‘Stubborn as a mule’: 93-year-old man climbs to top of Yosemite’s Half Dome

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Age is not an obstacle for a 93-year-old California man. Two years after giving skydiving a whirl, Everett Kalin scaled the Half Dome at Yosemite National Park last week.

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Kalin, of Oakland, reached the summit of the Half Dome, which rises 8,839 feet above sea level, on Tuesday, KTVU reported. He was accompanied to the top by his 57-year-old son, Jon Kalin, and his 19-year-old granddaughter, Sidney Kalin, according to the television station.

“I didn’t fully realize how tricky it would be, especially at my age,” Everett Kalin told SFGate.com.

“He’s stubborn as a mule. When he sets his mind to something, he’s going to do it,” Jon Kalin told the news outlet. “... He kept proving me wrong every step of the way.”

Jon and Sidney Kalin are avid runners and hikers and guided their spry patriarch to the top. They completed a 6-mile hike on Monday and then climbed the Half Dome on Tuesday, taking about 13 hours, KNTV reported.

Sidney Kalin filmed her grandfather’s final steps and posted it to TikTok.

Everett Kalin, a retired theology professor, trained for months to make the climb, SFGate.com reported. Part of his regimen was walking up the stairs at his Oakland home, scaling 17 floors in the building. He also took walks almost daily around nearby Lake Merritt.

The climb to the top of the Half Dome almost had to be scrubbed, as a ranger told the group on Tuesday that there was a 20% chance of thunderstorms and might have to turn around, KNTV reported.

But the weather cooperated, giving Everett Kalin another thrill.

“And slowly but surely we got closer to the top,” Everett Kalin told the television station. “Finally, I saw where the cable was locked into the rock, solid as possible, and I thought, ‘My gosh we’re here,’ and that was just super.”

According to the California Geological Survey, the first person to reach the summit of the Half Dome achieved the feat in 1875. Everett Kalin may be the oldest person to reach the top, KTVU reported.

On TikTok, Sidney Kalin wrote that “words cannot describe” how proud she was of her grandfather’s feat.

“Opa, it was an honor to take on this trip with you,” she wrote. “I hope this stands as a lesson to everyone that you are never too young or old to achieve your dreams.”