced in 2010. To ease the crowds, 225 people are allowed to reach the summit each day. According to the park, the crowds before the system was introduced were up to 1,200 people per day.
Because of this rope section, Half Dome may be the most dangerous hike in the state. Since 1948 at least 15 people died on the ropes. Rohloff is the seventh hiker to die in wet conditions since 2006.
Interesting, a study found that limiting crowds through permits has not made the trail safer. It has made it more dangerous. Examining a sample of hikers from 2005 to 2015 – the five years before and after the permit system was implemented – it found that SAR incidents, casualties, deaths, and costs above Little Yosemite Valley (the final section of the Half Dome hike) have not decreased despite the decrease in hikers. The report suggests this may be because hikers are taking increased risks because they feel pressured to make the most of their lottery-winning permits.
In my experience, the most dangerous part of the cable section was other people. Too many inexperienced hikers, often with inadequate clothing, clogged the trail. (I vividly remember an entire church group from Utah doing the hike together and securing the cables.) I had to squeeze past hikers and share small footholds with several people at once. And although permits limit the number of day hikers to 225, most of those hikers are day hikers who set off from the trailhead around sunrise, so the vast majority reach the cables at the same time in the late morning.
Also, the granite has worn down to the point that it’s slippery. It no longer offers the typical grippy granite texture. You rely heavily on arm strength to take the weight off your feet on the slippery areas. As Honnold mentioned, the outside of the cables is much grippier, but then you lose the security of the handholds on either side.
Nevertheless, I have traveled abroad and seen other solutions to climb similar granite domes. In Colombia and Sri Lanka, for example, elaborate stairs were built on the mountainsides so that grandma and grandpa could walk to the top. As you can imagine, this attracts crowds of tourists. In my opinion, these stairs are an eyesore and destroy the natural beauty.
A more realistic solution – if the rules were changed – would be to require a harness with carabiners attached to each section of rope between the masts. I have seen people use this technique successfully. In theory this would eliminate any risk of falling, but it would increase crowding and problems with slow hikers.
I think the real solution lies in our collective attitude. Half Dome is considered a bucket list item for every California visitor. It doesn’t need to be touted as a “must do.” There are so many incredible peaks in the Sierra Nevada, many of which are much easier and less technical. Just because you’re in Yosemite National Park doesn’t mean you have to exceed your abilities to be able to say you’ve climbed Half Dome. Sentinel Dome, for example, is a short and easy hike and offers equally wonderful views of Yosemite Valley.
Honnold said in his Outside Interview that “you can never make the mountains completely safe.” He’s right. There is a risk that we accept when hiking. I think the way to move on after this unfortunate incident is to highlight this inherent danger and encourage people to analyze where their risk level lies. The ropes should remain for those who want the experience.
