I did get to spend the night there in the mid seventies, it was the most uncomfortable night ever, I remembered watching the camp fires in the valley burn out as I fought to get to sleep. We did reach the summit the next day. That night we camped on the summit of Half Dome, best memory ever.
@@stefpix That seems like a lot of days. I'm minimum once a day sometimes two or three times in one day. That's anywhere from two to 9 poops building up in there that can't be good for a body.
@@doktormcnasty I go regularly every morning. But I have been in situations where I could hold it for 3 / 5 days. I was 2 weeks in Haiti, sleeping on a cabin's floor. There was an outhouse, no running water, no bidet. I went every 3 /4 days and I could wash with a bucket. My uncle in his 70s went hunting in Greenland in freezing temps, only a outhouse in sub zero temperatures. He had also prostectomy years before, so he choose to eat very little while in the Greenland wilderness. Also being so focused on challenging activities sometimes makes you eat a lot less. But otherwise I go regularly. Only once in my life I had to find to a porta potty for number 2. But some people with colon issues may not be able to hold
The only thing I can think of while watching this is the water from the rain getting inside that band and slowly eroding that slice, which will inevitably come off one day.
True. A person who doesn't love anyone besides themselves. If anything goes wrong, theres go dozens of rescue dudes, pilots, funeral employees, family's tears and cash, lots of cash to make him looks great at the funeral.
Imagine Alex Holland doing this WITHOUT any gear! He climbed the whole thing, solo,No Ropes, Craziest guy in the world,it shows you him looking out from this very ledge,Un freaking real,Cannot see ANYONE doing that again without a Free quick trip to Splatzville!! 🤔🤷♂️
@@kickboxerforever00 Please do him the courtesy of getting his name right. Alex Honnold is not remotely crazy, he is completely rational, sober and mindful, and he works extremely hard to minimise the risk which he takes on
I had a friend named Mason Robinson that passed away doing what he loved. But a big piece of rock came loose knocking him down. He fell 300 foot before the equipment bag and safety rope stopped him. But the fall was to far. El Capitan in California. I live in NW Montana and used to see him training constantly. RIP Mason
I did this pitch in October 1981, and will always remember the view looking North toward the high Sierras (1:00 to about 1:30)-- this video brought it all back to me-- wonderful!
@@RileyTelfer I don't climb these days-- got diverted into 20 years of martial arts instead. If my ankle gets better, I may find some time to get back into it-- videos like this one are inspiring and tempting, lol...I have seen the Squamish cliffs-- lots of awesome looking lines there to try-- well done!
This is one of the iconic traverses in climbing, the king swing on el cap, traverse of the gods on eiger nordwand and the hinterstoisser. There are more for sure but these four struck anxiety in me before coming face to face with them. The stories of some of the epics on these climbs did not help. I'm a toothless tiger now but it was fun back in the 70s.
Have you ever been on a wall (not sure if "wall" is in the climbing lexicon, but I think I've heard it used before), high up, and you suddenly just become very, VERY aware of the situation you are in; the attendant dangers and risks, and find that courage and calmness drains from you to be replaced with fear and doubt? Or anything similar. Or does that sort of thing not happen; or very rarely happens? I can only imagine that, for a climber, doing his or her thing is comparable to a non climber, such as myself, using a step ladder to change a light bulb: you need to be careful and not reckless for sure, but so long as you are, there's very little risk or jeopardy involved. Cheers.
I did the same thing 20 years ago. I was leading and tried to walk across. But the further you go the wall wants to push you into the abyss. Then I hand traversed. Thanks for the memories!!
I did walk it but that's partly because I had always had excellent balance, but more importantly I'm only 171 and 59 kg (5'7, 130 pounds) so my center of gravity was lower and below the bulge
This is the spot Alex Honold took a break during his free climb. He just hung out there a few minutes with his back to the wall. I was sweating just watching him frozen to the wall.
I’m new to climbing and can’t get enough of the videos . The big wall videos are my favorite but can’t see myself ever doing one. It’s insane how high they are . My brain dropping buckets of adrenaline just watching .
This is one of the pitches I'll remember my whole life! I climbed the route more than 40 years ago, July 1981, in the middle of a very hot spell. We decided that the only safe way to do it was to run up the route as fast as we could, i.e. climbing "French Free" which meant using the bolt ladders, pulling on the occasional fixed piece etc and get up before the sun hit the wall. In the end we made it to just about this point before the sun came around the corner. I had of course seen the photos (nothing like youtube back then) and knew that it was possible to walk across, but the midway bulge was exciting. I remember having to bend down to place a couple of Friends as the crux of the pitch, that felt quite unsafe.
@@DJ-kg6zq We had a really good month, almost all of it in Tuolumne getting several early repeats of new climbs (5.11 to 5.12a), but we did spend three days in the Valley: NW Face of Half Dome, Separate Reality and Quarter Domes. The last has a bit of an approach (we walked up along the mostly dry river) but it is a _really_ nice climb.
Thank you for this video. Such an act lies far beyond my poor powers. Congratulations on your successful completion of that particular portion of the climb.
Yeeesh - I'm a former (hobbyist) rock climber and mountaineer - and that exposure is wigging me out just from the video. I could never have done a climb like this.
At a certain point hight does not matter. If you fall from 50 meters or 100+ wont do much difference as you die. So higher doesent equal more dangerous in that respect and it all comes down how focused and one pointed your mind really is.
@@justinm1766 Which doesent contradict what i said at all if you think about it. People survived falls from 2 meters, people have died from 2 meters. people survived falls from 200 meters, people died from 200 meters. The matter of fact is, that higher equals less chance of survival and then there is a certain heigt that gives you almost no chances and i dont count small exceptions. It doesent really matter if you fall from 100 or 200 meters as both heights are considered deadly. But for the mind its like: Oh oh im more frightend of that 200 meter one. Its just a mind game nothing more.
Hello Brad and colleague I congratulate you on this great climb of Half Dome. Thank you for the impressive film. I wish you good mountain tours. With alpine greetings Raphael Wellig
My God, being afraid of heights, just watching this I’m gripping onto my chair and my stomach muscles are tightening up…..as if I was the one climbing lol😅
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I will never do this. Being a regular to Yosemite, I often stop to watch the climbers on Half Dome... from the valley. Thanks so much for the vid. Great camera work.👍😎
Notice how careful, precise and delicate his movements are. He must take these added precautions so that his giant brass balls don’t scrape the rock face.
@@StarzzyJJASD Never said "scary", you just have to be insane to do it. What was the point? Walk out and walk back? On a tiny ledge? Secured by a rope! One has to be insane.
All very well and good anchoring in the crack...but that looks like a slice of rock getting ready to peel off! Think I'd be doing it with a parachute just in case lol!
Not being a climber myself that ledge looks like it’s going to slough off the side of that cliff at any moment from one too many expansions over winter.
The part of the slab of Rock that was once part of the ledge broke off and fell at some point in the past.. and this part looks like it's ready to do the same.. I think anyone that climbs a mountain should do it at their own risk and if something goes wrong then it is their problem.. It's not just their own lives they put at risk but all of the emergency services too... so many mountain rescue people, helicopter crews and paramedics have died trying to save stranded and injured climbers...
Have a great memory of this one. I followed on this pitch with a backpack, but our rope got stuck somewhere in the short chimney following the ledge. We could not free it. So I did the whole traverse with a jumar. It was my only horizontal jumaring experience, lots of fun.
Think about this: The first ascent by Royal Robbins and friends in 1957 was done without any of today's modern ropes or equipment, no guide book, no red pointing. It was a 5 day climb not knowing what they would find. Had it not been for the Thank God Ledge they saw, they would not have been able to go up the sheer face. At the end of the Ledge is the vertical crack system that will lead climbers to the top. Now with guide books, no GoPro camera, chalk, Friends (the cam locks you see being placed) and chocks (steel quadrangular shaped wedges inserted in cracks) elite climbers can do it one or two days. Getting to the base of the climb is a 7 mile hike from the Valley, then hike down to the base of Half Dome. Depending on how long you plan to be on the climb, the weight of the climbing gear, food, shelter and water can be up to 100 lbs. Read the American Alpine Club's annual report on climbing accidents in North America and you can read how many stupid, inexperienced climbers do these sheer walls and get killed, hurt, hypo- or hyperthermic and have to be rescued and put the rescuers at risk.
@@68Boca I'm too old now. There are bold climbers and there are old climbers but no old bold climbers. I did climb for several years up to 5.10 but never Half Dome or El Cap. I did do Glacier Point, Washington Column and others.
My god.... The moment the camera looked down my legs felt an electric shock.... So freaky how you can be hyperaware of heights just by watching a video....
It's probably because I can think of much more fun things to do with my time than go to some stupid party, but whenever I see someone say 'you must be fun at parties' (I've NEVER heard it used in person, strictly online) it just screams 'I don't posses the intellectual capacity to understand what you're saying so I'm just going to try and put you down'. Climbing is fun. Staying alive is fun. If you don't get to do it again, what's the point?
CraZy how such a jug ledge can grip a bit due to the moves being somewhat unusual and no handholds on the wall above. There’s a super short walking traverse on the descent trail from The Book at Lumpy’s that has a brief, as in just 3-4 moves, section that gripped me a bit since I was unroped for the hike down, in approach shoes, and toting the rack. You guys really captured the vibe of that sort of cool weirdness in this vid. It’s a pleasure to watch. Nice work! 👊🏼
Looks like that ledge is ready to break off any day. I was in Yosemite valley in 1996 when there was a big rock slide. It splintered big trees like they were toothpicks. I’ve also hiked half dome and wouldn’t want to fall from that high up…who would.
I used to rock climb, in my younger years, but for fun. I didn't go in for that much exposure. Of course, a ten foot fall could kill you, if you landed wrong. I've seen photos of Thank God Ledge. But, the dynamics of moving along it ... Whoo. Thank you for sharing this.
I don't think you need to be a supreme Adonis athlete to climb a route like this, but you def. need your head in the right space mentally - and must be well prepared (not the same as crazy). Great video Brad - thanks!
That ledge is coming down some day! I had lunch with a high school friend Friday, we used to go to Yosemite a couple times a year in those days. He told me he climbed El-Capitan 3 times since then. One time smoking a joint while resting over night! CraZY! 10' I turn around.
my imagination just goes somewhere else when i see clips like this, just feels like that whole vertical slab will just slip and peel away from the other face. These people are a different breed.
Going out on that slice of ledge with TONS of equipment that can catch you up and make you ever so slightly lose balance is beyond tricky. My mind says “why”, my gut says “no”, but my spirit says “you might just end up being an eagle for a second”.
Climbed this earlier this season just before the fires broke out. It's been on my list for a long time, and honestly there is no greater feeling than being that high up above the valley and looking out into the distance... I've fallen in love with a handful of places, and a handful have taken my breath away, the valley will forever be one of them.
@@dabadoo7631 I have been very lucky to only have small to medium pieces break off on me. Best bet is yell BIG ROCK and pray it doesn't hit your belayer. Or if you know something is bad like a massive flake aka death flake you and your partner get above, make sure the grounds is clear of all people and trundle. Basically remove without extreme force. This is very different from chipping or manufacturing a route, trundling is done for safety.
@@alfredodistefanolaulhe2212 if you're going to make such a bold statement, please give me a damn example instead of saying everything. You just sound like a loser.
Kind of funny the massive distance between you and the other mountains along with the haze makes it look like green screen lol. Kudos to you man I can barely climb a ladder without getting shaky.
@@The.Original.Potatocakes There are vids of things like that happening. Prob not something that happens often, but the possibility is certainly there in my head....wile E coyote didn't have much luck with things like that lol
When u go to Yosemite you drive by half-dome, and you can see the rock climbers way way up on the side of the mountain. Good going you brave souls on this magnificent mountain. I need a parachute as I’m watching this. Nope, never mind, too stressful, and Alex Honnold practiced 5 years to do the climb successfully, without ropes.
I think you are mixing up El Cap and Half Dome: The main road pass the meadow below El Cap, but there's no road at all underneath Half Dome, just a couple of hiking trails. Anyway, both of them are amazing rock faces!
We went up the cable on the side of Half Dome...the view was amazing! A climber from Israel made it to the top of the face while we were having lunch !! 😃
It would be cool if someone (rock climbing gym) made vr simulations of these epic features ex. 30' of this ledge 5' off a foam pit. But with the vr goggles you think your on the ledge. Would be great training tool and I bet a big attraction.
I used to teach basic climbing until, after one lead on an unspecial day..I got bad shakes out of nowhere and lost my nerve. Never have I climbed again or wanted to but watching this brought back the memories.
It's probably seared into every fiber of his being.. that's about as close to a near death experience as you can get.. especially if you're free soloing 🤯
