Editing Half Dome (section)

==Ascents==
[[File:Rainbow at Half Dome.jpg|thumb|left|A [[rainbow]] over Half Dome]]
As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was described as "perfectly inaccessible" by [[Josiah Whitney]] of the [[California Geological Survey]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Climbing in North America |publisher=American Alpine Club / University of California Press |year=1976 |location=Berkeley, California |page=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/26 26] |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/26 }}</ref> The summit was reached by [[George Anderson (mountaineer)|George Anderson]] in October 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eye bolts into the smooth rock.<ref name="Jones 27">{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Climbing in North America |date=January 1976 |page=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/27 27] |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/27 }}</ref>  Anderson had previously tried a variety of methods, including using pitch from nearby pine trees for extra friction.<ref name=heart_sierra>{{cite book |last=Hutchings |first=James Mason |authorlink=James Mason Hutchings |title=In the heart of the Sierras |url=https://archive.org/details/inheartofsierras00hutc_0/ |accessdate=September 25, 2022 |year=1888 |publisher= |location= |isbn= |pages=458–459 }}</ref>

Anderson subsequently went on to add ropes to his eye bolts, so that other people could climb. Among those who took advantage was the first woman to climb Half Dome in 1876, S. L. Dutcher, of San Francisco. In 1877 [[James Mason Hutchings]] along with Anderson led a climb which included Hutchings' daughter Cosie, his son Willie, his mother-in-law Florence Sproat, aged 65, and two other women.<ref name=heart_sierra /><ref>{{cite book |last=Huntley |first=Jen A |authorlink= |title=The Making of Yosemite: James Mason Hutchings and the Origin of America's Most Popular National Park |url= |accessdate= |year=2011 |publisher= University Press of Kansas|location= |isbn=978-0-7006-1805-7 |page=160 }}</ref>

Today, Half Dome may be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of [[hiking|hiker]]s reach the top each year by following an {{convert|8.5|mi|km|1|abbr=on}} trail from the valley floor. After a rigorous {{convert|2|mi|km|1|abbr=on}} approach, including several hundred feet of rock stairs, the final pitch up the peak's steep but somewhat rounded east face is ascended with the aid of a pair of post-mounted steel cables originally constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919.

Alternatively, over a dozen [[rock climbing]] [[climbing route|route]]s lead from the valley up Half Dome's vertical northwest face. The first technical ascent was in 1957 via a route pioneered by [[Royal Robbins]], Mike Sherrick, and Jerry Gallwas, today known as the [[Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome|Regular Northwest Face]]. Their five-day epic was the first [[grade (climbing)|Grade VI]] climb in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Climbing in North America |date=January 1976 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/207 207–211] |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-02976-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/climbinginnortha0000jone/page/207 }}</ref> Their route has now been [[free climb]]ed several times in a few hours' time. Other technical routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder.