Told you! Ann and Steve

were with us. Another hour farther, the dreaded carved stairs behind us (below us, that is), we take a break before doing "the cables."
One need not be a professional climber to go up to the top of Half-Dome. Besides energy, no special skill nor special equipment is required. Well, actually: leather gloves are helpful to grip the cables as you go up the 70% slope of the back of the Dome.