I only say it's harder than HD because the terrain has a lot of loose dirt, aka, more chances for you to slip versus the rough granite at HD or Whitney.
I would not consider the HD route rough granite. All that polished granite is slick from people usage. I have seen people turn around part way up the cables on HD not from fear, but from difficulty with their feet slipping. Their too-smooth, grip-less tennis shoes (or flip flops!) were not good enough. Lug soles are better.
