
Half Dome Cable Route, California
George Anderson was either brave or totally nuts when he decided to drill his way up Half Dome in 1875. By hand.
Armed with basic tools and serious guts, he created the path that millions now follow to reach Yosemite’s most famous summit.
Here’s how a Scottish carpenter turned an impossible climb into a bucket list hike.

Yosemite’s Most Thrilling Hike
Half Dome is so brutally difficult and in-demand that Yosemite calls it “maybe the most strenuous day hike in any park,” yet over 70,000 people still apply for just 300 daily spots.
The hike is a 16-17 mile round-trip monster with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain that takes 10-12 hours to complete.
The final 400 feet require pulling yourself up steel cables on a 45-degree granite face with sheer drops on both sides.

A Geologist’s Failed Prediction
Josiah Whitney made a bold claim in 1865 while standing at Half Dome’s base. This mountain, he declared, would “never be trodden by human foot.”
Whitney wasn’t just any visitor. He led California’s first geological survey and had the highest Sierra peak named after him.
His report became accepted truth for ten years. The smooth granite offered no natural path to the top.
Then a Scottish sailor decided to prove him wrong.

How Anderson Made the First Climb
George Anderson saw a possible route where others had failed. When his boots slipped on the polished rock, he tried barefoot, then coated his feet with sticky pine pitch.
His breakthrough came with a hand drill and iron bolts. Anderson drilled holes into the granite and inserted eyebolts, standing on each one while drilling the next hole higher.
On October 12, 1875, he reached the summit and waved an American flag.

A Simple Rope System
After his climb, Anderson built a permanent route for others. He knotted six rope strands together with knots every foot for handholds.
He fastened this rope to eyebolts drilled into the granite. Within weeks, Sally Dutcher became the first woman on top. Yosemite’s guardian Galen Clark joined them.
Anderson turned his achievement into a business, guiding tourists up his rope route. For nine years, his system was the only way up for non-climbers.

Years Without a Route
Winter storms in 1884 destroyed Anderson’s ropes. Heavy snow and ice tore them from the mountain face.
Without the ropes, only skilled climbers could reach the top. Visitor numbers to Half Dome plummeted.
A few adventurers installed new ropes and bolts, but these served only the most daring. By 1919, tourism was booming in the new national park, but thousands had no way to reach the summit they could clearly see.

A Club Takes Action
The Sierra Club saw Half Dome as the perfect project. Founded by John Muir in 1892, they believed people needed to experience wilderness to want to protect it.
In 1919, they funded a permanent cable system following Anderson’s route, still the only practical path for regular hikers at the time.

Building the Cable Route
Workers installed the cables in summer 1919, drilling holes and bolting two steel cables along Anderson’s original line.
Their design was brilliantly simple. Metal poles in the rock held the cables waist-high, creating handrails up the final 400 feet.
Wooden boards between the poles made platforms where hikers could rest on the smooth granite.
The cables turned an impossible climb into a challenging but doable hike for regular visitors.

How the Cables Work
The system looks simple but works perfectly. Two steel cables run parallel up the dome, secured by bolts drilled into the granite.
Metal poles hold the cables about three feet high. Hikers grab the cables with both hands while walking upright.
Wooden boards between poles create stepping platforms and rest spots on the curved surface.
Between boards, hikers take one or two steps on bare granite, using the cables for balance.

Depression-Era Upgrades
Fifteen years after installation, the cables needed improvements. The Civilian Conservation Corps took on the job in 1934 during the Great Depression.
Workers replaced the thin original cables with 1-inch galvanized iron ones. They installed thirty-nine sturdier pipe posts for the increasing traffic.
The work was brutal. Daily storms brought rain, hail, and high winds to the exposed mountainside. By summer’s end, they’d built a much safer route.

A Mountain for Everyone
The 1919 cables opened Half Dome to ordinary hikers. What once required climbing skills became a challenging day hike.
By the early 2000s, up to 1,000 people climbed the cables daily each summer. Over a million visitors have now stood on the summit.
For many, reaching the top became a life milestone – an achievement captured in countless summit photos.
In 2010, overcrowding led to a permit system limiting access to 300 hikers daily.

A Century of History
The Half Dome Cable Route joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, recognized for both its engineering and cultural importance.
The cables have proven remarkably safe. Only 10 fatal accidents have occurred on them since 1919, despite millions of ascents.
In 2019, Yosemite celebrated the cables’ centennial, honoring Anderson’s pioneering spirit and the Sierra Club’s vision that made the summit accessible to generations.

Hiking Half Dome Today
Half Dome is in Yosemite National Park, California. You need permits ($10 to apply plus $10 per person if you win). Enter the lottery in March or apply two days before your hike at Recreation.gov.
The 17-mile hike from Happy Isles starts near Curry Village and takes 10-16 hours with 4,800 feet of climbing.
Cables are up May 24-October 15, 2025.
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