North America / Sierra Nevada
Half Dome
United States · 2,693 m
Photo credits and licence
Jon Sullivan · Public domain · Yosemite 20 bg 090404. Preview cropped from the top.Source credit: [1]
Any adaptation of a ShareAlike image remains under its linked licence.
Source-linked route information · coverage incomplete
Continue with a planning or regional guide: North American ranges mountain guide
About Half Dome
Half Dome's cable ascent combines a long valley outing with an exposed summit section. Permit and weather checks are part of the plan.
NPS · Half Dome day hike and cables
Geographic source notes
Wikidata description: granite dome in Yosemite National Park, California. Imported context (CC0); retrieved 2026-10-05, not independently reviewed.
This overview is assembled from the geographic records cited below; it has not been independently field-verified.
Mountain facts
- Elevation
- 2693 metres above sea level
- Country / territory
- United States
- Mountain range
- Sierra Nevada
- Range assignment
- Source-linked Wikidata statement · 2026-10-05
- Summit coordinates
- 37.746, -119.533166666 · View summit on OpenStreetMap
Routes and variants
1 source-linked entries · research checked 2026-10-06. The inventory remains incomplete.
Documented information and open research
Starting point: 1 of 1 · Difficulty with grading system: 0 of 1 · Elevation gain: 1 of 1 · Duration: 1 of 1 · Season: 0 of 1
0 historical entries. These counts describe published entries, not all possible routes. Current access is not established.
See route research coverage and priorities →Compare 1 routes
Grades retain their published rating system; different systems and historical grades are not equivalent. Elevation gain means climbing metres, not summit altitude. Missing figures are not estimated.
Scroll sideways to compare all columns. Select a route name for its details.
| Route | Activity / direction | Difficulty / system | Starting point | Elevation gain | Duration | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Isles to Half Dome via cables | ScramblingAscent | Not documented | Happy Isles | 4,800 ftPublished ascent gain from the valley; not summit elevation. | 10–12 hTypical complete 14–16-mile return outing; some take longer. | Source 1 ↗ |
Choose an activity to see its entries. Ascent, descent, approaches and historical climbing lines are labelled separately.
Scrambling (1)
Happy Isles to Half Dome via cablesScrambling · Ascent
- Activity
- Scrambling
- Direction / role
- Ascent
- Starting point
- Happy Isles
- Difficulty
- Not established from the checked source
- Elevation gain
- 4,800 ft · Published ascent gain from the valley; not summit elevation.
- Duration
- 10–12 h · Typical complete 14–16-mile return outing; some take longer.
- Season
- Not established from the checked source
- Current access
- Not checked for current use
NPS · Half Dome day hike and cables · source checked 2026-10-06
The source establishes a route listing. Detailed navigation, current protection and conditions require the original reference.
Route questions, answered
Specific planning questions, with the scope of each source kept visible.
How long is the Half Dome outing from the valley?
NPS gives 14–16 miles return and typically 10–12 hours, sometimes longer. That covers the complete outing, not just the cables.
Can I use the usual cable itinerary when the cables are down?
NPS advises against ascent when the cables are down, on wet rock, or with nearby storm clouds. Check actual cable status.
Does a camping reservation replace the Half Dome permit?
No. Backpackers request Half Dome permission with a wilderness permit. Day hikers use the separate Half Dome permit process.
Climbing Chronicle Redaktion · Sources checked · Source research; current route conditions are not confirmed.
Planning at a glance
Access and starting point
Happy Isles is the usual start. A Half Dome permit is required when the cables are up.
Difficulty and required experience
The cables are exposed; NPS advises against ascent on wet rock or with nearby storm clouds. A numeric grade remains open.
Season and restrictions
Cable installation and removal depend on conditions. Check actual status rather than treating the usual calendar as an opening guarantee.
Sources for current information
- NPS · Half Dome day hike and cables
Return itinerary, cable restrictions and permit requirement; not a live cable-status report.
This page stores reference sources, not live conditions. Check the provider’s publication date and route coverage before use.
Research still needed
For Half Dome, this atlas does not yet document first-ascent history. Missing first-ascent evidence does not mean a mountain is unclimbed.
Use the linked sources as starting points; summit coordinates do not describe a climbing route or public access.
Sources and coverage
Imported geographic data from Wikidata (CC0); not independently field-verified. Data snapshot: 30 September 2026. Elevations and boundaries can differ between sources. Mountain-range membership follows explicit Wikidata relationships or a coordinate match against published GMBA v2 standard polygons. GMBA: Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (2021), CC BY 4.0; methodology: Snethlage et al. (2022). Missing evidence remains open.
Explore the surrounding regions
Sierra Nevada · North American Cordillera · American Cordillera · Pacific Coast Ranges · Mountains in United States
Editorial responsibility
Responsible publisher and editorial author: Climbing Chronicle Redaktion. AI-assisted source research; no on-site inspection or professional route approval is claimed.
- Route listing source check
- 2026-10-06 · partial inventory; current access remains open
- Planning source check
- 2026-10-06 · only the individually cited planning additions
- Earlier profile review
- Open · no complete editorial review recorded
- Imported context retrieved
- 2026-10-05 · automated retrieval, not an editorial review
How sources, authorship and review dates work
Further reading about Half Dome
Links discovered through the Wikidata record. These articles have not been checked as evidence for route, difficulty or access claims.
Mountains nearby
Recorded mountains, ordered by straight-line distance. This does not describe a route or accessible connection.
1–20 of 24 recorded mountains within 25 km
- Clouds Rest · 4.6 km
- Quartzite Peak · 10.1 km
- Tresidder Peak · 13.5 km
- Red Peak · 15.0 km
- Tuolumne Peak · 15.0 km
- Cathedral Peak · 16.0 km
- Cockscomb · 16.4 km
- Ottoway Peak · 16.9 km
- Merced Peak · 17.3 km
- Rafferty Peak · 17.4 km
- Johnson Peak · 19.0 km
- Mount Florence · 19.1 km
- Simmons Peak · 21.1 km
- Isberg Peak · 21.3 km
- Amelia Earhart Peak · 22.0 km
- Mount Maclure · 22.1 km
- Post Peak · 22.3 km
- Long Mountain · 22.8 km
- Mount Lyell · 23.0 km
- Potter Point · 23.4 km