The Half Dome Dilemma: Balancing Adventure and Safety on Yosemite’s Iconic Climb

Grace Rohloff had always been an adventurer. The 20-year-old Arizona State University student had conquered some of the West’s most challenging trails, from the narrow ridges of Angels Landing in Zion to the vast depths of the Grand Canyon.

But her footing failed her on July 13, 2024 as she descended the cables on Yosemite’s iconic Half Dome after a sudden rainstorm. The slick granite betrayed her hiking boots, and despite her father’s outstretched hand, she slipped and fell 200 feet to her death.

Graces’s tragic fall has reignited a longstanding debate over the safety of the cables that have allowed thousands of hikers to climbed Half Dome over the past century.

For some, the cables represent a thrilling challenge, an accessible yet daunting route to one of California’s most celebrated vistas. For others, they are a relic of a bygone era, a dangerous anachronism that needs significant safety upgrades—or perhaps should be removed altogether.

A Century of Cables

The steel cables that guide hikers up the final, nearly vertical 400-foot ascent to the summit of Half Dome have been a fixture in Yosemite National Park for over a century.

George Anderson first reached the summit in 1875, using the predecessor to the current cable system. The Sierra Club in 1919 installed the first cable set up similar to what is used today, turning what was once deemed an “impossible” climb into a bucket-list achievement for thousands of outdoor enthusiasts each year.

The cable system has been upgraded over the years but is still relatively simple: cable strung along a series of poles, with wooden cross-boards on the ground between the poles.

Since their installation, the cables have seen over a million climbers, but also tragedy. At least 10 people, including Grace Rohloff, have lost their lives on the cables, most during or after rainstorms when the smooth granite becomes dangerously slippery.

Six of those deaths have occurred since 2006. The park service notes that relatively few people have fallen and died on the cables, yet the inherent risks of the ascent and tragic accidents have led others to call for increased safety measures.

The debate over the cables touches on a fundamental question: Is the ascent of Half Dome more of a hike, or is it still a climb, even with the cables in place? For many, the cables blur the line, offering just enough assistance to make the summit achievable for the average hiker, while still demanding the strength, nerve, and caution of a mountaineer.

“This isn’t a walk in the park,” Ruthie Smith, a 25-year-old from Cincinnati who recently completed the climb, told the Los Angeles Times. “My grip was the only thing holding me on. It would have been so easy to slip.”

Critics argue that the cables provide a false sense of security, encouraging hikers who might not be adequately prepared for such a steep and exposed route. The very presence of the cables, they say, lures people into thinking the climb is safer than it is, leading to tragic consequences when conditions deteriorate.

Weather is a constant wild card on Half Dome. While the climb can be challenging even in ideal conditions, rain transforms the granite into a treacherous surface that has claimed several lives. In a video on the Yosemite National Park website, park videographer Steve Bumgardner recounts having to decent the route during a thunderstorm. “Once water falls on that route where the cables are, it becomes incredibly slick,” he says.

Rohloff’s death occurred after a sudden storm swept over the mountain, turning the final descent into a perilous ordeal. She and her father carefully planned their climb to reduce the risk of rain, but a storm rolled in quickly soon after they reached the summit.

Coming down the cables is even more difficult than going up. As the Rolhoff and her father descended, they became caught in a heavy rainstorm with other people trying to descend the route. Despite wearing hiking boots designed for grip, Rohloff’s feet slipped out from under her, leading to the fatal fall.

Calls for Change

Grace’s father, Jonathan Rohloff, is advocating for changes to the Half Dome cables, arguing that simple modifications could prevent future tragedies. His suggestions include doubling the number of wooden slats that serve as footholds and possibly reconfiguring the cable system to resemble a suspension bridge with continuous support for climbers.

“My daughter’s life is worth more than a couple hundred or couple thousand to put into the cable system to make it safer,” Rohloff said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.

Others agree that more footholds would make the ascent safer. “There were moments where my grip was the only thing holding me on,” Hudson Sauder, a 19-year-old from Livermore who recently climbed the cables, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Doubling the number of wooden slats would be a great idea.”

Another option is a via ferrata system, such as those used in Europe, where climbers wear a harness and clip into the fixed cables. Such systems are designed so that the cables catch someone in the case of a fall.

Yet, not everyone is on board with modifying the cables. Some argue that any further safety measures could make the climb too accessible, encouraging more people who might not be prepared for the physical and mental demands of the ascent.

The argument is that making the climb easier might inadvertently increase the risk by attracting less experienced hikers who don’t fully grasp the challenge. They also argue that risk is part of the equation.

“You can never make the mountains completely safe,” famed Yosemite free solo climber Alex Honnold, told Outside Magazine.

Others worry about the environmental impact of further modifying the cables, though many climbers agree that adding a few more wooden rungs wouldn’t significantly alter the landscape.

A Difficult Balance

One measure the National Park Service took to overcrowding on the Half Dome Trail was to implement a permit system that limited the number of hikers each day.

A 2019 study published in the scientific journal, Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, found the while the permitting system had indeed reduced the number of hikers it hadn’t reduced the number of injuries and deaths or the cost for search and rescue operations.

The authors posited that because the permits are difficult to get that hikers might take unnecessary risks to climbed the cables. “The exclusivity of a Half Dome cables permit (20% success rate) may reframe its significance to the possessor as a license to proceed, regardless of circumstances that may have a greater influence on visitor safety than adverse weather or crowding,” they wrote.

The debate over the Half Dome cables is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Yosemite National Park officials have so far declined to comment on whether any changes are being considered. Meanwhile, the outdoors community remains divided over how to balance the thrill of adventure with the need for safety.

For now, the cables remain as they have been for over a century—both a lifeline and a potential hazard, offering thousands of climbers each year a shot at one of the most breathtaking views in the world.