Hiker dies from Half Dome fall

[Pucknuts61]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526166,00.html

 

[Barkingcat]

Here's a slightly more-detailed account of the accident: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/14/MNJG1870H9.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

 

[erugs]

That's a shame. I was there on a nice day last September. I found the climb awesome, yet serious and it was disquieting to witness a number of people who seemed to take the climb with alacrity. In their eagerness, a few impudent “climbers” were trying to get ahead of others who were in line on the cables, both going up and coming down. I’m currently reading Laurence Gonzales’ new book, “Everyday Survival: Why Smart People Do Stupid Things” which affirms what I’ve thought, that this type of behavior seems to stem from the irrational idea that bad things don’t happen to people when they are enjoying themselves: “Hey, we’re on vacation, nothing bad will happen.” Many of us take risks, don’t we? Fortunately they mostly work out alright.

 

[DSettahr]

A google image search reveals lots of pictures showing the cable route up the mountain. It's easy to see in the pictures lots of people failing the take the situation in which they find themselves seriously.

And some pictures show pretty large crowds as well:

http://www.newt.com/wohler/events/2004/yosemite/half-dome-cables-big.jpg

 

[erugs]

There's an interesting video podcast under "Yosemite Nature Notes" on climbing Half Dome. I don't know if I'm glad I hadn't seen some of this information before I went there, if I would have been too intimidated by it to try. Having some rock climbing under our belt before we went there certainly helped.

 

[king tut]

I still get dizzy when i recall looking up to the top of Half Dome from the slope a few hundred feet below the top. The cables were down for repairs the day i climbed it, so i skipped the last few hundred feet to the top. The last 1/2 mile or so is VERTICAL. That must have been a terrifying last few seconds for this poor person.

 

[Frodo]

He must have been on the outside of the cables trying to get around people, because it's pretty hard to fall on the inside, especially without taking out a bunch of other people. If 30 people witnessed it, then there were other people on the cable route.

Bad place to be in bad weather. It's like one giant lightning rod...

 

[evilhanz]

suddenly, clipping in to the cable doesn't seem like such a bad idea ...

 

[iceNsnow]

I was scared!!

It took some convincing for me to continue up to the summit - the attitude of certain people rattled me way more than the climbing. Some people carried large packs w/ poles sticking out and it was sketchy thinking that I could be swiped off w/ an unexpected ***. Way too many people at a time!!

Maybe they could consider controlling the flow - like those timed traffic lites they used for the on-ramps in LA. I really liked them!!

I can see it now!

 

[Chip]

I've never done the cable route on half dome and had never even looked at the pictures until now. I had no idea it was so steep. There's at least one web site that recommends using a harness and clipping in, but it's obviously not required. Perhaps it should be. I sure would for me and mine. The nps.gov site has some basic suggestions, but nothing near the level you might expect.

Are people coming back down the same route at the same time or is there an "up" and a "down" route ?

 

[erugs]

It's up and down on the same route. If people keep single file, then everything works fine. I don't think I've seen it written, but by far the safest way down is to back down, leaning out. That gives better traction -- can't tell you how many people I saw slipping their way down, facing forward, holding onto the cables.

 

[Chip]

I'm surprised more people aren't hurt. It almost seems ridiculous. One person slipping near the top could take out everyone on the route. Does the park make you sign a waiver or do they just pat you on the back and wish you luck ?

 

[erugs]

No waivers. It's kind of a serious party atmosphere. People have hiked in a long way to get there, so they are tired, and many are also anxious. The last pitch before the cables is steep and has exposure, yet has good stepping stones, but probably serves to turn away the very timid. I remember getting quite angry at a woman who was pressing to get by me as we were headed down. I was waiting for people in front of me, who were waiting for people in front of them. Sure enough when I allowed her to pass, she did so, then continued the rude behavior. Maybe she was scared? It takes a lot to annoy me and if the area hadn't been so dangerous, I might have stubbornly not allowed her to go past me. When she bumped me, I called out "Hey, that's me!" but it made no difference. I also saw a number of people on the outside of the cables. The board steps along the route stick out enough so that they can be used, but my goodness, it's adding danger to danger. Still, I'm glad I went and would do it again, given the right opportunity.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Chip-"I'm surprised more people aren't hurt. It almost seems ridiculous. One person slipping near the top could take out everyone on the route. Does the park make you sign a waiver or do they just pat you on the back and wish you luck ?"

I've been in Tuckerman Ravine watching the spring skiers climbing up the headwall single file (reminds me of the old photos of Chilkoot Pass) and someone would lose their footing and take out several people near them.

 

[Craig]

I'm surprised more people aren't hurt. It almost seems ridiculous. One person slipping near the top could take out everyone on the route. Does the park make you sign a waiver or do they just pat you on the back and wish you luck ?

Their SAR buget must be something.
Read the posts in this blog.

 

[J.Dub]

suddenly, clipping in to the cable doesn't seem like such a bad idea ...

Yeah, I'm thinking a harness, daisy and biner might be just the ticket.

Looks like Class 4+++ hiking to me...

 

[TCD]

I'd even be careful with the harness / daisy set up. I haven't been up HD, but based on pics I'd say you are subject to a "via ferrata" type fall (ref Petzl safety literature). In this type of fall, the hard stop at the end can easily cause failure of webbing, biners, etc because there is no elastic member (length of rope) in the system.

If I were doing the cables, I'd probably take a harness and daisy in the pack for emergencies (someone ill or hurt, sudden bad weather, etc.), but I wouldn't use it for the routine up and down.

If I were using a harness for routine up and down, and I really wanted to be sure, I would have two links to the cable, and a screamer in the short link to eat up the shock load.

 

[Snowflea]

At least now I don't feel like a wimp for thinking it was scary. Glad I did it once but have no desire to do it again! I cannot *imagine* being on that route when the rock is wet.

BTW, according to the book Deaths in Yosemite, there have actually been surprisingly few deaths on the Half Dome Cable Route. (Another interesting tidbit: no one in YNP has ever been killed by a bear, but someone has been killed by a deer. Just in case anyone ever asks...)

 

[bignslow]

Yeah, I'm thinking a harness, daisy and biner might be just the ticket.

Looks like Class 4+++ hiking to me...

I think the summitpost article about the route states it is roughly a 5.4 slab climb without the cables. 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.

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Very sad.

FYI, there's more details about the accident here for those interested (not an official account, but info from people who were also on the cables at the time):


http://planetrambler.com/150mph/news/_accidentonhalfdome.html

Besides the normal difficulty of the climb and the wet conditions, there was also this (which was the point where the man lost his grip):

Near the steepest part of the cables, an upright steel pole had come out of its drilled anchor hole and the heavy cable was unsupported and drooping against the rock. The thin metal strap that normally attached the 1 x 4 inch wooden cross piece footstep to the upright pole had broken or come loose, so there was no footstep at this area either. This upright had been in place and functioning correctly on their ascent.