WawonaNews.com - September 2024
Wawona Hotel Closing
Beginning December 2, 2024, the historic Wawona Hotel within Yosemite National Park will close to allow the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a comprehensive condition assessment on the hotel complex. The NPS recently undertook a roof replacement project on the main hotel building which revealed the need for more intensive investigation and assessment of the hotel.
Thank you!
--
Joe Meyer, Chief of Staff, Yosemite National Park
Beginning December 2, 2024, the historic Wawona Hotel within Yosemite National Park will close to allow the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a comprehensive condition assessment on the hotel complex. The NPS recently undertook a roof replacement project on the main hotel building which revealed the need for more intensive investigation and assessment of the hotel.
Thank you!
--
Joe Meyer, Chief of Staff, Yosemite National Park
YOSEMITE-WAWONA ELEMENTARY CHARTER SCHOOL
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of August 13.
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
ACTION ITEMS
INFORMATION ITEMS
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
- CALL TO ORDER
- ROLL CALL
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
- CONSENT AGENDA
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of August 13.
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
- HEARING OF PERSONS WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD
ACTION ITEMS
- APPROVE UNAUDITED ACTUALS REPORT FOR 2023-24
- APPROVE THE HIRING OF KATHLEEN MURPHY AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR TO ASSIST WITH ELPAC ASSESSMENT AND SCORING DUTIES
- APPROVE THE EXPANDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES PLAN (ELOP) FOR 2024-25
INFORMATION ITEMS
- STAFF REPORTS
- BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS PROJECTS UPDATE
- DISCUSSION OF FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
- BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
- FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
- NEXT BOARD MEETING
- ADJOURNMENT
Yosemite chaos: Suspect terrorizes park, steals car after bizarre incidents
by Stephen Hawkins
Fri, August 23rd 2024
OAKHURST, Calif (FOX26) — 40-year-old Anthony Mehlhaff was arrested following a chase and several bizarre incidents in Yosemite National Park on Wednesday.
It began around 1:45 p.m. in the Buck Meadows area of Mariposa County on Highway 120.
Investigators say Mehlhaff walked up to a pregnant waitress at a restaurant, touched her stomach, and reportedly said, "The spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me, and what time is your break because I will be waiting for you?"
They say he then stole several drinks, assaulted another employee of the restaurant, and took off in his vehicle.
by Stephen Hawkins
Fri, August 23rd 2024
OAKHURST, Calif (FOX26) — 40-year-old Anthony Mehlhaff was arrested following a chase and several bizarre incidents in Yosemite National Park on Wednesday.
It began around 1:45 p.m. in the Buck Meadows area of Mariposa County on Highway 120.
Investigators say Mehlhaff walked up to a pregnant waitress at a restaurant, touched her stomach, and reportedly said, "The spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me, and what time is your break because I will be waiting for you?"
They say he then stole several drinks, assaulted another employee of the restaurant, and took off in his vehicle.
Yosemite National Park rangers located the suspect's vehicle and tried to pull it over on Hwy 41 inside Yosemite National Park but he continued to the Fish Camp area where he crashed.
He abandoned the car and stole a bicycle.
Investigators say he reportedly took off his shirt and handed it to a bystander, telling them, “You'll want to keep this, I'm going to be famous".
Mehlhaff then entered the Tenaya Lodge kitchen through a back door, placed his hat and other items inside a refrigerator, and grabbed a knife from the kitchen. and threatened the workers.
Multiple 911 calls came in at 3 p.m. reporting a possible car chase, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances in the Fish Camp area.
He abandoned the car and stole a bicycle.
Investigators say he reportedly took off his shirt and handed it to a bystander, telling them, “You'll want to keep this, I'm going to be famous".
Mehlhaff then entered the Tenaya Lodge kitchen through a back door, placed his hat and other items inside a refrigerator, and grabbed a knife from the kitchen. and threatened the workers.
Multiple 911 calls came in at 3 p.m. reporting a possible car chase, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances in the Fish Camp area.
Wearing only his underwear, he entered the Clubhouse and told the customers to leave or they would be in danger.
He started vandalizing the Clubhouse and then took the store manager's car keys and reportedly tried to kidnap him.
Investigators say he assaulted the manager and told him to drive him out of the area but the manager was able to get away.
Mehlhaff stole the manager’s vehicle and continued driving on Hwy 41 towards Oakhurst.
While driving, he began exhibiting extreme road rage behavior, tailgating a Tesla while making aggressive hand gestures, and even started ramming the Tesla.
Mariposa County sheriff’s deputies spotted the vehicles and tried to stop Mehlhaff.
Mehlhaff continued to drive and eventually crashed just outside of Oakhurst where he was taken into custody.
He was taken to a local hospital to be medically cleared and began assaulting deputies.
He was finally booked into the Mariposa County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.
While searching Mehlhaff’s abandoned vehicle, an Enola Gay smoke grenade was located inside the door panel. The Merced Bomb Squad was called in to handle the device.
He started vandalizing the Clubhouse and then took the store manager's car keys and reportedly tried to kidnap him.
Investigators say he assaulted the manager and told him to drive him out of the area but the manager was able to get away.
Mehlhaff stole the manager’s vehicle and continued driving on Hwy 41 towards Oakhurst.
While driving, he began exhibiting extreme road rage behavior, tailgating a Tesla while making aggressive hand gestures, and even started ramming the Tesla.
Mariposa County sheriff’s deputies spotted the vehicles and tried to stop Mehlhaff.
Mehlhaff continued to drive and eventually crashed just outside of Oakhurst where he was taken into custody.
He was taken to a local hospital to be medically cleared and began assaulting deputies.
He was finally booked into the Mariposa County Jail and is being held on $100,000 bail.
While searching Mehlhaff’s abandoned vehicle, an Enola Gay smoke grenade was located inside the door panel. The Merced Bomb Squad was called in to handle the device.
Annual WAPPOA Picnic
We Hope You Can Join Us!!
Saturday , Sept 28, approx. 11:30am – 12:00pm
Wawona Community Center (next to school)
Catered by Willow Creek Catering (North Fork) and featuring:
BBQ Chicken
Ranch Beans
Corn on the Cob
Cole Slaw
Dinner Rolls with whipped herb butter
WAPPOA Board members will bring water and cookies
All WAPPOA members and family and friends are welcome!!
We Hope You Can Join Us!!
Saturday , Sept 28, approx. 11:30am – 12:00pm
Wawona Community Center (next to school)
Catered by Willow Creek Catering (North Fork) and featuring:
BBQ Chicken
Ranch Beans
Corn on the Cob
Cole Slaw
Dinner Rolls with whipped herb butter
WAPPOA Board members will bring water and cookies
All WAPPOA members and family and friends are welcome!!
Help us Shape the Future of Visitor Access at Yosemite
From the Superintendent
Greetings Yosemite community,
Yosemite National Park is pleased to share that the Visitor Access Management Draft Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA) will be released today for public comment. The draft plan and EA and other information will be available this afternoon on the project website at parkplanning.nps.gov/YosemiteVisitorAccess. This plan was developed based on lessons learned from previous pilots, employee feedback, stakeholder input, and public comment periods.
A virtual public meeting will be held on August 22 at 4 p.m. PDT and additional public meetings will be held in gateway communities the week of September 9. NPS staff will be on-hand to answer questions and share information. Meeting info will be posted at National Park Service - PEPC - Meeting Notices (nps.gov).
You can learn more about the plan and its contents by viewing a story map and downloading a copy of the plan on the project website at parkplanning.nps.gov/YosemiteVisitorAccess. Public comments will be accepted via the project website at the “Open for Comment” link. The comment period will be open through September 30, 2024.
Your input is essential for developing solutions that address some of the highest priority issues facing the park, its visitors, and communities.
Thank you,
Yosemite NP Visitor Access Planning Team
From the Superintendent
Greetings Yosemite community,
Yosemite National Park is pleased to share that the Visitor Access Management Draft Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA) will be released today for public comment. The draft plan and EA and other information will be available this afternoon on the project website at parkplanning.nps.gov/YosemiteVisitorAccess. This plan was developed based on lessons learned from previous pilots, employee feedback, stakeholder input, and public comment periods.
A virtual public meeting will be held on August 22 at 4 p.m. PDT and additional public meetings will be held in gateway communities the week of September 9. NPS staff will be on-hand to answer questions and share information. Meeting info will be posted at National Park Service - PEPC - Meeting Notices (nps.gov).
You can learn more about the plan and its contents by viewing a story map and downloading a copy of the plan on the project website at parkplanning.nps.gov/YosemiteVisitorAccess. Public comments will be accepted via the project website at the “Open for Comment” link. The comment period will be open through September 30, 2024.
Your input is essential for developing solutions that address some of the highest priority issues facing the park, its visitors, and communities.
Thank you,
Yosemite NP Visitor Access Planning Team
YOSEMITE-WAWONA ELEMENTARY CHARTER SCHOOL
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of June 25.
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
ACTION ITEMS
INFORMATION ITEMS
Unaudited Actuals Report for the 2023-24 year
Board of Directors Regular Meeting
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
5:30 P.M.
Wawona Elementary School
7925 Chilnualna Falls Road
Wawona, CA
- CALL TO ORDER
- ROLL CALL
MONTHLY ITEMS AND FINANCIAL REPORTS
- CONSENT AGENDA
3.1- Approval of Agenda
3.2– Approval of Minutes of the regular meeting of June 25.
3.3 - Approve Warrants/Payroll
3.4 – Accept Donations to YWECS
- HEARING OF PERSONS WISHING TO ADDRESS THE BOARD
ACTION ITEMS
- APPROVE EMPLOYEE CONTRACTS FOR 2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR
- APPROVE CONTRACT WITH JANELLE BRYSON FOR FINACIAL SUPPORT AND SERVICES FOR THE 2023-24 SCHOOL YEAR
- PUBLIC HEARING ON THE EXPANDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES PLAN (ELOP) FOR 2024-25
- APPROVE MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENTS FOR GLENN REID
INFORMATION ITEMS
- STAFF REPORTS
- BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS PROJECTS UPDATE
- BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS
- FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Unaudited Actuals Report for the 2023-24 year
- NEXT BOARD MEETING
- ADJOURNMENT
After a Young Woman Falls to Her Death in Yosemite, Half Dome’s Risks on Everyone’s Mind
By Jack Dolan LA Times Staff Writer
Aug. 8, 2024
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Clinging for life to a cold steel cable, high on a nearly vertical rock face in the Sierra Nevada, the soles of my hiking shoes simply could not find traction.
Again and again, as my forearms trembled and my fingers ached, my feet slipped on the mercilessly smooth granite.
A fall from that height — on the climbing cables that mark the final 400-foot ascent to the summit of Yosemite’s Half Dome — could easily be fatal. So I clenched my fists tighter and inched toward the top. The only relief came from irregularly spaced wooden slats drilled into the rock that provided desperately needed footholds.
I was right to be nervous. The wide stretches between some of those wooden slats, particularly on the steepest parts of the final ascent, are notoriously treacherous.
Last month, while descending the same stretch in a sudden rainstorm, 20-year-old Grace Rohloff slipped on the slick rock and she lost her grip on the cables. In a flash, she slid past her father’s outstretched hand, and he watched helplessly as she plummeted hundreds of feet to her death.
By Jack Dolan LA Times Staff Writer
Aug. 8, 2024
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Clinging for life to a cold steel cable, high on a nearly vertical rock face in the Sierra Nevada, the soles of my hiking shoes simply could not find traction.
Again and again, as my forearms trembled and my fingers ached, my feet slipped on the mercilessly smooth granite.
A fall from that height — on the climbing cables that mark the final 400-foot ascent to the summit of Yosemite’s Half Dome — could easily be fatal. So I clenched my fists tighter and inched toward the top. The only relief came from irregularly spaced wooden slats drilled into the rock that provided desperately needed footholds.
I was right to be nervous. The wide stretches between some of those wooden slats, particularly on the steepest parts of the final ascent, are notoriously treacherous.
Last month, while descending the same stretch in a sudden rainstorm, 20-year-old Grace Rohloff slipped on the slick rock and she lost her grip on the cables. In a flash, she slid past her father’s outstretched hand, and he watched helplessly as she plummeted hundreds of feet to her death.
Grace Rohloff, an experienced hiker, fell to her death while descending Half Dome during a sudden rainstorm. She lost her grip on the cable system that spans the final 400 feet to the summit. (Jonathan Rohloff)
She wasn’t the first: At least 10 others have suffered fatal falls from cables, usually when the rock is wet.
In a phone interview last week from his home in Phoenix, Jonathan Rohloff said he kept asking himself during their perilous descent: “Why is this wood so far apart?” He guessed it would cost a few thousand dollars to double the number of rungs. That’s a sum he figured could easily be collected from the 50,000 people who pay for $10 permits to climb Half Dome each year.
Which leaves him wondering why nothing has been done to address the obvious risk.
“My daughter’s life was worth way more than a few thousand dollars,” he said.
The need for safety improvements was also top-of-mind for more than a dozen climbers interviewed at the cables last week. All of them had followed the tragic news about Rohloff’s daughter.
They were men and women from across the country, ranging in age from 18 to 54. Among them were experienced mountaineers accustomed to steep terrain where any fall could be fatal, and casual hikers who had never before attempted to climb anything as hair-raising. They all agreed on one thing: More secure footholds would be welcome.
“I would definitely appreciate more wooden rungs,” said Ruthie Smith, 25, from Cincinnati, while celebrating with her friends on the summit and trying not to think too much about the looming descent.
On the way up, someone had passed Smith and jostled the cable in one of the wide stretches between the wood slats. “My grip was the only thing holding me on,” she said. “It would have been so easy to slip.”
Hudson Sauder, from Livermore, had a similar experience.
“I consider myself a strong 19-year-old guy,” he said, “I thought it would be a breeze to scamper up.” That was until his feet started slipping despite the sticky-soled running shoes he’d bought specifically for the climb. “I was scared my grip strength would go,” he said. “It would have been a nightmare.”
Juan Santiago, 39, from Dallas, still catching his breath at the top of the cables, said the upper-body strength required just to hang onto them had come as a shock — and joked that it left him “questioning a lot of my life decisions.” Doubling the number of wooden slats, he added, would be a great idea.
Yosemite National Park administrators declined to answer questions from The Times about the possibility of adding more safeguards and what that might cost.
Rohloff said he told the park rangers who interviewed him after his daughter’s death that, “Grace died because the cables are unnecessarily dangerous.” But he has heard nothing from park officials about any planned improvements.
“The silence has been deafening,” he said.
Danger and drama on Half Dome’s cables are nothing new. They have been around for more than a century, and they’re almost as iconic as the summit’s unmistakable silhouette.
Braving them is a rite of passage among California’s outdoors enthusiasts — something people tend to do once and remember for the rest of their lives.
The cables came into being in the late 1800s, after celebrated geologist Josiah Whitney proclaimed the 8,800-foot summit of Half Dome “perfectly inaccessible” and declared it would “never be trodden by human foot.”
A Yosemite guide named George Anderson decided to prove him wrong.
Mountaineering was in its infancy at the time, and the methods were crude. Anderson attacked the problem by pounding huge holes into the rock and filling them with heavy steel anchors — a practice that is polar opposite of the “leave no trace” philosophy popular today.
Juan Santiago, 39, from Dallas, still catching his breath at the top of the cables, said the upper-body strength required just to hang onto them had come as a shock — and joked that it left him “questioning a lot of my life decisions.” Doubling the number of wooden slats, he added, would be a great idea.
Yosemite National Park administrators declined to answer questions from The Times about the possibility of adding more safeguards and what that might cost.
Rohloff said he told the park rangers who interviewed him after his daughter’s death that, “Grace died because the cables are unnecessarily dangerous.” But he has heard nothing from park officials about any planned improvements.
“The silence has been deafening,” he said.
Danger and drama on Half Dome’s cables are nothing new. They have been around for more than a century, and they’re almost as iconic as the summit’s unmistakable silhouette.
Braving them is a rite of passage among California’s outdoors enthusiasts — something people tend to do once and remember for the rest of their lives.
The cables came into being in the late 1800s, after celebrated geologist Josiah Whitney proclaimed the 8,800-foot summit of Half Dome “perfectly inaccessible” and declared it would “never be trodden by human foot.”
A Yosemite guide named George Anderson decided to prove him wrong.
Mountaineering was in its infancy at the time, and the methods were crude. Anderson attacked the problem by pounding huge holes into the rock and filling them with heavy steel anchors — a practice that is polar opposite of the “leave no trace” philosophy popular today.
Ascending Half Dome is a rite of passage among California’s outdoors enthusiasts — something people tend to do once and remember for the rest of their lives. (Marc Martin / Los Angeles Times)
Anderson reached the summit for the first time in October 1875, according to the Mariposa County Tourism Board. The cable system, which consists of two braided steel lines supported by vertical steel posts, was installed in 1919. It has been modified since then, but not much.
The cables are ugly, crude and dangerous, but they have fascinated adventurous souls since Day 1.
Perhaps that’s because most of us will never scale the towering rock walls that make Yosemite the holy land for hard-core climbers.
Conquering El Capitan, the 3,000-foot vertical face on the other side of Yosemite Valley, is arguably the crowning achievement in any technical climber’s career. Even the nearly vertical north face of Half Dome is out of the question for all but the most experienced climbers.
But thanks to the cables, any fit flatlander with a firm grip and steely nerves has a decent chance of making it up the backside of Half Dome — if the weather cooperates. In the process, they get just a little taste of the heart-pounding drama experienced by elite adventure athletes.
Over the years, the question of what, if anything, should be done to make the system safer has been the topic of spirited debate. One argument against improving the cables is that it might make them too easy, luring people who are not fit enough to safely give them a try.
But just getting to the base of the cables requires a substantial level of preparation and fitness.
First, you have to join the park’s online lottery system that opens months before the summer climbing season and hope to win a permit. The park limits the number of people who can climb Half Dome to 300 per day, a cap aimed, in part, at reducing gridlock on the cables. If you go without a permit, and get caught, there’s a $280 fine.
Then there’s the grueling hike itself. My round trip from the closest parking to the trailhead in Yosemite Valley covered more than 18 miles and climbed more than 5,000 vertical feet, according to the fitness app Alltrails. That’s a long day no matter who you are; it would be virtually impossible for someone who was in poor shape.
Another serious obstacle is the weather. The last place you want to be when it rains, or during a lightning storm, is clinging to a steel cable on slippery granite high above the treeline. Injuries have occurred in bad weather when climbers simply freeze in place with terror and others resort to risky maneuvers to try to get around them.
When it comes to gear, the most important thing to have is a good pair of gloves. The best are those worn by electricians: thin with sticky rubber palms that form a strong bond with the steel cables. There’s often a pile of them donated by other climbers at the base of the cables, but park officials discourage the practice, saying it’s a chore to clear away hundreds of pounds of rotting gloves left behind each year.
Some people take the extra step of wearing a climbing harness with lines they can attach to the cables. This will slow you down, because you’re regularly unclipping and clipping back in to get past the vertical posts. That can be irritating to more confident climbers who are stuck waiting behind you, but it provides another layer of potentially life-saving protection in case you lose your grip.
Such a harness, properly used, probably would have saved Grace Rohloff.
The cables are ugly, crude and dangerous, but they have fascinated adventurous souls since Day 1.
Perhaps that’s because most of us will never scale the towering rock walls that make Yosemite the holy land for hard-core climbers.
Conquering El Capitan, the 3,000-foot vertical face on the other side of Yosemite Valley, is arguably the crowning achievement in any technical climber’s career. Even the nearly vertical north face of Half Dome is out of the question for all but the most experienced climbers.
But thanks to the cables, any fit flatlander with a firm grip and steely nerves has a decent chance of making it up the backside of Half Dome — if the weather cooperates. In the process, they get just a little taste of the heart-pounding drama experienced by elite adventure athletes.
Over the years, the question of what, if anything, should be done to make the system safer has been the topic of spirited debate. One argument against improving the cables is that it might make them too easy, luring people who are not fit enough to safely give them a try.
But just getting to the base of the cables requires a substantial level of preparation and fitness.
First, you have to join the park’s online lottery system that opens months before the summer climbing season and hope to win a permit. The park limits the number of people who can climb Half Dome to 300 per day, a cap aimed, in part, at reducing gridlock on the cables. If you go without a permit, and get caught, there’s a $280 fine.
Then there’s the grueling hike itself. My round trip from the closest parking to the trailhead in Yosemite Valley covered more than 18 miles and climbed more than 5,000 vertical feet, according to the fitness app Alltrails. That’s a long day no matter who you are; it would be virtually impossible for someone who was in poor shape.
Another serious obstacle is the weather. The last place you want to be when it rains, or during a lightning storm, is clinging to a steel cable on slippery granite high above the treeline. Injuries have occurred in bad weather when climbers simply freeze in place with terror and others resort to risky maneuvers to try to get around them.
When it comes to gear, the most important thing to have is a good pair of gloves. The best are those worn by electricians: thin with sticky rubber palms that form a strong bond with the steel cables. There’s often a pile of them donated by other climbers at the base of the cables, but park officials discourage the practice, saying it’s a chore to clear away hundreds of pounds of rotting gloves left behind each year.
Some people take the extra step of wearing a climbing harness with lines they can attach to the cables. This will slow you down, because you’re regularly unclipping and clipping back in to get past the vertical posts. That can be irritating to more confident climbers who are stuck waiting behind you, but it provides another layer of potentially life-saving protection in case you lose your grip.
Such a harness, properly used, probably would have saved Grace Rohloff.
Visitors catch a glimpse of Half Dome at sunset. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
Even with all the right preparation and gear, some people get to the base of the cables, crane their necks to follow the cables’ path almost straight up the sheer rock face, and decide there’s simply no way.
“I was just like, it’s a hard no,” said Grace Luttrell, 33, from Oakland, who decided to wait at the base and nibble a sandwich as her friends went on to the summit.
“You see all different kinds of people going up: fitness levels, ages, whatever. And I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to push yourself to give it a try,” Luttrell said. “But I have no regrets.”
Another athletic-looking woman who had all the appropriate gear went about a quarter of the way up the cables, before abruptly turning around. “This is scary. This is so scary,” she muttered as she passed me, furiously clipping and unclipping as she descended. “This is not my thing.”
Another argument against drilling more wooden rungs into the rock is rooted in the 21st century aversion to adding anything fashioned by humans to the natural environment. But since the cables are already there, none of the climbers interviewed thought improving them would mar the landscape.
“This isn’t really wilderness anymore,” said Erick Ulferts, 54, from Portland, Ore., as he took a few deep breaths and a long look back at the cables after safely descending. Adding more footholds wouldn’t “change things dramatically.”
He had worn a climbing harness, but that didn’t stop his feet from sliding out from under him on the smooth granite. At one point, he slipped and nearly fell where one of the steel posts would have gone straight between his legs.
“None of this is especially safe,” he said with a wry grin. “That’s sort of the beauty of it.”
For Rohloff, an elementary school principal who is still reeling from the horror of watching the oldest of his three children slide to her death, the goal is to get park officials to commit to making Half Dome safer.
“To me, there’s such a commonsense thing that could be done and has not been done,” Rohloff said of adding some rungs. “It’s hard for me to believe I’m the first person to feel this way.”
“I was just like, it’s a hard no,” said Grace Luttrell, 33, from Oakland, who decided to wait at the base and nibble a sandwich as her friends went on to the summit.
“You see all different kinds of people going up: fitness levels, ages, whatever. And I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to push yourself to give it a try,” Luttrell said. “But I have no regrets.”
Another athletic-looking woman who had all the appropriate gear went about a quarter of the way up the cables, before abruptly turning around. “This is scary. This is so scary,” she muttered as she passed me, furiously clipping and unclipping as she descended. “This is not my thing.”
Another argument against drilling more wooden rungs into the rock is rooted in the 21st century aversion to adding anything fashioned by humans to the natural environment. But since the cables are already there, none of the climbers interviewed thought improving them would mar the landscape.
“This isn’t really wilderness anymore,” said Erick Ulferts, 54, from Portland, Ore., as he took a few deep breaths and a long look back at the cables after safely descending. Adding more footholds wouldn’t “change things dramatically.”
He had worn a climbing harness, but that didn’t stop his feet from sliding out from under him on the smooth granite. At one point, he slipped and nearly fell where one of the steel posts would have gone straight between his legs.
“None of this is especially safe,” he said with a wry grin. “That’s sort of the beauty of it.”
For Rohloff, an elementary school principal who is still reeling from the horror of watching the oldest of his three children slide to her death, the goal is to get park officials to commit to making Half Dome safer.
“To me, there’s such a commonsense thing that could be done and has not been done,” Rohloff said of adding some rungs. “It’s hard for me to believe I’m the first person to feel this way.”
