Snake Dike with my little boys
Some of you may have read the prequel from last July when I took my oldest son (then 11 years old) up Snake Dike with my good friend Dave. When we got back, I wrote the trip report, and it got a lot of good reviews, but my two younger sons, Riley and Sawyer, were unimpressed. They figured if Ky could handle the big day, so could they. So I promised them I would take them up the next summer.
August 28, 2010
The weather forecast was for much cooler temps and gusty winds with afternoon showers. This seemed ideal as last July when we went up, it was scorching hot, so hot we ran out of water. I had a new strategy to shorten the day for the boys; I put them to bed in the back seat of the truck with a pillow and blanket each, so that when I went out there to leave at 1:30 am, they could keep on sleeping. And it worked. I drove to Lee Vining and picked up Dave who had volunteered to go again and help carrying gear and belaying. They slept right on through until we parked near Curry.
We unloaded bikes, and rode down to Happy Isles, leaving the truck around 4:18 am.
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The first and last mile go by so much faster on a bike.
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Just up from Happy Isles, on our way.
We cruised up the trail, and surprisingly we didn't see any others heading up, but saw a few folks coming down.
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Near the top of Vernal Falls. We thought about warming up on Kauk's 'Magic Line', but it was too dark.
We made good time up the trail, and were soon at the point where we left the Mist Trail for the use trail between Liberty Cap and Mt. Broderick.
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Here's where we joined the use trail
It was still dark on this section, but the use trail is well defined and we managed to stay on route.
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Ryle cruising the use trail, looks pretty fresh considering the very early hour
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A little bit of scrambling on the use trail
It was starting to get light as we hiked between the domes, and Ry and Saw wanted to scout the same giant leaning flake as their older brother.
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Saw and Ryle behind the flake
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Saw popping out from behind the flake
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Saw styling his way back down to the ground
We headed out through the woods to catch the use trail to Lost Lake.
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Threading through the trees on the way to Lost Lake
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On the trail past Lost Lake
Once we broke out from between the domes, we caught our first glimpse of the difficult South Face.
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First light on the South Face. Photo by Dave
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Evantually we could see the full extent. Photo by Dave
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Looking back at Liberty Cap and Mt. Broderick, with Mt. Starr King in the background. Photo by Dave
I have done this approach many times in the past, and it has always been somewhat of a challenge to keep away from the bush-whacking, but this time the trail was very well marked and easy to follow, with regular ducks, and the brush barely touched us. It seems greatly improved. Did Roger Brown have anything to do with that? As we broke out from between the domes, we spotted a pair of climbers on the approach ahead of us. They seemed to be making good time, and we hoped they would be one or two pitches along when we got to the base.
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The approach trail was strangely easy to follow this time
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Easy walking on the slab portion of the approach. Photo by Dave
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There was some fun scrambling for the little guys on the way
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On the shoulder of HD
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The boys like scrambling way better than hiking
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More scrambling
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And more
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The last bit of hiking before we started climbing
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The full length of the route was in our sight. Photo by Dave
Apparently we were gaining on the climbers ahead of us, because when we arrived at the base they were just getting started.
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Finally at the start of the climb
The leader was competent though, and they climbed quickly. We geared up and got started. I put both Ry and Saw on one rope, they're quite light (65 & 70 pounds) and we didn't want to carry 3 ropes.
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Partway up the first pitch, belayed by Dave
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Climbing the first pitch. Photo by Dave
I climbed up to the belay ledge, and Saw and Ry started up.
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Saw and Ry on Pitch One. Photo by Dave
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Ryle looking stylish, climbing the slab just like he's supposed to, lots of feet, hands for balance
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One-legged Saw looking comfortable on the first pitch
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Saw enjoying the first pitch flake. Photo by Dave
They cruised the first pitch, flying up everything in their way. Once they were a ways up, Dave started behind them, and I was able to belay all 3 of them since they were all on 2 ropes. The first ledge is large enough to be comfortable for four, and I headed out on the traverse.
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Looking back at the top of the first pitch
I set up at the belay, and the crew started over. This belay has no ledge, so it was kinda cozy with all four of us there.
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Looking down from the top of the 2nd pitch
I was glad to be on my way, to ease the crowding, and I made the friction traverse and over to the actual Snake Dike. I turned right at the first set of belay bolts, and climbed up to the next set.
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The top of the 3rd pitch
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Ryle and Saw on the 3rd pitch. Photo by Dave
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Ryle and Saw joined me at the belay. Photo by Dave
Everyone joined me there, and I headed off up the 4th pitch. In the meantime, the pair ahead of us was making good time and pulling away.
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The top of the 4th pitch
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Ryle and Saw zipping up the 4th pitch
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Ryle and Saw with me at the top of the 4th pitch. Photo by Dave
You guessed it, next I climbed the 5th pitch, and Ry, Saw, and Dave cruised up to join me at another crowded hanging belay.
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Dave and the boys untangling the belay
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And then they climbed on up
Onward to the 6th pitch, and the end of the dike.
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Enjoying one of the last stretches of dike climbing
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The last section of dike, the next 2 pitches are dike-free
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This last part of the dike is pretty fat
Ry and Saw were happily cruising along, and they wished that there were more pitches of climbing.
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A happy Ryle enjoying his first multi-pitch
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Saw looks just as happy
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Leaving the 6th belay
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The top of the 6th pitch
The seventh pitch is just friction, with no handholds, but it's really low angle, so you don't miss the handholds too much.
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No gear, no problem on the low angle
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Dad, why are you still using the rope? I'm going no-hands
We finished up the last two friction pitches, and changed shoes and started the long slab granite slog to the top.
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These slabs feel like they last forever...
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And ever... Photo by Dave
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The weather was definitely turning, it was time to head down. Photo by Dave
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A small snow flurry blew through. It's August? Photo by Dave
We went down the cables, thankfully not crowded due to the sketchy weather, and then took the super secret short-cut. Dave takes much more artistic photos than I do, I just want to record the event, Dave likes to celebrate the event. So he takes photos of stuff like waterfalls, the moon, shadows, and low light.
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Nevada Falls, doncha know? Photo by Dave
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Vernal Falls from the Mist Trail. Photo by Dave
We passed Vernal Falls, and then we were back to our bikes. We dropped our packs at the truck, and rode down to the store where Dave treated us all to ice cream.
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Riding for some ice cream
The little guys had an awesome day, and I was amazed that they did the whole thing as just a matter of fact. They never complained, never grumbled, and didn't even think of getting scared. When I was 10, you would have had to sedate me to get me up that route.
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