On Thursday, June 26th, a friend and I left UC Berkeley at 2p with the hope of placing our order at El Agave by 4p, being on a shuttle out of Curry by 7p, at the base of p1 by 9p, and in bags sawing zzz's by 10p.And I'll be damned if that wasn't exactly how it went. Friend hardly slept a wink though, jittery thoughts about the big old face looming overhead like a lidded eye keeping him up.Hummingbird in starlightWildlife present at the springGood morning Yosemite Valley, up and at 'em. We had both the bivy and the route completely to ourselves, continuing a long-running lucky streak on the big classics.Learned how to jug in a 10-minute session at the Ironworks a few days earlier.End of block 1. This man was chugging away on zero winks.Biggest route yet for him. Waltzed up the Steck-Salathe with me last year without much chimneying or wide climbing experience. This year we did it again as two parties of two and in his team he led just about every hard pitch on it. They make 'em tough back East. Here he's gazing back to Earth.The nicely exposed pitch after the bolt ladder. That sequence of moves before the ledge is more like "5.9+" than 5.9, isn't it?Change in character for the route once you gain this spot, depending on the variation you chooseThe granite is so ludicrously beautiful in this stretch. I wouldn't judge a person for licking it. Not that I did! We tried the keyhole route but couldn't figure out which window to punch through? So down he came and sent the .11/French pitch to the left of the squeeze. He thought the step across was dodgy. I'd led it a few years ago and also remember thinking I didn't want to fall there, and pulling pretty hard to gain that crack.Ain't that some sh#tWith a 70m the chimneys go in one pitch, making for imo the best pitch of the day.This is also a grand pitch, just before the double cracks. Corner in the skyI didn't know it yet but some cool stuff was about to occur here:Does this image ever get old? And I cannot see it now without pondering Honnold. The TGL is up top, not that stubby ledge down low.I read that with a 70m and lots of back cleaning, we could link the first two zig zags, then short fix more than half of the third. That sped things up. I'm a woefully slow aid climber. We were through the zz's in about 2.5 hours. Would have been much worse without the linking and short-fixing.I didn't know it yet but some cool stuff was about to occur here, too:He did a bang up job on the jugs. Exposure never really got to him.This picture is a favorite because even though he was incredibly solid on the jugs, it was his first time that high up on a big old wall, and there was a feeling in the air that he would be glad to leave the steeps of the zig zags behind him, get the hell off of the fixed line, and get clipped into the anchor. Additionally look at those pipes!Coffee pleaseA hallowed pitch if ever there was oneDid you see that recent pic of the climber buck naked no harness no rope on the Thank God Ledge?How did he do that?If he climbed up to the ledge, then took his clothes and harness off - there's just no way, too balancey, too sketch. So took off the harness and clothes at the semi-hanging belay, then fs'd up there? That's a bit insane. I can't get my head around it. Somebody lemme know if that was a Photoshop job.At this point I was straining to hear voices above me, but all was quiet. Nice. Maybe no one's up there? Summit to ourselves would be righteous.Then I hear a calm voice: Im going to aim for that ridge. Someone going to throw a Frisbee off of the summit? Hit a golf ball? You hear about people doing stuff like that. Maybe Ill grab the camera.This was one of the wildest things Ive seen in my life. Three jumpers. Quiet as door mice. I could not f*#king BELIEVE how far they went up Tenaya canyon before maneuvering a massive u-turn and heading back (I guess?) to Mirror for the landing (is that right?). From my perspective it looked like the boldest of them passed within 15 ft of the ridgeline leading to HDs sub dome.I have probably thought about the experience of seeing this go down, the visual sequence of it, every day since June 27th. It was really something beautiful. Humans gracefully and silently falling through the air.It was thrilling but also disorienting to see. People falling like leaves. I death-gripped the hell out of the cam Id just placed while watching. It brought up in me the memory of the Falling Man image and article from 9/11. It also brought up the sick feeling Id had when reading this haunting TR ( http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Death-on-the-NW-Face-of-Half-Dome/t11134n.html) ; about the death of a person who fell, or leapt, from the Visor. There was something about the quiet of it. Once theyd passed beneath us, I couldnt help but feel that particular vicarious distress of watching another person who may be close to death. But then imagine the feeling of delivery once that canopy opens Maybe in the next life Ill try it. Not this one.A few quick mantles and I poked my head over the rim to see if anyone was there. Not a soul. We did get the summit to ourselves. Righteous.Ever see that incredible coffee table book by David Wilson called? He used some super heavy, archaic but magical analog camera-like device to capture images of the Sierra in pre-dawn and maybe post-dusk light. In the pics, you get the distinct feeling that the light is emanating from the formations themselves rather than from some celestial body off frame. If you haven't seen that book, and you love to stare at images of the Sierra, get ON it. I was fired up about this next picture from my crappy point-and-shoot because it reminded me of the stuff from that book (pale semblance, but enough to please me)Good night!Afterthought edit: Though I've kind of written him up as a "keep-trying-little-buddy, you-can-do-it!" type character in this TR, the pard here climbs about three number grades harden than I do!