I think this is the best POV video I have watch climbing half dome! Well done! The guy trailing you on the descend seems going to the mall with his attire though but well done to him as well.
Excellent presentation. I did this in 1994 with a canteen, some beef jerky and one of those disposable cardboard Kodak cameras you bought in the drugstore. I think the toughest part of this hike is the long slog up the back side after Nevada falls where there is nothing to see except the relentless climb through the rocky forest trail. We almost turned back when seeing the cables (some did) but then a portly old German lady in sandals passed us and we figured what the hell.
I guess many people seeing others on video who not seems to be fit.. going there not fully realizing to what they subscribing to.. some of these old ladies and gentlemen's will outrun way younger people.
Amazing.. you are so brave..I always wanted to go climb half dome, but after hearing people fall off the cliff, it scares me. Just watching your video its enough 😅😅
You don't really need to be brave here. Just have "bravery" to turn around if it looks like it is about to rain. Pretty much all the incidents that happened there, happened during rain (or people being reckless). Even in that case I think I would be more worried about a possibility of lightning strike, rather than difficulty to descent. With proper technique you can safely decent there even if the granite is covered with ice.. The way some people descending there is mind blowing... and just lacking any common sense.
You made this look extremely easy, not sure if it's the editing but your pace looked real steady! Felt nervous for the guy at the end, he looks totally unprepared in just a t shirt, pants and no gloves! Anyway, cool video and song choice !!
It wasn't as easy as it looks on the video, you can tell from people on the way. The pace was real ). Yeah, the way he was descending is very dangerous, he actually had gloves, but not very grippy, so he decided to go without them. Also he came from Little Yosemite Campground, it is half the way.
Good video, although your video shows the entire route up, it leaves out the beauty and awe that the experience likely provided to you. I've done this twice and I stlll love watching videos of others taking on this hike. You mention in the comments that you started at 6am, but I was surprised to see quite a few people along the mist trail in front of you. Last time I did halfdome was October '23 and I started at 6am from the trailhead and it was dark (days are shorter in October) until half way up the mist trail, and I saw maybe 3 other people total. Congrats, its a great experience and great demanding hike!
I think its because in October they put down cables, seems like this year they plan to put it down somewhere mid October (depends on condition). On a stretch of 7 miles up, it is not really many people. I arrived at 5:30 a.m. parkings looked empty for the most part... waited till 6:00 a.m. since looked like there should not be many people and I don't need to start in dark... but actually on a way back there were crowds of people and parkings were full, even though it was a weekday.
@@aazanovich weekdays are busy all summer. Crowds are less in October and November which are my favorite times to visit the valley. Yes, the cables come down the second Monday in October every year, plus or minus a day or two depending on weather.
Definitely some training adds to the experience, for someone who is not training regularly it's very tiring hike. I've done just Mist Trail - Nevada Falls about 7 years ago after winter .. I know how it feels)
I just did this hike on Monday (8/19/24). We left at 4:45AM. Great hike! I thought I was prepared but learned a lot of things I'd do differently next time.
@@aazanovich We ended up taking a lot longer than we expected and finished at almost 9PM. There were members of our group that weren't ready or prepared for the hike which significantly impacted our split times. I had also been advised by a ranger to only carry 1.5 liters of water and to refill at the Merced. It was nice not having the full weight (3 liters in the bladder and 1.5 in a bottle) but it added a total of an hour factoring stops up and back. I also didn't realize that I would burn so many calories (8,638 conservatively) so I only brought about 2,500 calories worth of food. I had no problems going up, but struggled a bit going down, especially the last couple of miles on the JMT. I wore knee braces going down from Sub Dome, but took them off in the valley and could have used them on the JMT. The last couple of miles was tough on my knees.
@@davids9081 Thanks for sharing, I think it shows that people should not underestimate this hike. I would say it is a good idea to do some smaller hike with about 2000ft of elevation in 3 miles, to get a better idea how much time Half Dome will take (about 5000ft in 7 miles via Mist Trail), as well as to test your shoes/gear and estimate water etc.. i.e. In the Bay Area, Mission Peak is a great hike to do for that purpose.
Damn man, you got professional shots while you were doing that. I have to ask you what is your camera rig like? Is it a chest mount GoPro or a head mount?
6:00 A.M. but I got to the cables in about 3h 20m .. it was still not many people there, on the way down it was getting crowded. Also part of Mist Trail is closed for repair from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Seems to be quite a few "larger' bodied people on the trail, who maybe don't have the right fitness level or obvious hiking experience? Over-confidence is a weakness. You seemed to have no problem though - good effort! The path seems very worn and slicker than the surface outside of the cables.
As long as a person can make it safely I think it is ok, regardless of anything, however lack of fitness, bad shoes, lack of preparation can ruin the experience. Also, some people doing this hike in two days, staying in the campground half the way.
The wide angle of the camera makes it look way more gnarly than it is in real life but yes, it's a long hike and lots of people turn around when they decide they've had enough. If you make it to the cables you've already done the hard stuff. Viewing them straight on makes them look way steeper than they actually are.
