A VERY SCARY day on the HALF DOME cables! | Yosemite National Park hiking and camping 

Lucas, the physical reaction I had watching you creep out to the edge, I almost couldn't watch. I have such a terror of heights, I couldn't do this. Thank you for taking me along virtually! Terra, smart move choosing not to continue on. A profound real-world example of why women live longer than men 🙂

I did the climb up Half Dome in 1984 and enjoyed it. Back then there were no climb permits required or offered. You just showed up and started climbing the cables (without gloves in my case but it was okay) and nobody had harnesses to hook onto the cables. You just held on. I spent about a half hour on top and watched a couple of guys tossing a football around and a just-married couple had spent two days climbing up the sheer side for their honeymoon and had reached the top while I was there! Suddenly storm clouds moved in and we were all told to evacuate and get down the cables as quick as we could because the granite top of Half Dome attracted lightning. There were about 100 people scampering down the cables, several on the outside of the cables very quickly. We all got down okay and watched the storm pass. Since I'm much older now I won't do it again (I'm physically able though) but it is a wonderful memory and I have some terrific photos.

Knowing and respecting your limitations is a good thing. Way back in the early 90's, before permits and the double cables were installed, I faced the single cable and I nixed going any further. It is okay to stop.

Smart of Terra to know her limits and not go beyond. I lived in CA for 20 years, and Half Dome is something many friends have done (using climbing harness), not something I could bring myself to do though. High Peaks trail in Pinnacles was bad enuf for me!

Wow! Great job to both of you! It's challenging just getting to the cables so great job Terra. I had to hold my breath when you got near the edge Lucas, I've been on top two times but never near the edge so now I know what it looks like. You guys both did awesome, thanks for sharing.

Thank you for sharing your adventure! 🍁🌲⛰️🐿️

My hat is off to you two brave souls....what tenacity and grit. Thank you so much for sharing this....God Bless

Amazing, scary, and beautiful! You both are great 👍🏻

You two are very relatable and real great video. A good lifelong friend of mine lost his beautiful daughter off the cables on half dome. Not sure what all happened but it was so sad and tragic. Every bit of caution is well spent attempting this.

Love the honest and detailed video. Spectacular views and a real honest account of what it is like for 'ordinary people'. I too am terrified of heights so I totally admire your bravery and well done

Beautiful views

Heavy packs with no hip belts, no trekking poles, no water bladders, and wearing heavy jeans to hike all day?? You two were asking for a challenging! Lol

Good job!! Have been to Yosemite twice but never made it to half-dome. This is a very insightful video, and motivating. Thanks for sharing!

Nice video! Thanks.

Congratulations 🎉🎉👏👏

So beautiful! I’m with Terra on that one, but good for you, Luke for making it to the top.

I’ve watched countless half dome videos and the cables look intimidating every single time. Congrats for making it to the top! Maybe one day I’ll have the courage to do it.

So cool! I wanna do it someday. Looks fun

Dude... that 360 shot on the edge... my sphincter was puckered the whole time!

Congratulations!

WOW, that's all I can say, YOU DID IT !!!!!

GAHHHH I remember doing this for the time and boy was it tiring. I did the same route you guys took. This is giving me major nostalgic vibes. I miss Yosemite.

Good job. I give you a lot of credit.

Great video

Great video man! I did it about 8 years ago, up and back from Curry Village, all in one day. My only problem besides having never hiked, was carrying too much water. I probably had a gallon in my bladder, which is like 10lbs. I didn't drink 1/5th of it. I thought the cables were the easiest part. I had gloves with a nitrile coating on the palms. Those were like glue on the cables. I never once felt unsafe or even worried. I would love to do the hike again. Besides the gloves, what helped me the most were hiking poles. No joke, I sort of jogged the way down, and the poles saved me from rolling my ankles a couple times. I think it was like 13 hours roundtrip for me. Long day but well worth it.

It's always great getting into the nights stop when it's dark and not being able to see anything and then daylight comes

WAY TO GO YOU TWO THUMBS WAY UP

Have done Half Dome three time never with a harness. One time in the fall when the poles had been removed and the cables were resting on the rocks, myself and two friends trekked to the top. We were the only there for quite some time. Great memories.

I too have done this hike in the early part of November a few years ago... Went to Little Yosemite Campground for 1 night, it was a long day for us.. It's no joke, those stairs are a killer, yet I don't regret doing it and would do it again if I had the opportunity..

Amazing trails. I'd hugely recommend walking poles for those big gradients and heavy packs. Saves on the knee wear....

I loved you and your lady's energy . Well done brother and dont pay any attention to the negative comments .

GOOD FOR YOU BROTHER!!! I HAVE BEEN UP THERE AMAZING, I GOT TO GO WHEN I WAS A KID. I DONT REALLY KNOW ABOUT NOW. LOL

Why is there a U-Haul in Yosemite ? lol . Also happy for yall doing half dome , I have a huge fear of heights and was able to conquer clouds rest last year. Maybe one day I’ll do half dome !

That’s frickin awesome! You guys are bad ass! Did you leave your main gear back down where you had your tent set up? The hike up to the domes looks brutal in itself!

Time to lighten up those packs. 40-50lbs for an overnight is nuts.

Yeah, mountain weather is no joke,climbed Grays Peak from Stevens Gulch,sunny til it wasn't,a storm formed over McClellen and I ran for the tree line and none too soon,storm was down in Keystone,hail,graupal,rain,sleet and lots of lightning. We had dinner at the Goat and the back parking lot was flooded. Lots of lightning. Be cautious and some more.

Visited Half Dome back in 89, but it was closed. It is still on my bucket list.

The 360 degree video shots are great. I was wondering if your were using a drone close above you. I do like the 360 shots. I have been up half dome 2 times in about 30 years and never have used a harness, with a clip on for the cables. One big rule on the half dome cables. Always have one hand on the cable and never let go. Leather gloves really help holding onto the cables.

my hands got sweaty watching this!

I just did this in one day, back and forth all the way up and down. "Thought" I was in good shape. I made it, but I was lucky to have friends that did it before and prepared me properly (hike accomplished 5/29/24 about 10.5 hours). There was way more water than this video! I thought I would never consider doing this again, but here I am, sore AF, watching this video haha.

Half Dome is definitely worth the planning and physical exhaustion. I was up there in September as well. Though it was my second time it was just as amazing. If you sit around thinking about climbing Half Dome I say go get your permit and actually do it. Forever memories.

Oh my gosh if I made it that far I would definitely be going up there

Being clipped on and using gloves is a very sensible move! I would not want to do this without those two items!

Things have changed apparently. Back in the 80s we climbed Half Dome three times, spending the night on top, no permits required. The last time we got to the cables at 8:45 p.m. to a full moon! For anyone planning to go, it is much easier to go up using the Muir Trail and coming down using the Mist Trail. It is longer going up but much easier. Save your thighs for when you have to climb the stairs on the Shoulder before getting to the cables. My first time I was so nervous I got about 20 yards up the cables and turned around. A woman saw me as she was coming down and handed me her gloves. Very nice, but, after I put them on I went up again and couldn’t even feel the cables and immediately came down and handed them to someone else. I managed to pull myself together and up we went. If you have a strong fear of heights the key is to just look straight down at the rock as you take each step. Pay no attention to that view, lol. It took us about twenty minutes. More scary for me was how many people were on the cables going both up and down. You quickly figure it out when passing people to just stop and hang on to your side of the cable. Know this - the rock is very slippery because it is worn and you just need to take one step at a time and pay attention. No one was using a harness back then but it might not be a bad idea. Never ever go up the cables if it has been raining and the rock is wet, unless you are looking for a Darwin Award. There are multiple signs regarding lightning. It is real. My husband on a trip with his friends held off and camped in the forest below the Shoulder due to rain. The group in front of him went ahead and the next morning they were recovering a body using helicopters! In this video they show them coming back down the cables face forward. We tried that the first time but it very quickly gets steep. It is a hundred times easier to back down!! To make this point, about half way up or down the cables it is as steep as being on a ladder. No one comes down a ladder facing forward. If coming down the Mist Trail it is narrow, steep and often wet and slippery. Definitely not for people with knee issues. It is beautiful and worth doing if you pay attention. Great video and views. I respect the wife taking a pass. No one should be pressured if they don’t feel comfortable and confident in their own abilities. A fun fact, a 93 year old man made it to the top in 2023. So go do this if it is on your bucket list. I will always feel fortunate to have seen three sunsets and three sunrises up on top! 😊

Got a permit! Great video!

i did the half dome hike in 1974 when I was 8 without any safety equipment. They were closing the trail when I was coming down to replace the cables and poles for the new third set. I'm sure that they have replaced those cables many times since then. We didn't have to have a permit or anything at all after we paid to be in the park. We could do anything we wanted to with no restrictions.

My friends and I did do Whitney which could also be treacherous when storms hit. Once my friend hiked it when there was still snow near the switchbacks. Two guys were coming down and had no crampons. They decided to slide down and one of them died in the process. So...yeah...bad idea. I would not have wanted to be on this Half Dome hike...glad you got off the Mt ok.

Heck of a place to be if it starts raining and lightning while you are at the top or coming down cables!! Yikes!!!😮😮

Good job. I'd like to do this someday

Unless a summit climb is so long that it is impossible to do it in a day, you are almost NEVER doing yourself any favors by staying overnight along the way. The only exception may be altitude acclimation. But this isn’t an issue on a low altitude summit like Half Dome. Now if you want to break up your climb because you enjoy the experience of spending a night on the way up, that changes things completely. But if you are looking to make your climb easier, doing it in a day is MUCH easier than lugging that heavy pack up the Mist Trail.

I did that hike one afternoon in the mid 1990's. It was not all that bad except I forgot to bring a flashlight along. I to "half foot shuffled, in the dark from the top of the water falls on the way down like a blind man. So yea I was happy to get back to the parking lot at around 2 a.m.

It seems like this trail up half dome is getting slicker and slicker,thru many yrs ,as millions of shoes polish the granite surface..

When backpacking to Little Yosemite Valley is MUCH easier to take the John Muir Trail instead of the Mists Trail stairmaster. Oh and be nice to your knees and use trekking poles.

I was going to try but when I got to Yosemite the cables were not up yet, stayed for 4 days but the day I was leaving they put the cables up,maybe next time

We tried getting into the permit system for three years in a row neeeevvverr had any luck, so me and my bf just did it during off season when cables are down. We did ours all in one day though, started super early at 3am and got back to the car at 9pm.

As a certified Sierra mountain guide and trip leader, and also a wilderness first responder, I’d like you to know that what you did was extremely dangerous. What’s you’re not aware of is the speed and ferocity of a storm that moves in at that area. The situation was such that you didn’t have any radar, which was showing you what was coming in over the horizon go ahead, and Google people who have died on the top of that climb and some people who survived it, but went through a period of 36 hours of extreme terror and near death, your wife was a lot smarter than you should give her a big hug and apologize you almost ended 🎉yourself there Another beginners mistake is moving up to the very edge of the precipice on rocks that are not stable. Just because they’re there this moment doesn’t mean they will be there two minutes later those rocks continually scale off that’s what granite does it’s called exfoliation that’s why it’s a half dome for example The fact that as a man you have a lot of upbringing which leads you to not understand the nature of risk and the probability of risk even a low probability outcome overtime is 100%. You do enough of these things and that’s gonna be it how come your wife knew better but you didn’t think about thatgood luck in the future seem like a nice guy and a nice couple

If this hike is too much for anyone check out Sentinal Dome in the Park which just might be the sweetest little 2 mile round tripper anywhere.

Thanks for the video. That's definitely too much for me. No one should do it without a harness. And Terra was right not to do it if she didn't feel up to it. Not worth dying over a climb.

Glad you made it down safe. Now I don't have to go and do it.

This ended better than I thought it would, thank goodness. I was curious how long you and Terra trained for this challenging climb. I feel some poor choices made regarding the denim pants, no harness gear of your own, rainstorm reports, preoccupation with video taping, getting so close to the edge up there... Thought only cats had 9 lives. I truly wish you both continued adventure and safe travels, always.

Trekking in jeans! Any damages to those iron balls?

@12:48 my favorite shot

Not sure why anyone would climb that pitch in bad weather, much less without a harness and a couple of tethers with carabiners. Cost maybe $100, and would make the climb very safe, even in wet weather. Proper climbing shoes would help too. If it’s that difficult to get a permit, you might as well be properly equipped for the route. Glad no one got hurt.

I got one third of the way up and my boots were slipping on the rock face. It's no shame to turn around. Personally, I found the climb up Quarter Dome to the base of Half Dome, with no cables at all, way more intimidating.

We used to skate down there

have been up this 3 times, never used the cables? Always have been down. Are they required now?

The hardest part of HD is getting the permit(s). One thing, never climb it wet or if there’s lightning.

It's much easier to walk down backwards. One you can use your hands to control your speed and you're not staring down the steep decline the whole time.

Terra is the only one with good sense!

I did Half Dome in Nike Tennis shoes in 1986 22 miles in one day. I punk up Budweiser beers to the top of Half Dome I believe it’s calm my body down . Got back to camp in total darkness with no flash lights. The greatest achievement in my life.

1. Not suggested to go up if rain is possible. 2. Standing at the edge of the rock filming at the top was not smart. Gloves and harness great idea. Fantastic video, thanks!

i have done this a couple times without the permit system and it was face to butt the whole way up and down. Some people would be frozen with fear and causing long waits. The only solution would be to go on the outside of the cables which was fine in dry conditions. Wet conditions is a whole other story and in a thunder storm you would be in serious danger.

You really shouldn’t keep going up when the weather isn’t optimal. Storms can come in very quickly and lightning is a very real threat. Many have lost their lives on that mountain due to weather.

I'm just curious Terra is that a pentagram tattoo on ur arm???

Should have taken the other trail up and the Mist trail down with your packs. It's all in the planning an not underestimating the difficulty. Personally, I preferred Cloud's Rest - look down on Half Dome.

Please step back off that ledge😳😳😳😳

I don’t understand the desire to do such a dangerous climb God forbid if it started raining

Hiking poles, dude

How do you hike in jeans?!

My fear of heights prohibits this. Oh ya, plus I'm 66. If you go to the top of the Mammoth mountain gondola, you can see halfdome. Or maybe drive Tioga Pass.

The funny part is that with those harnesses and the static line connections. The impact forces you would be applying on your body in a fall would be immense, strong enough to kill or incapacitate you. You need to add a shock absorbing device into the system if you want it to work.

One day very doable I've done clouds rest in 6 hours and 36 minutes that's up and down

How can you climb on jeans bro....???!!

Seems like the cables cause people who aren't fit for such a climb to think they can ascend, and it's crisis after crisis. She said she didn't want to go, she shouldn't go. People should have their head set to turn around at any moment they feel unsafe, like any mountaineer. The goal is to get back safe, not to summit. The cables are a bad idea, they invite inexperienced people to climb a dangerous mountain.

Awesome video. Music is hideous mess.

You know, these cables would be a lot safer if they just added one more cable and row of poles... then people going up go between right 2 cables, and people going down go between left 2 cables.

My wife and I climbed that several years ago and absolutely loved it! The BEST part was almost running down the cables on the outside of the steps and then after we walked down the steps we decided to run the rest of the way. It felt like flying ❤️👍. Was such an amazing day and those memories will last till I’m done here on earth. Blessings,Carlos ✝️🙏❤️😊🇺🇸 We also got to witness a couple get married on the top. ❤❤❤❤❤

How many people have fallen off the cables at Half Dome? Over 20 deaths have been documented on Half Dome. There have been 9 deaths on the infamous cable section of the Half Dome trail since it was installed in 1919, five of which occurred due to slipping in wet weather. If deaths on the trail leading to Half Dome are included, the number of fatalities jumps to 60.

Keep a weather eye out shipwreck.

sure fire recipe for disaster. egging someone on into doing something they are scared of doing.

No way I would do this....not even for Elon musks money

No Way Jose! I experienced Bigfoot in Yosemite

That clip doesn’t look strong. Plys you take it off for a second. So one slip. Yur fd.

I'll never understand why people insist to go up the cable when bad weather is evident

i think you should not do this, unless dying is an "ok" option for you.

*I can't stand when people do those 360 shot's. You can't actually see anything or tell anything about what you're seeing. They are pointless and dumb. AND A WAISTE OF TIME. When I come across a video that thinks it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, I move on and don't care about even trying to watch the video.* *It's like the growing trend of the ever annoying "Bro". It didn't use to sound bad because it wasn't overly used, but you can't even get through a thread without at least one saying it. It's as immature as kid's saying, "tell me blah blah without telling me you are blah blah.* 😬 *And the overly immature use of saying, "I'm just saying ".* 😬 *And they are starting these other lazy trends like, "protect this person at all cost " and so many more. It's getting so annoying to read the comments because a lot of people DON'T HAVE AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT IN THEIR BRAIN.* *And those 360° shot's are right up there with them. They are pointless because you can't tell anything about what you are trying to share with people.* 😬

Super over dramatized for views😅

The music is annoying

I dont understand why people put themselves in such danger, not to mention the damage they do to the mountain terrain. The chances of dying on the mountains is so high. Its usually women who are left behind because these men want to climb a mountain, They leave women and their children to fend for themselves afterwards. I just dont see this as any really great feat to accomplish. I say , leave the mountain alone, let it exist and dont intrude in its beauty.

Bad sky to start the hike