Can you do this?
Half Dome via the Cables — what it takes
The last 400 vertical feet go up bare granite at roughly 45 degrees, hauling on two cables with wood foot-rungs, exposed the whole way. It suits very fit hikers with no fear of heights who can manage a 14-to-16-hour day and that cable ascent. If heights undo you, the cables are not the place to find out — sure footing and steady nerves matter as much as the legs.
- Distance 16 mi
- Time 1 very long day, or overnight
- Permit Cables permit (lottery)
- Season Late May – mid-Oct (cables up)
A permit is required to ascend the cables, awarded by a preseason and a daily lottery through recreation.gov — about 300 hikers a day, no permit no cables. The cables are only up seasonally, roughly late May to mid-October. And wet granite plus afternoon thunderstorms make the cables deadly — people have died caught up there in a storm — so timing the climb before midday weather matters as much as the permit.
The route, in order
How the route runs
Each stop below is a real place on the park's map — walked in sequence, with how long you spend at each.
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The waterfall climb
Start up the Mist Trail past Vernal and Nevada Falls — steep granite steps, soaked in spray in spring. This is the first big effort; from the top of Nevada Fall the trail eases into Little Yosemite Valley.
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The long approach
Through Little Yosemite Valley and up the switchbacks to the sub-dome — miles of climbing through forest and then bare granite to the base of the cables. Camping in Little Yosemite Valley splits this into an overnight and shortens the cable-day push.
- Half Dome 1 hr up
The cables and summit
The final 400 feet up the granite on two steel cables — gloves, steady hands, and patience in the line. The summit is a flat acre of granite over a 5,000-foot drop to the valley. Then back down the cables and the whole long way out.
Before you can go
Permit & logistics
A permit is required to climb the cables, via a preseason and daily lottery on recreation.gov (about 300/day). [VERIFY: current lottery windows, the daily quota, the cables up/down dates, and fees against NPS Yosemite before publishing.]
Plan B
If conditions turn
A multi-day route has more ways to go wrong than a dayhike. Here is what forecloses it — and your move when it does.
- Storm or wet granite
Wet cables and lightning on the exposed dome are lethal; people have died caught on the cables in an afternoon storm.
Instead: Start before dawn to be up and down before midday weather, and do not get on the cables if rain is anywhere in the forecast — turn around at the sub-dome.
- No cables permit
The cables are permit-only and the lottery is heavily oversubscribed.
Instead: Try the daily lottery two days out, or hike to the sub-dome and the Nevada Fall and Clouds Rest country (no permit) for the same scale of effort and view.
Make it happen
Reserve your spot
The route is decided. The only thing between you and the trail is the permit — settle it now, while it's fresh.
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