Hiker dies from Half Dome fall

[jniehof]

I also recall reading somewhere that clipping in to the cables is generally frowned upon due to the fact that if you're passing people in the opposite direction they have to remove their hands from the cable to let your biner pass.

I don't see how that's necessary, given that there are two cables and (according to the link) one uses the one hiker's right.

 

[erugs]

When I started up the cables I had to fight the instinct to hold on to both cables. The idea that helped me was thinking of hauling up an anchor, hand over hand, leaning backwards so that my feet had more traction on the stone. Some people were tippy-toeing, a good way to tire the feet while at the same time having less traction.

We did see two people on the cables who were wearing harnesses and clipping in. Because 98% of those on the cables were not clipped in, they looked a little over-precautious. But so what, they did the climb and did it safely.

It's also said that wearing gloves gives better hold on the cable. There are a bunch of mismatched gloves at the base of the cables and I tried two different types on and didn't like either (one was a gardening glove, the other a fingerless cycling glove).

 

[--M.]

I did it two years in a row. If I had known what I was in for before doing it the first time, I wouldn't have gone without protection.

The second time, I went into the Mountaineer in Keene Valley, and they immediately knew what to do: Swami Belt.

Three wraps around your waist with a stretch of webbing. Two carabiners and one screamer; add in the right kind of knots and I was okay. If I had wanted to, I could have added a Y feature and been double-clipped, for when I had to unclip for the next stanchion. I just went with the one attachment, and had no trouble negotiating passers-by.

The fear difference between the two trips was night & day. I totally enjoyed the second trip and was not the least bit scared, at least as compared to the unleashed trip the year before. Those around me varied from no problem to totally frozen; it was awesome to be able to keep moving and enjoy the scenery, too, which was possible the second year.

We also made a point to go in May, at the earliest possible time, and had the place mostly to ourselves. I would not be comfortable with a crowd in that restricted space! And rain or snow would be a turn-around.

That said, it's a HUGE highlight, and I would do it again. Leashed.

--Mike.

 

[J.Dub]

^^^DING! Sounds like a winner, folks.


Since I already have a harness (several, in fact) I'd prolly just use that rather than making my own Swami.

TCD, I hear ya about the Via Ferrari-type fall, but if you tied in with a daisy pretty tight, and used a Screamer, I doubt you'd be generating FF's enough to rip webbing/cause injury.

I know I'd probably feel a whole lot more comfortable going tethered!

 

[--M.]

I'm no climber, and this was my first protection of any kind, but I'd add that the cables are quite flexible and have a lot of give. It's possible, even without a screamer, that the stress on a leash would be less than the give in the cable/leash weak-points.

But I was glad for the safety margins.

I'd also add that people passing were grateful I was clipped in because I could swing out of the way if needed and let them negotiate at their pace. It wasn't crowded, but several passes generated such comments.