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Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:45 pm
by gary c.
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:52 pm
by rlown
For the official Yose park dogma, check out their page from the Yose newsletter sent out yesterday at:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hdpermits.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:10 pm
by balzaccom
I may be in the minority here, but I think this is a good idea. I no longer recommend this hike to people on busy days, because the crowds are so huge...
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:31 pm
by markskor
I too agree with quotas for HD, on weekends and perhaps all summer holidays too.
Now if the YNP "Planners" would really think about it, they would also install some sort of toilet facilities above Quarter Dome - where the crowds amass/wait ...(much like the other 2-story crapper at LYV).
Maybe a $5 pp charge for this specific HD permit would cover the maintenance...Much needed.
I would not like to have the Ranger's chore of checking permits though...what a potential mess.
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:52 pm
by copeg
Seems like a good idea to me as well. May seem like imposing just another restriction, but the mess of hikers one hears about year after year seems it needed to be dealt with, and a permit seems like the most viable option.
Thanks for posting the links and info Gary and Russ
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:32 pm
by gary c.
I so agree with Mark on the need for some sort of toilet facility near HD. When we were there last summer it was disgusting. There didn't seem to be a single bush, tree, or rock that didn't have a half dozen piles of TP or worse behind them. It seemed that 90% of the hikers on the HD trail were day hikers and many didn't even have TP let alone a trowel or even a remote desire to bury anything. It wasn't so bad for us guys but there were 2 women in our group and they were pretty offended.
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:16 pm
by ndwoods
I agree with the permits.
Do have to say tho, about 10 years ago I climbed it on 4th of July and was the only one on top!!!! I got to the top about 8 in the morning and had it all to myself (and husband) for about 2 hrs. When the first other people showed...we left!:)
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:33 am
by BSquared
A thousand words:
Ants on Half Dome.jpg
Re: Permits required for Half Dome 2010
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 9:59 am
by JWreno
We have always done Half Dome as part of a several day trip. It is great to camp
a couple of miles from Half Dome and then just go up at sunset. There are few
people on the cables since most of the day hikers have headed back down.
When I was near the end of my JMT trip in 2008 I was moving fast up the trail
towards Half Dome and noticed everyone stopped and waiting about 25 feet below
the first step. Someone pointed out a 6 foot rattler enjoying the sunshine right
below the first step. It was doing a very good job of crowd control.
RattlerHalfDome.jpg
Jeff
Safety concerns lead to new permit system for Half Dome
Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:03 pm
by ERIC
Safety concerns lead to new Yosemite permit system for Half Dome cable access
The park will limit access on high-traffic days, requiring reservations at least a week in advance, for a fee of $1.50.
Four fatalities have occurred in the last four years among hikers using the cables atop Yosemite's Half Dome peak. (Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)
By Christopher Reynolds
LA Times
February 28, 2010
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 1748.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alarmed by crowded conditions and four fatalities in four years at hikers' cables near the top of Yosemite's iconic Half Dome, park officials are implementing steps to cut foot traffic in half on peak vacation days.
They are imposing a temporary permit system that limits summer weekend and holiday foot traffic to 400 people a day at the top of the trail. Instead of simply heading up the mountain, hikers will need to reserve a permit at least a week in advance by Internet or phone and pay a processing fee of $1.50.
That will guarantee access to the 400-foot cables that help most visitors climb to the top from late May through mid-October. The change doesn't [
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