2 Skiers Become First To Descend Yosemite's Half Dome
YOSEMITE (CBS13) — Half Dome is a popular spot for climbers all around the world, but for one man, it's a place he's been dreaming of skiing down since he was five.
That dream has become a reality last weekend when Jason Torlano, 45, and Zach Milligan, 40, became the first people to ski the iconic summit.
The pair camped out at Yosemite National Park then got going at 3 a.m. Sunday with just enough time to make the hike up before the sun came out and melted the snow.
Torlano took a small plane around Half Dome the day before to check snow levels and decided it was "go time."
"We got to the top, and the whole time we didn't say much.... we instantly high fived and we clipped our skies on," Torlano said. "I've always wanted to do it, so to me, it seemed like it was perfect, everything lined up. I was like, 'Oh, it's definitely skiable, we're good.'"
Torlano says he has attempted the descent three times but there's either been too much snow that could cause an avalanche, or the snow melts too quickly in the sun.
The 4,000-foot descent took about five hours.