93-Year-Old Climbs Yosemite’s Half Dome
Everett Kalin is likely the oldest person ever to summit the famous California mountain
Yosemite doesn’t keep track of the ages of people who climb mountains in the park, but Everett Kalin is likely the oldest to summit Half Dome at 93 years old.
Kalin, who lives in Oakland, trained for months before heading up the fixed cables on Half Dome, telling the SF Gate, “When you hit your 90s, you think, ‘What would be some things I’d like to do?’ I guess Half Dome was the thing that most popped into my mind.” At 91, he went skydiving for the first time.
Kalin climbed Half Dome with his son, Jon, and granddaughter, Sidney. “He’s stubborn as a mule,” Jon said. “When he sets his mind to something, he’s going to do it. He kept proving me wrong every step of the way.” Sidney documented the ascent on social media. To train for Half Dome, Kalin climbed up and down his 17-story building and walked around Lake Merritt five days a week.
The Half Dome fixed-cables route is very popular and busy in summer. It takes the average person around 10 hours to complete a round-trip. “I just feel so very grateful to the people that made it possible,” Kalin said the day after his hike. “I’m actually feeling great.”
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