Regular NW Route - Half dome

I'm planning a trip down to Yosemite to climb the regular NW route on half dome and have a couple questions I'm hoping the MP community can help me with:

-Every trip report I see seems to be about climbing it in the spring or mid summer, though. I'm wondering if there is a good reason not to climb it in the early fall/late summer (early sept, early Oct). I realize the spring is not running at that time and we would have to bring our water. This is the only reason I could think of.

-I think we would be able to do the route in 1 or 2 days (big sandy bivy) and was wondering how feasible it is to climb the route with the follower carrying a backpack at about 25 lbs containing:
+1.5 gallons of water
+2 down jackets
+2 super light rain jackets
+Food for lunch, dinner and a breakfast + snacks

Or would it be better to haul the bag (hand over hand) and let the follower climb without it. We are pretty comfortable climbing long multi pitches on granite and moving quickly over easier terrain. My only concern for speed is the aid pitches.

Thanks in advance.

In fall/late summer you're looking at intense heat in the valley, unless you plan to hide during the day and climb at night, 1 gallon of water per day per climber should be considered your minimum.

Ah, that explains it. Would it be reasonable to plan for October/November when the temperatures are lower then?

Thanks,

I did it late September no problem. The spring was running, and the weather was fine. The wall faces NW, so it doesn't get sun until mid to late afternoon. It's so high off the valley floor, heat really isn't much of an issue anyway. Highs were in the 80s in the Valley when we did it and it was totally fine.

My partner and I did it in a day. We each carried a small pack with the necessities, including 3 liters of water per person, which was just enough. I wouldn't recommend hauling, the route traverses quite a bit and hauling through the chimneys would be a pain.

I would recommend doing the route in a day if you can, Big Sandy isn't all that big or sandy. And if any other parties are bivying there, it will feel very crowded. Get your transitions dialed and get proficient at French freeing, and it should be doable.

Regardless of when or how you do it, have fun, it's a great route.

Don't mean to derail the thread, but do you need aiders on this climb or can all the aid be french freed?

[Aiders are better, at least once you hit the Zigzags]

IMHO, seconding with a 25-lb. pack is no fun and maybe you'd have a better time getting up a bit earlier &/or fixing a couple pitches instead of dragging the bivy gear along. Up your game, not your load. If this is indeed the case-"We are pretty comfortable climbing long multi pitches on granite and moving quickly over easier terrain. My only concern for speed is the aid pitches"-- then maybe just bone up on the aid and go for it. There's an awful lot of easier terrain. The Zigzags are largely fixed up these days, but are a bit awkward b/c of the corners.

Mark K wrote: The wall faces NW, so it doesn't get sun until mid to late afternoon. It's so high off the valley floor, heat really isn't much of an issue anyway.

That was my impression originally and is great to know. Thanks!

Mark K wrote:My partner and I did it in a day. We each carried a small pack with the necessities, including 3 liters of water per person, which was just enough. I wouldn't recommend hauling, the route traverses quite a bit and hauling through the chimneys would be a pain.

Rob Dillon wrote:Up your game, not your load. There's an awful lot of easier terrain.

Rob Dillon wrote:IMHO, seconding with a 25-lb. pack is no fun and maybe you'd have a better time getting up a bit earlier &/or fixing a couple pitches instead of dragging the bivy gear along.

Good to know that hauling isn't really necessary if we can get it done in a day. We've never been to the valley so I am trying to plan for the worst (ie. having to bivy on big sandy).

Our plan would be to head up the night before and fix a couple of pitches then get an early start, stashing most of the gear at the base and picking it up on the way down.

Mark K wrote:I would recommend doing the route in a day if you can

Mark K wrote:Get your transitions dialed and get proficient at French freeing, and it should be doable.

I'd definitely prefer to do it in a day and feel pretty good about it (can do the Squamish Chief (~1200 feet) twice in a day if the majority of the climbing is 5.10 or less. My concern is partly around getting stuck behind a party or getting lost and running out of time and needing to bivy then being stuck without the gear we need. We'd definitely need to brush up on our aid.

Rob Dillon wrote:[Aiders are better, at least once you hit the Zigzags]

Also good to know.

I agree with Mark K. Intense heat is a concern on the Captain - not on Half Dome. Higher up in elevation, northwest facing.

Did the route in early July and then in mid-October. Temps on the wall were similar.
Don't haul, it is a major PITA.
First time did not bring aiders, second time did and they sped things up.
Overcrowding is an issue, if you get stuck behind a slower party, it can derail your DIAD efforts.

Matt - Here's our trip report from a 2-day, big backpack ascent. We spent the night on Big Sandy, which was awesome.

supertopo.com/tr/Half-Dome-…

We climbed it early September. Temps were great.

Thanks for the replies everyone. It sounds like we should avoid hauling if at all possible (which I vastly prefer) and go for it in a day but, bring the bare necessities for a bivy in case of overcrowding or some unexpected circumstance.

@jpvandever: Cool TR. Hope to have as good a a time as you guys did :)

Thanks all,

-Matt