Accident at Half Dome | Here’s the whole story of what happened at the Half Dome Sep|21|2023 

I don’t see a single person that looks like they are prepared for what they were doing!

Having lived, worked and played in Yosemite for a little over 4 years and visiting it for most of my life, ascending Half Dome by the cables on many occasions and twice via the Snake Dike route, I can say that NOT descending upon the first hint of a storm is madness. If you consider this a "climb" and an epic adventure, you are sadly mistaken and have NO business there. Those people obviously had NO business there, decisions and physical abilities as well as basic experience were sadly lacking. National Parks and wilderness areas are NOT theme parks like Disneyland. If you put yourself in danger, you put the search and rescue team in danger; this is NOT something to celebrate, but to be thankful for and ashamed of.

Man, it’s remarkable how many people doing that obviously shouldn’t be doing it.

Half Dome rule #1 - Do not attempt to summit if there is a cloud in the sky. The weather changes so rapidly you can easily be caught in a thunderstorm. The cable route is super slippery with the slightest bit of moisture on it, let alone the potential for lightning strikes at that elevation. Please be safe! Glad everyone on your team was okay!

I think you should show the video of someone falling to certain death, maybe that would serve to show that in deed, people do panic and die with attempting the cables. Anyone advancing up the sub-dome, let alone the cables while it's raining, thundering and lightening should have their head examined.

I grew up near Yosemite and I remember before they put those cables up. Back then only very skilled climbers could try to do the ascent. I think they should return it to its natural state. People get over- confident when they really have no business being up there.

People often underestimate the difficulty of this climb. The ropes and skids give a false sense of security. It requires more skill than it would appear.

I wish beginners would leave this type of climbing to those with experience for everyone's safety.

If the weather even begins to be iffy You Turn Around. Period. From my perspective as a backpacker w well over 5000 miles experience, most of these people were not dressed properly and appeared ill prepared and inexperienced. It’s better to be a smart hiker than a strong one. It’s generally a chain of small mistakes that leads to tragedy. Be aware enough to realize your own limitations. The mountain will still be there tomorrow.

I have done that hike...30 yrs ago. Once on top everyone noticed thunder clouds coming our way so we all scaled down the cable. I wad so exhausted from the hike up the mountain that I had no strength left and froze halfway down the cable. A very kind gentleman climbed up behind me and allowed me to rest against him as he slowly lowered us both down the cable...it is no joke.

Please load the entire video. People who want to climb Half Dome need to see this. When you go, you also sign a death waiver.

So many many errors. One being unconditioned for it. One is starting too late. They could not beat the rain storms. One is actually going at all.

6:54 I lost my phone bcuz I was trying to take a selfie and I’m too uncoordinated to handle things while walking down a mountain. Surprised these people are given drivers licenses and are walking around amongst us

Literally everyone there looks incompetent. If you mingle with that, your own life is in danger.

Well done to Ulises for continuing to film. This should be edited and sent to every hiking group or club or anyone considering high altitude hiking. Too many of These people were poorly equipped and poorly trained. Certainly they were out of their depth. Where were your harnesses? This could have been a whole lot worse. Don’t assume that you can just pick up your phone, call for a chopper and bail.

I was there at the end of August but didn't climb up because I'm unexperienced and I would hate it if I blocked others. Thanks for the video! Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪

Thanks for posting the video. It is a great reminder to people that Yosemite is not an amusement park.

I did not see one person tied in like I have seen in other videos. Folks with no gloves and running shoes. I don’t understand the disregard for safety. There are plenty of good videos with great safety advice on what to do and NOT to do. Rule #1 Weather changes, TURN AROUND and GO DOWN as safe as possible. Thanks for video!

Thank you for caring about the climber's safety. Glad she survived. Conditions turned ugly very fast. 100 feet fall is usually deadly. I met a woman who fell off grand canyon and survived. She got caught on a branch going down and clung to it for many hours before rescue could rappel to her and pull her up. Beautiful Yosemite video. I hope to see it one day.

I remember a few decades back a group of boy scouts got caught out in Yosemite, it might have been el Capitan, but they sheltered in a cave and lightening started striking them down one by one.

It’s like people who haven’t walked up a flight of stairs in 20 years but think they can make it up Half dome.

the gal who lost her phone had no consideration how she endangered the rest of the hikers.

I grew up backpacking, hiking, climbing the High Sierras. Mountains are tricky, weather can change in the blink of an eye. Surviving is dependent on many ever changing variables, prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and don’t climb in bad weather, if you can help it. My son worked in Yosemite for years, the stories he told of unprepared or careless climbers, and the selfie seekers were mind blowing.

Great video, thanks for sharing. My daughter and I did this a few years ago and this video brought bak some great memories. My wife insisted that we wear harnesses and clip to the cable and I’m glad she did. Just an extra measure of safety and made the climb more relaxing and enjoyable. Just as we got back down to subdome, a light rain started and other hikers on the way up continued on. Glad you guys made it, that storm made it very intense.

Thanks for posting that video. It's a good lesson to others to not get near Half Dome when the weather looks bad. There are warning signs to not even try to climb it if it starts to cloud up.

Even with the cables up, harnesses with carabiner should always be used. I was there two weeks ago with the cables down, had harness and used klemheist knot.

When undertaking outdoor activities always check the weather and be sure that you have the appropriate experience, skills and fitness.

Stating the climb at 12:35pm with clouds around is a recipe for disaster.....And it was absolutely a disaster..Glad you guys made it down

Thanks for the comprehensive video. I Have done this trip twice, once in the mid nineties and again about a month before this incident. The National Park Service’s permit system has greatly reduced the number of people on this route as you cannot make an impulse decision to do the hike. Nearly all of the people you see held permits for months and had the opportunity to prepare for their hike. That said, there were a number of folks who made it to the top of sub dome whose nerves prevented them from attempting the cables. As I went up the cables, I was slowed by2 guys who were using via Ferrata sets. My thought is that they were smart to use these primitive safety devices used all over Europe. I am sure that many of those who did not attempt the cables would have done so with these things. Take a via ferrata set with you. If you don’t need it, great. I am sure that whatever investment you make in one, you will recoup if you wish to sell it to someone sweating it out on subdome. If you use a via ferrata set, you likely will not fall off the cables. Prepare for all kinds of weather in the mountains. If a storm is rolling in get lower, not higher.

Inexperience and naivety are a deadly combination in mountainous terrain.

They got amazingly lucky with the lightning. There are thunderstorms along the high points of the park nearly every afternoon in summer. You should never attempt the dome or any peak when those clouds are nearby. I get hat people wait a long time but that cable is an excellent conductor, and the granite's not bad itself. If there'd have been a nearby hit, well, yikes... That's a lot of zapped bodies.

I believe that I will leave the rock climbing to the goats 🐐

I've been to Yosemite many times but never had the urge to make that climb. It's breathtaking everywhere you look, and there are so many places to hike. Why take the riskiest one imaginable without equipment or training? 😢 People get struck by lightning up there too.

@6:28 poor girl cracked her peach pretty darn hard! I can’t even believe nobody is checking on her for permanent damage!

I cannot believe they’re making the ascent with dark cloudy skies. What the heck? So not only is heavy rain imminent, BUT lightening is also a possibility. Wow. Maybe NO ONE has seen the stories of lightening strikes on mountain tops. Experienced hikers check the weather before they set out for a hike, and also if the weather changes unexpectedly for the worse, you don’t continue the hike up the mountain.

It was great hiking with you Ulises, and definitely a traumatizing experience! I'm still so shocked that we had to experience that. I'm am so glad we were all safe in the end.

If I remember right, there are signs at the approach which warn to not ascend if there are clouds building . Those polished domes turn to glass when they get wet.

NEVER go to the top of half dome when weather suggests rain. There is usually a ranger at the bottom of the sub dome that checks permits and the weather. Can’t believe they were given the green light.

I'm sorry that you had to witness her falling. I appreciate you sharing the video. I hope people watch your video before they think climbing Half Dome is just about winning a slot. If you might panic, don't go. Better still if you've never panicked and don't know what that's like or how to work with it, don't go. I hope they don't close Half Dome, but I would hope they'd close it for people who have no skills, temperament or experience. (Maybe they should set up a really tall almost vertical ladder at the trail. If you can't climb that you can't go up the mountain.) Jon and Michael came down the correct way, controlled, holding on to the cable. Always, always, three points of contact, even if one of them is slipping. I've done similar via ferrata climbs before, but not Half Dome. I don't understand why people don't have rope, carabiners and safety belts. I don't like leaving the cockpit of my boat on a sunny day in calm seas without the minimum safety gear. (I'm embarrassed to admit I wasn't always clipped in.) I never go anywhere like this without at least a few feet of rope. Every other boat I've ever been on they end up using my rope and my carabiners. Also always bring large trash bags. Use them as ponchos, share them, sleep in them if you have to. Very light, take up almost no space. Can make a night out in rain or snow not only survivable but even almost comfortable. And perhaps people should see her falling off the mountain. This is what could happen to any of us. Survivor bias is where we only see the people who survived a situation, a war, a catastrophe. This gives us the false impression that the situation was survivable, not all that bad. In hindsight no one should've been on Half Dome that day (I well know weather can change), but almost everyone survived, that doesn't mean only three people had a problem: woman who lost her phone, man who cut his leg, woman who died. Everyone was at serious risk. (btw I've had a DIY lanyard on my smartphone since 2015. Only in the past couple of years are they finally selling these. That just boggles my mind. I climbed mountains, sailed across an ocean with my iPhone. Cracked one screen, an hour after I had to take it out of its case and off the lanyard, getting out of a car. Hanging off a mountain, or the boom of a boat in a storm? No problem.)

the lady that slide down and the pole stopped her, she was lucky the pole was there, otherwise she would continue to slide off half dome.

Just hiked half dome a week ago during off season and I noticed that because its more challenging with cables down the majority of people are in better physical shape and almost everyone uses a harness compared to all the random incompetent crowds that go when cables are up because they believe its safe for everyone and no safety gear is needed.

Ouch. She really hit that pole 😂

Wow! great footage! This is the same day that the hikers on top got shocked by the lightning strikes taking cover in a cave! Two guys got knocked out and couldn't remember what happened!

That poor girl who took the pole to the p hopefully got checked out. Ouch.

Search and rescue are heros!

Interesting documentation. My group went 2 days after you, and we heard many rumors about the fall. We actually saw the pool of blood too. Was really curious how that happened.

Dang that’s a good amount of blood. Hope everyone is okay. That had to be so scary

I remember hiking this before the permit system and people were practically running down outside the cables cause it was so crowded. Everyone was really happy go lucky. But with the rain, that’s terrifying.

They should build an obstacle course entrance at the bottom, to filter out people who would be endangering others up top. BTW, I climbed that about 35 years ago. Looks the same, except for all the people and the weather. If there are no weather issues, it is really not much of a challenge for normal people.

Having made that trip 3 times I especially remember the first trip reaching the summit of the "sub dome" and getting my first glimpse of the cables.....and thinking OMG how is that safe...?! Turns out with gloves and patience it's really not hard at all, the sub dome being harder in my opinion. I was blessed with sunny skies on all 3 trips and during crappy weather I can't think of a more dangerous thing than being on those cables during a thunderstorm.

We used to do moonlight hikes up to Half Dome when I worked in the Park. Good times in those days.

Your prayers ….so powerful. Bless you

I climbed Half Dome a total of six times...the last time in 1980. At the time, permits were beggining to be required, but my brother and I never bothered to get one.....just went. The last hike we did was at the same time and we first hiked to Tuolome Lake. Late spring snows had delayed the opening of Tioga Pass, we were the only ones there and for two days, we never saw another soul. Good times indeed!

God also gives us wisdom!! Use it!! There are signs to not go up if any chance of rain. Putting not only your life but the lives of the rescuers at risk. 😕

I say this>U should be ready for all Mother Nature has to give & if u don’t have the Balls stay at home….U take the blame…I am 65 and hiked it when I was under 10 years of age…,

Se muere una chica y el autor del vídeo da las gracias al final por salvarse él. Un ejemplo perfecto de egoísmo, como todo el vídeo.

Still not sure exactly what happened here??? 🤷‍♂️

Thank you for sharing. May Jesus bless you.

People think that climbing Half Dome is like a walk in the park and endanger the lives of everyone on the climb. If you're afraid of heights, don't go on such a climb, the whole group could end up tragically!

Mother Nature always win!!!!!

Half Dome has signs everywhere! If bad weather is expected, do NOT climb it. You could be electrocuted by lightning, slip, get hypothermia. Absolutely everyone in this video looks completely unprepared for a bad turn of events.

I would never want to hike with anyone on the cables that day. Every single one of you made incompetent decisions, not just once but multiple times.

There comes a point when every person must be held accountable for their actions, and these panicky ladies are a prime example. Either get your mind right, or expect to be pushed aside.

I have never seen such a dangerous situation. People on the mountain that shouldn't be endangering everybody else's life. You need to ask yourself before you start out are you willing to die or kill someone just because you want to do something.

It's crazy because I was hiking June Lake at that time... also made my way to Mammoth and Convict Lake... I was going to do half dome but couldn't get a permit... good thing I never did but I could see that all the people that don't know how to truly hike are the ones that got granted the permit... but me that knows what I'm doing... couldn't get one

Wow crazy scary adventure, just have let you know that there's no way that the temp was -10° Fahrenheit. Pretty confident that it wasn't even -10° Celsius as it has rarely ever below freezing in yosemite. Not to mention it wouldn't be raining if it were that cold, it'd be snowing

Please, hikers and potential hikers…..always check the weather forecast before you head out!

Thanks for the exciting video.

Oh yeah, let’s go hike Half dome it’s easy.. it was like an 8 hour hike just to the start of it.

Man, that is an intense hike. I like hiking but that looks too risky. I Did half of angels landing in Zion National Park because I didn't want to go on the scary part.

Wow a plastic bag poncho outfit from Disney. Really prepared for the climb & fast changing mountain weather. They should be forced to pay for the mountain rescue services.

Did that 15+ times in the 80's-90s. It's quite straight forward, but fitness is a must.

Do we know what happened to the lady who fell? Did she pass?

I done this trails July2022 so amazing experience ❤

A whole lot of people in that crowd should not have been up there at all.

Theres no way it was -10°F

Half Dome is best climbed during heavy lightning storms, it makes the route a bit more sporty.

Amazing! Thank you for this video. You are very brave people. Glad lady ok and that everyone else made it down safely.

The two with wet hair don't seem to understand how dangerous that is to the hypothermia problem. Get something between the rain and that large heat exchanger called a head.

We were in Yosemite Sept 14 for a few days. Id never hike up that! I live here on the east coast, hate heights

You thanked God. Did everyone also send a healthy cheque of gratitude to cover the cost of the helicopter rescues?

WITHOUT a permit system there would have been 3 people across between the cables all the way up. WITH a permit system people are forced to climb this route on a day when the weather is not appropriate. Went up on the 13th with beautiful weather. My backpacking permit allows me to climb on a day when the weather is good. I can choose which day to go up there anytime between the dates of my permit, so I had any day over a week.

Seems like everyone got down okay, so it looks like a successful decent to me. I could never do that climb in good weather, glad you are all ok.

I didn't see any accident. What's going on with that?

People are so unprepared. And all they worry about is their stupid phone. Good gloves and harness with a gated D ring on the cable may slow you down having to unhook at every section but you won’t fall far. Last, they should be more concerned about lightning.

Ulises so encouraged to see you post at the end the goodness of God, His protection and the scripture! It is all by His grace without Him we are lost, blind and dead! But now we are found, we can see and are alive in Christ!

Oh my god. I have been up and down that thing several times when the Sub Dome called Quarter Dome. I have also climbed the Snake Dyke route on Half Dome. What is a helicopter doing there? Did someone get hurt really badly? Wasn’t there at least one or two people who could have told them how to do this when they froze from fear and also how to get them down much more safely. And before you come at me, I learned to climb to overcome my fear of heights and it took a long time but i finally stopped being afraid. Then i got injured, nothing to do with climbing, and my fear came completely back in about three weeks! Go figure.

I read its worse than Angels Landing i cant even watch those videos. Makes my hands sweaty and heart rate increases I live on the east coast , flat green grass

Man that was intense guys. I didn’t hear anymore about the lady that went off the side but i can only imagine. I’m planning to do this climb Next September if im fortunate enough to get a permit. Weather is extremely important in high elevations & obviously can make this popular hike Deadly. Appreciate that you shared this with us & more importantly, everyone survived! Wow that was intense!!!!

Climbing a lightning conductor in a storm.. Not for me..

All the chatter chicks talking about their “brand new poles” they lost- makes you wish they could go look for them if you know what I mean. Those inexperienced put all at risk.

People need to be fit period

Some of those people had no business on that trail.

This happens when incompetent people ignore basic rules of equipment and mountaineering, as well as the weather forecast. Just watching some of those crawl down on their rear end it becomes clear that none of them should be on a mountain in the first place. And then their honest surprise that it can rain and snow on a mountain….hopefully you get to pay the helicopter evac plus some for stupidity and incompetence.

There’s a big sign at the bottom of the cables that says… Do not climb in bad weather conditions!

Safety gear.....proper clothing and protection. the park should list required items to have with you...tourists don't know the dangers.

Not one of those people was prepared at all !! Improper clothing, no climbing equipment, no means of attaching to the cables totally inappropriate climbing shoes.

I cant understand people. Thinking "i can do that" from their couch. Its a shame they put everyone else in danger. RIP

Its a minor thing but with a group that large always good to have a couple of tarps to keep folks dry in the event of flash storms. Not to mention always having some rain gear required for everyone.

I would have the ability to clip in to the cables too. Lightening would be terrifying.