Snake Dike 5.7 R

SNAKE DIKE 2014

Reed and Kirt had attempted Snake Dike in 2013, but followed two other climbers up the wrong route 100 feet to the left (probably Blondike), took a fall, and retreated. On the way down we saw a group with a guide go up the correct route, and remembered it for this year.

We tried again on July 12, 2014. Hiking rapidly and passing a lot of hikers, we made it to Little Yosemite Valley in 1.5 hours . The use trail to Lost Lake was fast, but after that we continued downhill following cairns, which we apparently shouldn't have done. We had to backtrack, do some bushwacking, and eventually reached the start after 4.25 sweaty, dirty hours.
A pair of French climbers who had climbed Snake Dike before arrived with us. We told them to go first so we could watch the route they took. Their lead climber was very sure-footed and went straight for the left side of the overhang, placing his first piece of protection there. Reed placed four pieces of pro by that point. The sharp turns caused horrendous rope drag, so Reed climbed down and removed the pro below the overhang. The top of pitch 1 is above the overhang. Kirt followed and cleaned. There is a good pair of bolts at the top of pitch 1.
Pitch 2 starts by heading to the right of the anchor. The granite here is polished and is the only place that Kirt slipped. On pitch 2 we picked up Snake Dike itself.
Pitch 2 had decent grip on the dike and some runout. There were good bolts at the top of pitch 2. Looking down.
Pitch 4 followed the dike, with good grip and long runout and good bolts.
Pitch 5 had more runout and good bolts. The bolts were good . There is a big hole at the top of pitch 5 .

Pitch 6 had the longest runout--one bolt higher up and no cracks along the way. We called this section Jug-O-Licious. The views were good . Looking down from pitch 6, you can see the entire route. The top of pitch 6 had a place to sit.
On pitch 7 it was not immediately clear where to head, so Reed consulted the SuperTopo again. This pitch had yet more runout, but lots of horns along the dike.

By pitch 7 we were off of the dike and onto cracks. Climbing was to the right of the bolts. At the top of pitch 7 was the first time we had to build an anchor.
For pitch 8 we just found a route and went for it. It took us 5 hours hours of climbing to reach this point (the SuperTopo says 3-4 hours). We probably placed a lot more pro than more-experienced climbers and took our time climbing. The oddest thing Kirt saw: a frog in the chute above pitch 8. Sorry I couldn't get a photo before it slipped into a crack.

After that we put on our approach shoes and scrambled (hands and feet) up class 4 granite. After awhile the dome levels off to class 3 and we could walk.

The views from the top of Half Dome were grand as always.
On the hike down we stopped at a spring that some hikers had found about two miles above LYV (GPS coordinates N 37.74821 W 119.51400). It is where some 4-foot-diameter trees fell and have been cut for the trail to go through. The water was cold and refreshing.We chugged down full bottles, as we had run out on the class 4 section.

The total round trip time was 15.5 hours from our campsite in the valley. Good thing we started at 5:45 am!