Spam from Snake Dike

Particulars
The Snake Dike route, Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California

The elevation of the top of Half Dome is 8,842 feet.

Difficulty: This climb is rated 5.7R. The “R” for “runout” means that there is substantial distance between protection. In other words, you could fall a long way. What is not said here is that most of the runout is on easier ground and the 5.7 sections are short and have a little more protection. Still, I would not advertise that anyone should regard this climb as anything less than a potentially dangerous, intrepid, arduous adventure. This is a sixteen mile round trip with a gain of 4,842 feet for the day.

Appeal: rock climbers like to say they have done this 5.7R quietly, like modest school marms, and then describe the dangerous 80 foot runouts and the terrifying view from the Springboard as their audiences gape in awe. Rock climbers that have done this climb many times are just sick. Please be understanding of that sort, there is no cure for their addiction. Once I even did this climb two days in a row.
Spam
Cindy was looking for a boyfriend. I wasn’t it but she did think of me as a friend. She would hang out a Camp Four and talk to climbers and take them for test drives. Chris was one of the climbers who she talked with but wasn’t inclined to test out. Chris wanted to climb Snake Dike and was looking for a partner to do it with. So was I. Cindy hooked us up. Chris knew how this was done: get up early but not too early. Carry only four quick draws and two or three small cams, water, and lunch. A small lunch. Hike fast.

Early the next day we did that, starting at Happy Isles and hiking up past Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls on the Merced River before splitting off on a climber’s trail that led us to the start or Snake Dike. This climber’s trail is a little hard to follow at times and there are numerous cairns that can lead you on a circuitous hike. Never-the-less, a lot of climbers seem to navigate this path without too much difficulty. When we arrived at the start of the climb a lot of climbers had preceded us even on that early morning. There were six climbers in line before us waiting to rope up and every belay station above was occupied with at least two people. Chris took one look and said, “tools”, and turned away in disgust. Being the neophyte that I was, I wasn’t ready to start criticizing every other climber that I saw but I do recall it being quite a circus.

Eventually, we did get our turn and Chris led off. We alternated pitches after that so Chris got to do all the 5.7 sections. The first pitch starts off with a steepening ramp and then a little traverse over some “glacier polish” below a step. It is possible to set a piece of protection high and to the right of the step but I don’t recommend it. It really won’t help the leader if he or she falls and it imperils the second. Once around the step, it is short jog right to an anchor. The second pitch protects fairly well and is 5.6 at most. There is a little route finding difficulty as the leader approaches the anchor which is up on a dike after a short traverse. I know of one climber who missed the anchor and continued traversing onto more difficult terrain. They took a long skidding fall. This granite is about like a cheese grater if you slide on it. I have heard it suggested that one should run down the slope rather than allowing yourself to slide down it. This makes sense but is not instinctive. On the third pitch, there is a deceptive bolt off to the left after an initial traverse. Don’t clip it. Again, it positions the second for a big swing. After the first three pitches, the dike starts. It is knobby and easy to climb and there is a mid-pitch bolt every eighty feet and a two bolt anchor at the end of every rope length. We climbed without hesitation until we ran out of bolts and the grade eased to about 5.2. At this point we loss patience with the rope and untied and hiked solo up over the long shoulder to the summit.

On top Chris showed me the Diving Board. This feature protrudes a little over the vast vertical face of Half Dome. It slopes outward just a little and its surface is a little sandy. I crept out, unroped, and lied down on it then looked down at a team of climbers coming up the Regular Route. My mind said that I was slipping slightly outward. I struggled with this feeling and waved to the team below. I think I tried to say, “Hello,” but I’m not sure I was actually able to get the words out of my mouth. The team below returned my greeting. Feeling that I had accomplished what was necessary to show I wasn’t afraid, I retreated, trying not to do so too quickly. It was the most terrifying experience of my life.
Logistics
Fly, drive or hitch a ride. Merced, CA is the closest city of any size and if you are coming from far away you will probably fly into San Jose near San Francisco. There are busses from Merced and the big city. For train buffs, Amtrak will get you to Merced also. Once at the park, there is a shuttle bus service. You might stay in your own tent in Camp 4 or the Pines Campground, a tent cabin at Currie Village, or at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel – it all depends on your taste and your budget. In fact, there are so many transportation and lodging options that I couldn’t possibly describe them all. Try the Yosemite National Park web site. It is fairly comprehensive.

You need a wilderness permit to camp in the back country of Yosemite. It is permitted to camp on the shoulder of Half Dome so if you want to be first on the route, this is the way to do it. The price you will pay will be that you will need to carry your gear over the route. I wouldn’t recommend stashing it somewhere. I watched a bear mauling a backpack one day. Of course, this won’t happen to you, bad things only happen to other people. It is not permitted to camp on top of Half Dome and there are a few other camping area restrictions in the Yosemite back country. Again, the NPS has a good web site with lots of good info and advice.

Hiking Yosemite National Park by Suzanne Swedo and Rock Climbing Yosemite Free Climbs by Don Reid are good references. Snake Dike is also featured in Yosemite Valley Free Climbs by McNamara, Barnes, Roper, and Snyder from Supertopo. Supertopo does a really nice job with route descriptions and includes critical details that other authors leave out. The other authors might feel that supplying all those details would detract from your experience of adventure. If you buy this argument, you might as well not pick up any guide book at all and just figure it all out on your own after you get to your destination. For that matter, why decide on a destination in advance, anyway?