South Dome
Ascent of the South Dome — The first ascent of the South Dome was accomplished this morning by a party of Englishmen and Americans under the guidance of the brave and adventurous George Anderson who was the first man who ever accomplished this perilous feat — a feat indeed which has always been considered impossible. The names of the adventurers were Messrs Robinson (Brothers), Gammon and West, the latter an American. A partial ascent was made by Messrs Groom and Leidig.
October 16th 1875
The climbers from the purported English contingent had been in the Valley for at least several days. They had already paid a visit to La Casa Nevada just a day after Anderson's solo climb. We find their signatures in the register entry dated October 13:
W. R. Robinson, New York
J. S. Robinson, New York
Edwin Gamman, London
S. Robert Groom, Somerset, England
The Robinson brothers had simply stated that they had come to Yosemite from New York, and not (directly) from England. Interestingly, the San Francisco Chronicle article about this climb lists another man, "Mr. Moreland, an American" among participants, but Snow's description of the climb doesn't mention Moreland in the party of climbers. Also, in contrast to the Chronicle, the entry in the register credits Groom with only a "partial ascent", which would mean that he didn't make it to the summit of Half Dome. Find the complete San Francisco Chronicle article on the main page.