Two Parts to Half Dome (7.4 miles travelled)

At this point, there are two difficult parts to get to the top of Half Dome. The first part are the very steep switchbacks. The second, the cables. We rested a few minutes before embarking on this. It gave us time to assess the magnitude of what we were about to do, and to hope that the other person would say, "let's turn back." No one did. Damn human ego -- why do we have it?