Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, has shared footage of his hiking triumph in Yosemite National Park.
The Dubai royal, who has nearly 16 million followers on Instagram, shared a video on Monday showing details of his peak-to-peak Half Dome trek at the California park.
Rising more than 1,500 metres above Yosemite Valley and 2,682 metres above sea level, Half Dome is one of the most challenging hikes in Yosemite.
Spanning more than 30km, the hike is suited to seasoned mountaineers and those with high levels of physical fitness, and takes enthusiasts to the peak of Half Rock, a well-known formation at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley.
The trek comes with amazing views including those of the Vernal and Nevada waterfalls and the granite dome of Liberty Cap. Most people complete the round-trip hike in 10 to 12 hours, depending on the route chosen. Sheikh Hamdan and his entourage completed the hike in just under nine hours, according to his Instagram footage.
The video shows the Crown Prince hiking through Yosemite’s great wilderness, even spotting a bear in the distance.
He also comes across a snake, which slithers away into the rocks, and a grey squirrel that doesn’t seem to be camera-shy.
Wandering through paths lined by giant sequoias, Sheikh Hamdan takes in the views in front of Yosemite’s thundering waterfalls, snapping selfies and standing on top of some of the park’s famed granite cliffs.
A particularly challenging part of the hike is the Half Dome cables cliffside ascent; the steep climb uses two steel cables to scale the bare granite to the summit.
In the video, Sheikh Hamdan and his entourage are seen scaling the 120-metre climb to the peak of Half Dome.
What is Yosemite National Park?
Yosemite is a Californian landmark that has been a national park for more than a century. It is famed for its granite cliffs, lakes, mountains, glaciers and waterfalls.
El Capitan, the granite peak that served as the setting for Oscar-nominated Free Solo, a climbing documentary part produced by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, is also in Yosemite.
On average, four million people visit the park each year, with about 50,000 of those attempting to hike Half Dome.
Over the years, there have been more than 20 deaths on the Half Dome itself, and another 40 on the trail leading up to it.
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