I was there too. My boyfriend is the guy that got hit by lighting. It was terrifying. Thanks for sharing your perspective of that day. We’ve found many videos from people and we now have a full story of what happened Sept 21,2023
Lightning doesn’t have to strike you to kill you. My brother in law was killed as he slept in his tent by a ground charge. Your boyfriend was very, very lucky.
@@MOAB-UT Yes, I realize. It just pushed my buttons, I’m sensitive to displays of colossal stupidity, like risking your life in so cavalier a fashion. It cost my sister’s husband dearly, all to overnight on a rocky promontory to take in the seasonal meteor showers. But thanks for the kind words.
Hey Jeff! I'm the father of the girl you hikded down the cables with. Crazy day! The series of events that took place in a such a short amount of time were mind-boggling. We made it down safe, nobody died and we live to fight another day. Glory be to God! Thanks for making this video.
You can see the storms rolling in from a distance and they usually roll in at the same time every day but as soon as you see them, you have to get down!!!
I'm super athletic. I hiked up there 15 years ago. Cables were down. I got gloves anyway & began up. Got about 20 yards & nearly froze but was able to reverse back down. Don't mess with it like me. Very dangerous. Good luck
Ulises who is mentioned in this video (at 630 min in) also posted footage of the climb. Beautiful footage in your video. Glad you were safe. What a view! I hope to visit Yosemite some day.
Yes, Ulises' video gives more details about what happened! Glad I was able to hike with him and make it down safely together. Definitely visit one day, Yosemite Valley is beautiful :)
As I recall that sign at the base of the cables says don't go up there if ANY clouds are visible. I'm glad you made it and that everyone lived, but dang.
@@jeffreyyoh I’m actually thinking of trying the hike with the ropes down now, sometime next spring. Somehow seems safer after watching a bunch of videos now.
@@NoExperienceRequired whoa that's crazy. be sure to wear sandals and don't bring water while you're there! you don't want all that extra weight to slow you down
Man that was scary. That weather can be unpredictable & that could be deadly & Glad everyone was ok. I just spent 4 days in Yosemite September 11-14th. I found a climber that did the half dome hike & we had an Awesome conversation. I’m planning to do the Half Dome hike Next September & watched many videos of it. Hopefully i get a permit & cant wait to submit my application in march 🤞 Loved the 1st song from Hanz Zimmer “Now we are free”🎶😉👍
If you need a raincoat on the approach and the sky is dark, that is indicating bad weather later. I also understand rain was in the forecast for this day. I'm glad everyone was safe, but would like to argue that this is not the result of unpredictable weather.
Don’t skip the intro. That was some great filming. 1:10 I was like heck yeah!!! Definitely when you see storms coming turn around and hike another day.
I finally found the video! I was the one recording you at the base of the dome before the climb! We were right above the person who first fell and luckily made it down safe.
It's pretty common for things to by dryer in September since all the snow melt happens in the Spring. If you go to Zion around the same time, the water level is low enough to hike.
Wow, beautiful footage! we hiked up the mist trail and down the John Muir. I really wanted to hike further but we had a dog waiting for us at the campground. We didn’t get a permit either. It was very dry for us last summer too.
I made that hike 3 times way before they started requiring permits. All 3 times I was blessed with good weather. I can't imagine the danger involved with being on those cables during a lightning storm.
Hello! We talked with you at the top, you took a photo for us, and we’re actually in your video. Nice video and thanks for sharing…that was a crazy day
I've done it three times but we had good weather each time. It's a challenge but totally worth it. One on my climbs was after they removed the poles, as they do each fall. No harness, and we were the only ones on top for quite some time.
I've done Yosemite, half dome twice, and this is a tragic event with few people on the cables in the right equipment, you should be able to descend in between 15 and 20 minutes. I see in video how People are descending forward, and that's not the way to do it You'll lean out at a 45° angle and walk down backwards. you, get better grip, and you can move faster. Hope everyone recovers quickly.
The mistake was to continue the ascent when there were clouds gathering. Any remote sign there could be rain or adverse weather conditions, you are advised to not under any circumstances climb up half dome. It is not worth losing your life. You get amazing views for the sub dome anyway.
Considering the hiker's continuing disregard for the dangers here the steel ladder needs to be removed. This will stop all further accidents and being struck by lighting.
It would be prudent if those hiking the cables had the upper body strength to be able to fully hang on if footing is lost. That large girl that slipped had no chance. I'm not making fun, it's actually scary that she attempted such a difficult route. Unless you're a climber, it's probably a good idea to use prussian knot, helmet and check the forecast. You could even see the rain hours ahead and the storm clouds before attempting summit. Storms develop unexpectedly but planning ahead would help too. I'm glad you and your new friend stayed safe.
I just read in the news a poor woman died because of a sudden lighting storm and fell off the slippery path. I wonder if using clips per section would help ensure people did not slide off? It's terrible that happens every year, you are lucky and I am glad no one as hurt that day!
I did this hike in 2009 and thought it was kinda kooky with all the people and the ladder. We did Yosemite falls the day before and I thought that was more difficult. We basically ran up it tho.
We hiked to Vernal Falls in the late 80s! Does this count. Lolz. I put my feet in the falls and it was freezing but felt great after our maybe 2 hour hike. Forget the details it was a long time ago. 😂
You guys were pretty fortunate not to have worse consequences. Normally they used to close the cables when there was any chance of lightning. I've climbed around there a fair amount, but only climbed on the cables maybe 4 or 5 times. You also got a decent view from the top. Often in the summer the view is poor because of smoke. And of course in a storm, people want to shelter in caves, but caves are "magnets" for lightning and should be avoided if there is any chance of lightning. Glad all survived.
As an experience, Sierra mountain guide in wilderness first responder the problem is that beginners are scared of things that they don’t need to be, and not scared of things that they should be. An intermediate hiker has a good grasp of what to be afraid of and what not to be afraid of, very experience person like myself has to be careful not to become complacent. Everyone has things to be careful about what you guys did. There was so incredibly irresponsible to yourself and the people that had to come and rescue people very very very very wrong. Why did this happen as a beginner you underestimate the risk of things you must listen to people who have more experience and knowledge Because you’re going to make some fatal mistakes you came with an inches of dying on that day. The speed and ferocity of a storm in the Sierras is something that people don’t realize the storms can come in between 30 and 70 miles an hour people have died up there many people, it’s not a pleasant way to die.
I did it in 2019 and a women DIED the next day. Rain came in on a sunny day- she slipped and fell 500 feet. ALWAYS use a safety harness. The tether that attaches to the cable needs to have two clips on it so one is always on the cable when you unclip the other. Even if you are a good climber, remember, a 200lb. man 10 feet above you can slip and take you clean off the hill. R.I.P. Danielle She had a harness but was not clipped on when the rain set it. It happened real fast. We saw the helicoper body recovery operation. They did not even bring her into the chopper- she was about 100 feet below it in a covered basket. No need and that also takes extra time. It was very sobering and sureal. Enjoy nature, but respect those mountains and that weather. Your situation was clearly a no go but you hiked all the way up and you were to excited to stop. It almost cost you everything. I also noticed I was more careless on the way down. I too was excited, very happy (victorious!) I was not clipped in for most of my decent which in hindsight was not too smart either. Glad you survived and everyone was mostly ok, with (video) and fun stories to tell! www.nytimes.com/2019/09/07/us/yosemite-half-dome-hiker-death.html
Yes, you're exactly right. I'm sorry that happened. Sometimes, a lot of things are outside our control, and although we could always be better prepared, we have to respect nature for what it can do. It definitely makes you rethink life as a whole.
@@jeffreyyoh Your going real deep my man. Just use a harness and don't do dumb sh*t like idunno, hiking up rock faces with a clear impending storm coming. And no- everything is in our control. Nothing happens TO us, it happens BECAUSE of us. Choices have consequences. Cool video though- despite you cut it off at the most interesting time cause you were afraid. You will hike up a sheer rock face during a storm but afraid your camera is going to kill ya? Interesting. Keep climbing higher- always.
So whats the issue why there was a traffic jam? Is the rock that slippery during rain or do some people ascend with not the right footwear (hiking boots) ?
Yes, the rock was extremely slippery even with the right hiking boots in the hailstorm. There essentially was water flowing down the rock as we descended so we could only rely on our cable grip to go down safely. Additionally, a woman fell down below, making everyone all extremely cautious. Passing by wasn't an option, so it was a single file line descending plank by plank until we could get to the bottom. Lightning also struck the cables, so we were cautious not to hold on the metal cables while resting on the wooden planks. Some people didn't have the right gloves (or any gloves), making the whole process slower.
@@jeffreyyoh Sounds like hell... I wanna do half Dome before the end of the season this year but now I'm pretty unsure about it 😕 Are there thunderstorms every day or if the weather forecast says sunny it is sunny? Or is the weather changing like really quick?
@@krabbe3 The weather fluctuates quite a bit, unfortunately. When I went, the forecast showed 5% chance of rain and we ended up getting hounded by a storm. I would say feel free to do the hike until the cables, and evaluate the conditions while you're there! The hike up until the cables will be safe and the view from the subdome is gorgeous as well :)
@@krabbe3 Yes, definitely check for clouds. The cables itself take roughly 20 minutes up and 20 minutes down! The hike to the subdome is roughly 8 miles, though. Let me know if you have any more questions!
8:30 With all due respect buddy, you should have been heading down at this point or sooner, and not sitting there shooting a video! I hope you appreciate that now!
the cables are not for the faint of heart. not sure where the "viewer discretion is advised" comes into play. safety comes into play knowing what's going to happen with the weather and avoiding it all together, not advancing cautiously. any chance of rain at all and you are absolutely slipping down without harness & biners. Gravity 1, climbers 0
I can't believe the park service actually encourages people to climb up this thing...🤷 Tyat set-up is obviously inadequate and dangerous. What they need to do is charge for the permit to traverse it and hire a company to outfit the hikers with harnesses and assist them. They should really build a permanent set of steps there with safety rails.
