Half Dome Journey to the top of Yosemite

Get ready to see where we met this cute little guy!

At The TOP!!

6:00 am ready to climb!
First stop bottom of Vernal Falls

On the way!

Lovely Views as we go up!

Getting there!

See the cables? Not many people on them!

Gloves on, let's get up there! EEEK!!

OH MY GAWD!!!!

Made it!! SO, you can't vid your self as you are hauling your body hand over hand up a vertical rock face at 8400 feet after an 8 hour up-a-rocky-mountian hike, pausing the rock face only to let people pass on their way down, or just pausing so you can make sure your biceps and lungs have not burst out of your body....what I mean is, you don't get to see that climing part.

You'll just have to take our word for it, it is really really really hard. In fact, I got ill about 100 ft from the top (it is a 400 ft face) and thought I'd have to turn around. It was a combination of the huge effort it took for my arms and upper body to pull me up, because on the slick smooth surface there are no footholds, and that I had to work in short bursts of high energy from pole to pole, becuase the only "resting" places were the poles. (one of which popped out on the way down!) Did I mention I was REALLY SCARED?!

Chris at the top!

This dude hauled his mandolin up!

Yes, he did play Rocky Top!

YIPPEE!

Ah!

Of, course you do have to go down, see how it drops to vertical just beyond

the climber in the pink!?? Going down was actually easy, not that

you weren't still hanging on FOR YOUR LIFE. But it was easier!

This is the base of Sub Half Dome, where the climbing is all rock

Sub Half Dome is part "stairs" and part sheer rock face

Never Fear, Moutain Man is here!

And we still have 8+ hours to hike back down!

And then the next day...we took it easy!

more highlights to come!