Half Dome

Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley - possibly Yosemite's most familiar sight. The granite crest rises more than 4,737 ft (1,444 m) above the valley floor.

As late as the 1870s, Half Dome was declared "perfectly inaccessible". The summit was finally conquored by George Anderson in October, 1875, via a route constructed by drilling and placing iron eyebolts into the smooth granite.

Today, Half Dome may now be ascended in several different ways. Thousands of hikers reach the top each year by following an 8.5 mi (13.7 km) trail from the valley floor. After a gradual 2 mi (3.2 km) approach, the final pitch up the peak's steep but somewhat rounded east face is ascended with the aid of a pair of post-mounted braided steel cables originally constructed close to the Anderson route in 1919.

Alternatively, over a dozen rock climbing routes 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. Their 5-day epic was the first Grade VI climb in the United States. Other technical routes ascend the south face and the west shoulder.

Source: Wikipedia