Just some assorted thoughts after the trek this weekend. I promise, this is the last in the series of mountaineering related posts. Atleast for a few more weeks.
Foremost, snaps here.
– I am more than satisfied with my attempt of Half Dome this time around. Clocking 2 hrs 57 mins (minus 3 mins, if I hadn’t obliged the dude who wanted me to take a rather perfect snap), it is a great timing for an amateur trekker, and there is no way I can surpass this. Rather, I do not think I can improve upon this significantly, so I don’t really have any drive to attempt another time trial.
The breakup was 30 mins – Top of Vernal falls, 1 hr – Top of Nevada falls, 1 hr 51 mins – 2.0 mile checkpoint, 2 hrs 28 mins – Base of sub-dome, 2 hrs 44 mins – Base of metal cables, 2 hrs 57 mins – Top of Half Dome.
From Half Dome, Clouds Rest 7th June 2009 |
– Just when I thought I could boast about the timing, I met a 51- year old guy at the top. It was his 43rd time at Half Dome, and he was aiming for 50 this season itself. He had been hiking Half Dome once each, for the past three weekends.
I was just humbled. (I later also learnt that the running record for Half Dome is 2 hrs 30 mins for a roundtrip !! More humbling follows)
– This attempt of Half Dome and Clouds Rest was far superior to my previous one. While I had almost dropped dead upon reaching Clouds Rest the last time, this time we made it comfortably, merrily singing songs. Add to that a better timing. I hope this means I have matured as a trekker and learnt to both conserve and chase.
– While on the trekking part, who the $%@# thought of laying a tar road for the first 1 mile of the Half Dome trail ? No, seriously, who the %#$ ?
– Was it the same person who also came up with the ingenuous idea of throwing in sand on the trail in the Little Yosemite Valley part of the hike ? If yes, kindly come over to my place to collect some gifts.
– It is quite unfair that after scaling a peak, you have to pointlessly walk back over 10 miles back to the base (before you can boast to friends, update on Facebook, Twitter and your blog, all of which I deeply frown upon). It is for this one reason, if not anything else, that I’ll learn paragliding.
– This might sound strange, but the ratio of males to females was around 1:1 for the Half Dome hike. The only ones that are trying hard to skew this ratio in favour of males, are we, the people.
– I finally found a song of Kishore Kumar that I like. The song being “Chookar Mere Man Ko“. I had heard it before, but this was the first time I heard it properly and quite liked it. Sadly, this is currently the only song of Kishore Kumar that I like. For some reason, I never warmed up to Kishore Kumar’s singing; I prefer the earlier era of Mohd. Rafi and Manna Dey. Undoubtedly, Kishore Kumar is a genius, while the aforementioned are, at best, supremely talented and accomplished. But so it goes.
About this song, I really liked the way he has softened his voice. The lyrics and music only help.
– On this trip, I discovered that Burger King in fact, has a Veggie burger, unlike McDonald’s and In&Out. Plus it is really good ! Pity it took me 2 years to find this out.
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June 10, 2009 at 2:56 pm
docmitasha
Congratulations! Must feel great :)) pics are gorgeous.
Hahaha…yes, BK has had the veggie burger for a while and it is quite good admittedly. Glad you discovered that.
I can completely understand not being a KK fan, I prefer Rafi and actually Mukesh myself, but Chookar Mere Man Ko is one of my favorite songs. I also love Jeevan Se Bhari Teri Aankhen and Woh Shaam, Kuch to Log Kahenge and Aanewala Pal…I feel all of those have that same mellow quality and I can listen to them any time.
June 10, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Deepak Iyer
@docmitasha : Thanks.
About the songs you mentioned, nope, never liked those either. Like I said, this is the *only* song of Kishore Kumar’s that I can listen 🙂
June 10, 2009 at 11:40 pm
alltalkandnoaction
Great Pics !!
BTW, Though Kishore Kumar is good…and I like his songs…he is in NO way Genuis !!
and definitely nowhere near Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey !!
June 11, 2009 at 2:15 am
Deepak Iyer
@Atana : I did not mean genius as a singer, he was very good as a singer, but other aspects of his talent qualify him as a genius.
Plus, people wouldn’t be gunning after me as disliking KK is heresy [;)].
June 11, 2009 at 3:32 am
alltalkandnoaction
I know !
But I find him good..thats it..not superlative in any way 🙂
June 11, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Mahesh
You are not alone in not liking Kishore songs. He was an all-rounder, but as a singer, there are millions of people who don’t rate him.
If you consider the voice quality, versatility in singing, range, modulation, the body of work etc., Rafi was miles ahead of the other singers including Lata. Guys like Kishore, good as they are, don’t even deserve a comparison with Rafi. Such was the greatness of Rafi as a singer! The gulf between Rafi and others is huge, and no amount of media propaganda can change that.
June 11, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Deepak Iyer
@Mahesh : Agree. But I wouldn’t say that Kishore Kumar is not worth rating. Surely he is a good singer, no doubt about that. I cannot think of anyone else who would have done justice to Padosan.
August 4, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Half Dome, again. « News You Can’t Use !
[…] Dome, again. Blogging had slowed down as I was off for another trip to Half Dome, this time as a mountain guide for a couple of friends who were freshers to the […]
October 19, 2009 at 11:06 am
Tom
Hey, 2:57 up is still a damn good time!
I know exactly what you mean about the paved path. I think they were trying to limit erosion. It makes it faster, but I think harder on the joints (they did it about 2yrs ago).
Cheers,
Tom
October 19, 2009 at 11:36 am
Deepak Iyer
@Tom : True, it will conserve the trail. But it is extremely annoying on the way back. It is a pity that this is the part that kills you after completing Half Dome and Clouds Rest [:)]