93-Year-Old Becomes the Oldest Person to Climb Yosemite’s Half Dome

In a remarkable feat of determination and endurance, 93-year-old Everett Kalin achieved an extraordinary milestone by summiting Half Dome on July 18th. The iconic rock, located in Yosemite National Park, has been scaled by countless adventurers, but Kalin’s achievement makes him the oldest person ever to conquer its challenging slopes.

His arrival at the top was caught on video by TikTok user @sidneykalin:

@sidneykalin

July 18th, Everett Kalin became the oldest known person to climb Yosemite’s Half Dome at 93 years old. Words cannot describe how proud I am. Opa, it was an honor to take on this trip with you. I hope this stands as a lesson to everyone that you are never too young or old to achieve your dreams.

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“Words cannot describe how proud I am,” Sidney wrote on TikTok. “Opa, it was an honor to take on this trip with you. I hope this stands as a lesson to everyone that you are never too young or old to achieve your dreams.”

Sidney’s video currently has more than 7 million views as of Friday morning.

With each step, Kalin defied the limitations of age, proving that passion and spirit know no bounds. Surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of Yosemite’s wilderness, he embarked on the arduous climb, demonstrating that age is merely a number when it comes to pursuing one’s dreams.

Rising nearly 5,000 feet above Yosemite Valley and 8,800 feet above sea level, Half Dome is a Yosemite National Park icon and a great challenge to many hikers. Despite an 1865 report declaring that it was “perfectly inaccessible, being probably the only one of the prominent points about the Yosemite which never has been, and never will be, trodden by human foot,” George Anderson reached the summit in 1875, in the process laying the predecessor to today’s cable route.

Today, thousands of people reach the summit. For most, it is an exciting, arduous hike; for a few, it becomes more of an adventure than they wanted. For Everett Kalin, it’s a crowning achievement on a life well lived.