In 2008 Alex Honnold climbed the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome, 2,000 feet and 23 pitches of Yosemite granite, alone and without a rope, in 2 hours 50 minutes. It was the first free solo of the route, and photographer Jimmy Chin’s images of Honnold high on Yosemite’s walls helped make him the world’s best-known climber.
The photographs below show climbers on steep Yosemite rock, followed by the very different way most visitors reach the top of Half Dome: the famous cable route.
Free climbing, free soloing and the Half Dome cables
Three terms often get mixed up:
- Free climbing means moving up the rock using only hands, feet and natural holds. A rope and protection are still used to catch a fall.
- Free soloing means free climbing with no rope or protection at all. A fall from high on the wall is fatal.
- The Half Dome cables are a pair of metal cables that help hikers up the last 400 feet of the trail to the summit. No climbing gear or technical skill is needed, but the hike is long and steep.
Alex Honnold’s Yosemite free solos
Honnold was born in Sacramento, California, on 17 August 1985. His Yosemite record includes some of the boldest climbs in the sport:
- 2008: Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome (5.12a), the first free solo of the route, in 2 hours 50 minutes. The climb was featured in the film Alone on the Wall and later on 60 Minutes.
- 2011: The Phoenix (5.13a), a historic Yosemite crack climb, free soloed.
- 2012: the Yosemite Triple Crown, a solo link-up of Mount Watkins, El Capitan and Half Dome in 18 hours 50 minutes.
- 3 June 2017: Freerider on El Capitan (5.13a, about 3,000 feet and 37 pitches), free soloed in 3 hours 56 minutes.
The El Capitan climb became Free Solo, the 2018 documentary by Jimmy Chin and E. Chai Vasarhelyi that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Since 2012 Honnold has also given part of his income to solar energy projects through the Honnold Foundation.
Jimmy Chin’s climbing photography
Chin, co-director of Free Solo, frames the climber as a small figure against vast walls of granite with the valley floor far below. The pictures convey both the exposure and the calm concentration that climbing at this level demands, and they give a sense of scale that no view from the trail can match.
How to hike Half Dome: distance, permits and season
Half Dome rises nearly 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley to about 8,800 feet above sea level. According to the National Park Service:
- Distance and time: 14 to 16 miles round trip with about 4,800 feet of elevation gain; most hikers need 10 to 12 hours.
- Start: most hikers begin at Happy Isles (shuttle stop 16), a short walk from Curry Village.
- Season: the cables usually go up the Friday before Memorial Day and come down after the second Monday in October, depending on conditions.
- Permits: required whenever the cables are up. Most day-hike permits are awarded in a preseason lottery in March, and a small number are released two days ahead.
Start early and set a turnaround time. Stay off the cables when the rock is wet or storm clouds are near; wet rock and cables are the leading cause of fatal falls, and afternoon thunderstorms are common. The summit is usually 15 to 20 °F cooler than the valley, so carry a warm layer.
The best views of Half Dome without the hike
You do not need a permit to enjoy Half Dome. Seen from a distance, its sheer northwest face and rounded back stand above the valley, and warm evening light and low cloud make it a superb photographic subject. For a documented Yosemite climbing milestone, read about the Dawn Wall’s first free ascent. For another route through the park’s high country, explore Tioga Road.
Related reading
- Yosemite HD II: The Backpacking and Camera Work Behind the Time-Lapse
- Shawn Reeder’s Yosemite Range of Light
- Caldwell and Jorgeson on the Dawn Wall: What Free Climbing Means
Sources
- National Park Service: Half Dome
- Wikipedia: Alex Honnold
- Photographs: Jimmy Chin (climbing images as credited).
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