GUNUNG · United States

Half Dome

Information

Elevation: 2.693 m
Country: United States (US)
Location / Range: Sierra Nevada, Yosemite National Park (California)
Mountain type: Granite dome (non-volcanic)
Volcanic?: No (non-volcanic)
Coordinates: 37.7460, -119.5332
Difficulty: Very strenuous (day hike of about 22–26 km; the final section uses steel cables)
Best Season: Late May–mid-October (while the cables are up)
Permits & Rules: A permit is required through the recreation.gov lottery: a preseason lottery in March plus a daily lottery about two days in advance. The steel cables are usually installed from late May through mid-October.
Hazards: Lightning (do not head to the summit when storm clouds are present), risk of slipping on wet or slick granite especially along the cable section, exhaustion and dehydration on the long trail, and the powerful waterfalls along the Mist Trail.

Description

Half Dome (2,693 m) is an iconic granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California, with a sheer face on one side and a rounded back on the other. Its classic day hike is among the most famous and demanding in the United States: roughly 22–26 km round-trip with about 1,460 m of ascent, starting in Yosemite Valley along the Mist Trail past Vernal and Nevada Falls, climbing to the sub-dome, then ascending the final ~120 m up the dome's shoulder gripping two steel cables. Because of its popularity, the National Park Service runs a permit lottery through recreation.gov, and the cables are only up from late spring to early fall. Gloves are recommended for the cables, and hikers are urged to avoid the summit when lightning threatens.

Gallery

Foto bersumber dari Wikimedia Commons — klik untuk memperbesar & lihat sumbernya.

Routes

Mist Trail ke Half Dome via Kabel (Cables Route)

Sangat berat (strenuous); bagian akhir lewat kabel baja

10–14 jam (day hike pulang-pergi)

Rute standar sepanjang ~22–26 km pulang-pergi dengan tanjakan ~1.460 m. Dimulai dari Yosemite Valley (Happy Isles), melewati Air Terjun Vernal dan Nevada di Mist Trail, naik ke sub-dome, lalu menapaki sekitar 120 meter terakhir di punggung kubah dengan berpegang pada dua kabel baja. Wajib mengantongi izin undian recreation.gov; sarung tangan disarankan; waspadai petir dan granit licin saat basah. Kabel biasanya terpasang akhir Mei–pertengahan Oktober.

Source

Safety Statistics

Moderate risk

Aggregated for prevention and awareness — not a casualty list. Read alongside the safety tips below.

31 Recorded deaths

Period 1930–2015 · A review study (Richardson & Spano, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 2018) recorded 31 deaths (29 confirmed + 2 likely) on Half Dome over ~85 years (earliest death 1930). This spans all activities — technical climbing 36%, non-accidental deaths 26%, cable route 16%, hiking 16%, base jumping 6% — so the pure hiking-accident count is smaller. Mean age 32±14 years. This is an absolute count, not a fatality rate.

Causes of death

Severe weather est. 3

💡 The open granite dome is a lightning magnet; summit in the morning and descend before afternoon thunderstorms — do not shelter in the summit cave.
Source
Fall

💡 The leading cause of fatal cable falls is climbing when the rock or cables are wet — turn back if storm clouds are near, the ground is wet, or the cables are slick.
Source
Fall

💡 The climbing routes on Half Dome's face are serious technical terrain — they demand big-wall experience, full protection, and weather judgment.
Source
Drowning est.

💡 Along the Mist Trail the Merced River runs powerfully near the waterfalls; stay on the trail and never swim or wade above a waterfall.
Source

Notable incidents

1985 Summit lightning strike (July 1985) — a lesson on afternoon storms

On a late-July afternoon in 1985, a series of lightning bolts struck a group sheltering in a rock cavern on Half Dome's summit; two died and several others were critically injured. It stands as a classic warning: the open granite dome is highly exposed to lightning, the summit cave is not safe shelter, and hikers should already be descending before afternoon convective storms build.
Source
2010 Daily permit system to reduce cable crowding

Since 2010, Yosemite has capped cable-route access at 300 hikers per day (225 day hikers + 75 backpackers) through a permit lottery. The policy eased dangerous congestion on the cables — where hikers are most exposed to slipping when wet — and shows crowd management as part of safety.
Source

Statistics source: Source Source

Climbing Experiences

Half Dome (2,693 m) in Yosemite National Park is hiked as a strenuous ~22–26 km day hike via the Mist Trail (Vernal & Nevada Falls), up to the sub-dome, then a final stretch on the dome's shoulder gripping two steel cables. Experience videos show the steep cable section, the recreation.gov permit lottery, and candid accounts of how demanding and frightening the cables can feel.

References

The summary above is compiled from the following sources. Click to explore them yourself.