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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Jun 15, 2009 - 10:35pm PT
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No, but I've got one saved up to show to Ms. Flouride.
It'll be a blast!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jun 15, 2009 - 10:38pm PT
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There have been fatalities in the past on the cables. There was just a "gap" of several years before the death last year.
I don't have that "Death in Yosemite" book, so I can't give a complete list (and not looking to buy that book, yet).
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Jun 15, 2009 - 10:45pm PT
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Dammit! Klaus is a spelling Nazi!
Run! Run for your very Lives!
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Fluoride
Trad climber
Hollywood, CA
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Jun 15, 2009 - 10:52pm PT
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Awww, klaus IS a spelling Nazi. Thanks for the catch Eric!
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Jun 15, 2009 - 10:57pm PT
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Ooooops, my apologies.
Don't rile the spellers! They'll GET YA!
Cheers.
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Fluoride
Trad climber
Hollywood, CA
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Jun 15, 2009 - 11:19pm PT
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WTF?? Who would want to hike all the way up to the damn cables when the weather looks that shitty??? Let alone head up to the top.
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Jun 15, 2009 - 11:43pm PT
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Maybe we should refer them to the Clouds thread.
(All spelling checked by an expert.)
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nutjob
climber
Berkeley, CA
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Jun 15, 2009 - 11:44pm PT
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I climbed the cables this weekend, after the tragedy. Cables are intact. Right side (when ascending) had a lot of slack in a section down low. Up high, the poles come out of the holes if you lift outward from the rock on the cable. The weather is highly variable; sounds like it was a nightmare for unprepared parties on Saturday afternoon and evening; it was wonderful for us late Saturday night and Sunday all morning.
We began the hike Saturday at 11pm, ranger truck lit up at the trailhead. The ranger discouraged us from going, but said he would not stop us. It did give us a long pause to discuss as a group, and we ended up going back to the cars to get extra slings and biners so all could have improvised body harnesses clipped to the cables (most in our large group were non-climbers). This delayed our start til midnight.
On the trail, most folks we passed were exiting parties wrapped in blankets, and we received several warnings from rescue folks about rain, hail, and electrical storms. I was prepared to quit at the cables if the conditions were unreasonable, but my father was born and raised in Missouri so that makes me an honorary member of the "show me" state. I would decide at the base of the cables.
It was a moderately cold night, full of stars. Several hours after the moon rose, a glorious clear dawn emerged as we ascended the hewn steps of the rise before the cable. My girlfriend was first up, I was second, and we were there for just a few minutes before sun burst onto the great summit plain. There was not a cloud in the sky.
It was truly glorious to witness the dawning of a day from that vantage point. Tenaya Canyon took on a mystical appearance with slanting rays falling into the soft shadows; the silhouette of halfdome's profile etched beneath glacier point; El Capitan and the Three Brothers standing in sharp relief; the high country snowy cirques glowing in the morning light. We spent a while on top, maybe an hour, before descending.
The only evidence of the accident was the stash of SAR gear at the base of the cables. Four people were heading up the cables as we came down. The next group of parties were stopped for an hour or more by a ranger who arrived to set a perimeter for the helicopter recovery operations. Part of our descent was filled with chopper blades echoing loudly against the south face of Half Dome.
There is an important take-away message from this accident.
About 6 years back I climbed Snake Dike, and descended via the cables, but this was my first experience moving upward. On my first time going down, I was in climbing shoes and practically running on the outside of the cables holding on with one hand, avoiding the conga line inside. See, right there I'm doing it....
It is easy to talk disparagingly of the cables as "the tourist route" and play down the objective difficulty. My own judgment has been clouded over the years by the general banter of climbers about the cables route. When non-climbing folks in my group asked for input about the route, I mentioned gloves only for folks who had soft hands... it didn't occur to me that gripping steel cables in near-freezing conditions might make one's hands numb and unusable, and it should be mandatory for folks to have gloves with them. I didn't tell the non-climbers that a safety system was mandatory; I mentioned it in passing as a possibility but I also said that most people don't bother. While this may be true, I think more folks should be prepared with a back-up system. It could make the congestion even worse though.... some thought would need to go into this. My feet in normal hiking shoes did skid and slip on the water-covered sections (most was dry), and I relied on a lot of arm strength to make the ascent.
The fact is, the cables route is quite serious for non-climbers, and I was surprised how exposed it is given how many people of widely ranging skills and physical conditioning get up with no incident. I don't think it needs more regulation, but it does need to have a more serious reputation and for folks to be better prepared.
p.s. If the weather looked at all sketchy, I would have turned back at the cables. Maybe on a climbing adventure with peers of similar experience/judgment capability I'd make a different decision, but we didn't have the safety gear to make it safe in bad weather. Most folks in our group had the self-awareness to decide if they wanted to do the cables or not, and not all members did it.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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Jun 15, 2009 - 11:56pm PT
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Thanks for the personal insight nutjob. Your point about gloves is a good one.
Regarding safety systems however, the cables are not a via ferrata. Clipping into them with some sort of harness/sling/biner solution seems to me a recipe for disaster. First of all, it may give you a false sense of security and cause you to get into a situation where you don't belong. Secondly, without some sort of shock absorption, even a short fall could cause enough force to either snap the safety rig or the person. And thirdly, in crowded conditions, you might still knock other people down/off.
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WBraun
climber
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:01am PT
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Oh c'mon now.
Nobody's gonna save anyone up there.
It's not up to you or me nor the world.
There's way more than meets the eye ....
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Ricky D
Trad climber
Sierra Westside
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:03am PT
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Having done the cable climb at least 10 times I have come to the conclusion that damn few of the people who hike this route have ANY idea what is in store for them.
I have routinely encountered people dressed more for shopping at the mall than hiking in the Sierra, people wearing tennis shoes and sandals, people carrying a single 12 ounce bottle of water and asking me if they sell any at the top, people who are just getting to LYV at 4 in the afternoon and asking how much longer.
From the conversations I have had with these less-than-prepared souls - I have come to the conclusion that they suffer from Disney Syndrome.
Meaning that since the Valley floor is so controlled and comfortable - that ALL of Yosemite must be so - including Half Dome - just as if old Walt had designed the place for your entertainment!
After all, when they spend the first part of their vacation meeting tame deer that are trained to stand in front of Degnan's and pose so cutely, when the waterfalls get turned on with such precision , when the circus bears scamper across the road... well, it just makes sense that the WHOLE park is just that - a lovely little park.
So of course we can hike to Half Dome after lunch and still have pizza at Curry by 5 pm. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa and he sells cold water and popsicles at the top. Did we mention the escalator ride that takes you back down to your tent when you are done - sure, right this way ma'am.
And above all, don't you worry about those nasty words in the little guide thingy they gave you at the gate - the one where it says the hike is "Strenuous" - we just put that in there so you can impress the folks back home - we don't really mean it you know.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:05am PT
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well, via ferrata rigs do use dynamic rope and/or shock absorbers, hence their utility. but the bolts/poles are typically fixed rather than removable.
but let's be real-- why do americans expcet everything to be safe? the dolomites are riddled with rotting old cables and eye bolts leftover from ww1, not to mention even creakier via ferrata from older (or more recent) periods. no one expects the govt. to guarantee yr safety or even the reliability of the equipment on any of them.
mountains are dangerous. tourists die. it's a mean ol' world.
i don't know that i'd blame him for heading up into bad weather-- we've all done that ourselves, at one time or another. my condolences to the guy's family, as to all who've lost kith and kin in the backcountry.
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:14am PT
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Haha......Refer to my earlier post.
"Let the Bodies hit the Floor"...........We'll clean 'em up later.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:16am PT
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Hiking down from Chilnualna Falls I met a group of people heading up. One woman stopped me and asked if I was hiking alone. I said yes. She then asked, "aren't you afraid?". I asked of what. She said.. "Bears".. That was the best laugh I have had in a few days. Most tourists are clueless, so I am very grateful for things like the half dome cables because they challenge people and take them out of their comfort zone.
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GDavis
Trad climber
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:17am PT
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Keep in mind, guys, someones son died on this.
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
Sprocketville
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:25am PT
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theres been so many dead people lately, i went into emotional shutdown a long time ago.
every new one just numbs me out more.
it's just a bad dream.
everybody will come back tomorrow.
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WBraun
climber
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Jun 16, 2009 - 12:29am PT
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That's true if you understand the real truth ....
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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Jun 16, 2009 - 03:16am PT
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hey there nutjob.. say, thanks for sharing about your climb...
it was a good report... god bless...
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