Tis-sa-ack
Despite the fact that no less an expert than Josiah Whitney, chief of the California Geologic Survey (1860-1874), and namesake of the highest peak in the continental United States, pronounced this peak as perfectly inaccessible, Half Dome has become one of the most popular hikes and climbs in the United States.
The single most iconic feature in Yosemite National Park, rising nearly 4800' above the floor of Yosemite Valley, the reality of Half-Dome is that it is not a round dome that has been sheared, but rather an arête (or part of a narrow rock ridge separating two valleys).
The Ahwahnechee pinhabitants of Yosemite valley called the mountain, Tis-sa-ack, meaning cleft rock. There are many legends surrounding this name, but suffice it to say the grandeur of this place supplants them all.
Because it is so iconic, Half Dome is the subject of millions of pictures (hundreds in my catalogue), this is one taken on a summer day from Glacier Point that I felt looked best in monochrome.
Tis-sa-ack
Despite the fact that no less an expert than Josiah Whitney, chief of the California Geologic Survey (1860-1874), and namesake of the highest peak in the continental United States, pronounced this peak as perfectly inaccessible, Half Dome has become one of the most popular hikes and climbs in the United States.
The single most iconic feature in Yosemite National Park, rising nearly 4800' above the floor of Yosemite Valley, the reality of Half-Dome is that it is not a round dome that has been sheared, but rather an arête (or part of a narrow rock ridge separating two valleys).
The Ahwahnechee pinhabitants of Yosemite valley called the mountain, Tis-sa-ack, meaning cleft rock. There are many legends surrounding this name, but suffice it to say the grandeur of this place supplants them all.
Because it is so iconic, Half Dome is the subject of millions of pictures (hundreds in my catalogue), this is one taken on a summer day from Glacier Point that I felt looked best in monochrome.