Hordes of tourists are grasping for the cable handrails on the slope leading up Yosemite National Park's iconic Half Dome, delaying climbers and frustrating serious athletes who say the unprepared masses have made the hike unpleasant and downright dangerous.

The number of weekend and holiday Half Dome climbers has increased 30 percent since the mid-1990s, according to park officials. In the past year, three people have died on the grueling, 8.6-mile hike, which begins in the Yosemite Valley and ascends to Half Dome's 8,842-foot summit.