Polukupola

Četvrtog dana, Polly je odlučila popeti se na Polukupolu. Ne poznatom rutom s užadima koja vodi straga (ionako je bila zatvorena za sezonu), već zrakom. Sjeverna strana Polukupole uzdiže se gotovo okomito iz doline. To je 1.500 metara glatkog granita, izbrušenog glečerom prije 15.000 godina.

On the fourth day, Polly decided to climb Half Dome. Not on the famous cable route up the back (it was closed for the season anyway), but in the air. Half Dome's north face rises almost straight up from the valley floor. It is 1,500 metres of smooth granite, polished by a glacier 15,000 years ago.

Krenula je u zoru. Poletjela je iz borove šume blizu Jezera Ogledalo i polako se penjala u spiralama.

She started at first light. She flew from a pine grove near Mirror Lake and climbed slowly in spirals.

Na tristo metara visine, pridružila se jatu bijelogrdih brzanaca. Bilo ih je na desetke. Bili su najbrže male ptice s kojima je Polly ikad letjela. Proletjeli su pored nje brzinom i vriskom. Polly je bila najsporija ptica u zraku. Brzanci se nisu činili da im to smeta.

At three hundred metres up, she joined a flock of white-throated swifts. There were dozens of them. They were the fastest small bird Polly had ever flown with. They flashed and screamed past her. Polly was the slowest bird in the air. The swifts did not seem to mind.

Vjetar je pojačao na petsto metara. Granit je već bio topao od sunca. Topla stijena grije zrak iznad sebe. Topli zrak se diže. Uzlazni zrak podizao je Polly. Penjala se u dugim lukovima, dopuštajući stijeni da obavi posao.

The wind picked up at five hundred metres. The granite was already warm from the sun. Warm rock heats the air above it. Hot air rises. Rising air lifted Polly. She climbed in long arcs, letting the rock do the work.

Na pola puta, odmorila se na maloj izbočini. Odatle je mogla vidjeti rutu s užadima. Metalne užadi ležale su duž gole stijene poput duge tanke kralježnice. Bile su zatvorene za proljeće. Do srpnja, stotine ljudi dnevno penjalo bi se njima.

Halfway up, she rested on a small ledge. From there she could see the cable route. The metal cables lay along the bare rock like a long thin spine. They were closed for spring. By July, hundreds of people a day would climb them.

Na vrhu, granit je bio ravan. Stotinjak metara širok, blago nagnut, s nekoliko malih hrpa kamenja gdje su ljudi obilježili svoje vrhove.

At the top, the granite was flat. A hundred metres across, slightly tilted, with a few small piles of stones where humans had marked their summits.

Otišla je do ruba skakaonice, poznate nadviseće ploče, i pogledala dolje. Dolina je bila mala vrpca ispod. El Capitan je bio tako blizu da je osjećala da može do njega letjeti. Drveće na dnu kanjona izgledalo je kao paperje.

She walked to the edge of the diving board, the famous overhanging slab, and looked down. The valley was a small ribbon below. El Capitan was so close she felt she could fly to it. The trees on the canyon floor looked like fuzz.

Ostala je na rubu dugo vremena. Zatim se lagano odgurnula u mirnom zaronu i gotovo odmah povukla kako bi klizila duž krivulje kupole na putu prema dolje.

She stayed at the edge a long time. Then she pushed off the lip in a small calm dive and pulled up almost immediately to glide along the curve of the dome on the way down.