Gripping account of Half Dome fall
 

A women fell from the Half Dome cables a couple months ago. Here is a well-written (but long) account of what happened. Yikes. Werd to your mutha - don't climb Half Dome in bad weather.


http://www.friendsofyosar.org/rescues/2009/6-4-09_HalfDomeFall_FirstHand.html

These people don't seem to have been very prepared. Fingerless gloves, left rain gear at base, ignored the person who said was at physical limit halfway up, didn't hydrate. It sounds like they were ready for a mild dayhike.

(I think some "lessons learned" at the end would have been nice.)

Gripping account or slipping account?

I see this sort of thing all the time when out hiking. You don't need to have much of a pack to be prepared for most eventualities. Of course most people have no idea of what their limitations are.

I see what you did there.

i see this type of stuff all the time we had one kid go bouldering (rock climbing without equipment) because he saw it on tv. he had never done it before and he fell and broke his back and no one knew where he was he called 911 off of his cell phone but all he said he could see was tree's and a cliff and this is on Mohonk mountain house property which is over 85 miles of tree's and cliffs. so after a few hours of searching we found him.

Helo bubbas to the rescue:cool:

Excellent account, glad she is ok.

I get very angry at these situations, most of the incidents are a clear result of stupidity. It always amazes me that even more people aren't lost or die.

I read an equally chilling (perhaps even more chilling) account of Half Dome hikers that were caught in a lightening storm. The strikes were threatening to light up the cables! There was no storm watch for that day, so it was just bad luck.

IMO, Yosemite Park officials need to station a ranger at the bottom of the cables to "enlighten" would be climbers about how dangerous the journey really is (unless they already do?). Apparently, hikers/climbers freak out on the way down all the time. That does not make for a safe situation...

Mike

I've done that hike twice. It's the only hike I've done that results in blisters on my hands.

As a "thank you" to me for setting that line up, I am sending you an e-mail about a bug.

There is a sign at the bottom that says something to the effect of don't climb if there are clouds anywhere in the sky. This is a warning about lightning but would apply also to wet conditions. The story is an example of one bad decision followed by another and another and another. There is no way I would go up the cables if there was any moisture at all.

and here I was about to pm you about that hike...

Sucked you in! I knew you'd show up. Ya know, I'll be going up in a couple weeks. Let me know when you're available. Unfinished business is so annoying. . .

nooo, that story was too scary. I think I'll just stay at the Ahwahnee bar and pick up MILFs...

I'll be at camp 4 picking up stoner chicks, although I doubt I will be able to find any THAT stoned . . .

Scary stuff and I'm glad that she is alright. However, it sounds like she was in no condition, physically or mentally, to attempt that hike. Just stupid.

I also thought that the story was written horribly. It was a chore to continue reading it.

Just have Nostatic pick them up and bring them to Camp 4 to see the "Firefall"

I'll try not to be callous, but fatalities have become rather common on the Half Dome cables -- she's lucky to have lived.

Just a week after her fall, there was a fatality -- first of the year, I believe. http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12589788

And three people died within a year (October 2006 to June 2007). Before then, it was rather rare to hear of fatalities.

There is a big warning sign -- but people generally get summit-fever and won't turn back when the goal is so close.

http://www.hikehalfdome.com/images/CIMG8815.JPG

Up in NH on Mt Washington they would have sent her the bill for the resuce and for being so stupid:

New Hampshire fines Eagle Scout for cost of rescue from Mt. Washington
DATE: Jul 17, 04:59 PM

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CONCORD, New Hampshire — New Hampshire plans to fine a teenager for the cost of rescuing him from Mount Washington in April.
A planned day hike turned into three nights alone in the woods for Scott Mason, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Halifax, Massachusetts. He decided to take a shortcut after spraining his ankle, but that emergency route led him into rising water and deep snow caused by unseasonably warm weather.
New Hampshire law allows the Fish and Game Department to charge negligent hikers for the cost of rescuing them from the woods. Mason’s family confirmed that he has been fined, but had no other comment Friday.
When the law was tweaked last year, officials estimated that they could seek reimbursement in about 40 of the 140 rescues it typically handles each year.

It has always amazed me that hikers are not required to clip in to those cables. I know it would slow up the movement but would greatly increase the safety. Most mountaineering /hiking accidents occur on the descent. You are tired , moving faster much more of a chance to slip up.

I put allot of blame too, on this new wave of "adventurers". In the past few yrs the amount of people doing activities like this has probably tripled. The places I Ice climb are mobbed now, to the point where you actually have to wait your turn. It sucks. 15, 20 yrs ago you could spend the whole weekend out there and not see a single person.The Appalachian trail around here is like the NJ turnpike in rush hour. Whats even sadder is, how Ill prepared and clueless most of these people are. My last two MT Rainier climbs, I seen so many people that had no business being out in that enviorment, the way they were dressed and the equipment they had with them.