Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: June 17, 2003
Did this awesome hike with Brian Jenkins. Have been wanting to do it for quite sometime. Gorgeous weather and views. The cables were fun going up and down--dodging panicked tourists. Mark decided it was quicker to walk just outside of the cables to avoid the crowds.
Route Climbed: Snake Dike Date Climbed: March 15, 2004
Did the Snake Dike route for the first time with my friend bearbnz --- very fun. The trip was a bit of an adventure, all told. Read about it in this trip report.
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: October 17, 2001
After trail running up to the cables and waiting for some dude to come down and tell me how cramped up his hands were, I grabbed some gloves and pulled myself up. The cables had just been taken down a week earlier making the climb up a little more exciting. I had the summit to myself and took some time to explore the area and soak in the views. I was rather content after hearing stories about traffic jams on the cables.
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: September 1992
My wife and I did the one day hike to the top. It was a long day. I had a real bad case of poison oak. We made it, but we didn't have much gas left in us after we finished.
Going up the cables was a blast. I felt like Batman going up a side of a building.
Route Climbed: The cables Date Climbed: October, 2003
After a lovely side trip to Nevada Fall we made it to top for a very late lunch. After an hour we only shared the summit with about 10 other people. One Half Dome veteran planned to enjoy the full moon by himself at the top. D and I jogged down all the relatively flat sections to make the most of the disappearing daylight. I was glad I wasn’t wearing sandals like one of the people we encountered on the trail. I got back to the car tired, happy and pleased to be in such good company.
Route Climbed: Cable Route Date Climbed: Summer 1976
I climbed this with a few high school buddies during a road trip to Yosemite in 1976. We started around 9:00 am in just tennis shoes and cut-offs, no shirts, food or water, and got back at sundown.
Route Climbed: Cables Rt.; Snake Dike Date Climbed: July 1986; May 1987
Climbed the cables route with a group of kids that some friends and I were leading on a day hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley. Half Dome was a spontaneous side trip. Snake Dike, climbed with friends John Pfieffer and Russ Stein, is great and I've been back several times to repeat it. In '87 it was still o.k. to spend the night on top, so we climbed with packs on our backs and cooled our beer in the summit snow pack. Unforgetable view of the stars that night!
My first Yosemite multi-pitch climb. A few false starts below the overlap but managed just fine. Waited an hour and a half for one party to clear the second pitch belay anchors while 4 other parties waited below us!!! Also jogged up the Cables about a half dozen times over the years.
Route Climbed: Cable Route Date Climbed: 18-Oct-2003
10x for Half Dome and 1st time with the cables down. Hadn't planned on doing the dome a 2nd time this year, but was playing tour guide for a friend who had never been to the park.
Beautiful clear fall day and the Aspens were displaying their colors.
Great hike from the Valley. Very warm day - and very crowded. Met a large group of teens gathering thier energy and looking for encourgement before going up. Took Mist Trail variation and enjoyed the spay on the way down.
Time for the annual trip up Half Dome before the cables come down (3rd year in a row now). Despite being a Friday in October there were quite a few people on the summit. Beautiful fall weather. Nice and warm once the sun came up (high 30's before then).
Personally I find I don't like the gloves. Just grip the cable with your hands :-) However on the way down, gloves would be nice to allow your hand to slide down the cable for a faster descent.
Route Climbed: Snake Dike Date Climbed: October 6, 2003
Very nice day in the mountains. Climbed with Rene' Renteria, alternating leads. It is a pretty awesome route on a pretty awesome piece of granite. But it is also an easier route than the rating would lead to believe - there are basically just a couple of moves of 5.7. The rest is easy 5th/4th class. I suspect the rating might be there to keep crowds away, but if that's the goal it's not a big success. 8 parties on there on an October weekday, who would have thought... Fortunately we got to the base of the route first and stayed first till the end.
Route Climbed: The cables Date Climbed: 5 October, 2003
Another semi-epic. Lara and I had a reasonable starting time of 7.49, from the TH parking lot. Adopted a rather leisurely pace, also making sure to check out Nevada Fall on the way (spectacular! Was able to actually go up to the wall & touch the water coming down, something that would be impossible during the spring).
Finally reaching the base of the cables, despite menacing-looking clouds overhead, we went for it anyway (it's the Sierra Nevada, not the Rockies!), feeling great about our decision when the clouds moved over towards Mt. Clark. Got up to the summit ~15.30. Hung out up top for awhile, enjoying the summit after a lot of work. Took off @ 16.44.
On the way down, encountered a clueless tourist from Israel (went up in sandals, didn't appear to have any extra clothes, had run out of water, & didn't have a light source), and a (little bit less) clueless couple, who also didn't have any light (they'd left at 10.00 in Oct for a 17-mile hike!)- as we encountered them first, we let them borrow our extra 1-LED mini light. They got down all right. Don't know about the other guy- probably made his first unplanned bivy. Saw a full-grown rattlesnake on the way down, too! Got back to the car at 21.09, taking 3:20 to get back to Oakland. Long hike, great company, beautiful day, & amazing surroundings!
Snake Dike, 11 June, 2005:
Climbed w/ Gordon. Started @ 7.40. Great weather, & awesome to walk past raging Vernal & Nevada Falls in the spring!
W/ 3-4 parties ahead of us upon arrival at the base, had to wait ~ 1 hr to even start. Then once on the route, the pace of the group 2 or 3 parties ahead slowed to a snail's, & we ended up waiting another hour or 2 at a hanging belay- not fun!!!
Aside from that, though, the climb was amazing!!!Run out, exposed, & stimulating!! Perfect rock & amazing views (also don't have to worry about fiddling w/ gear!). I would definitely advise those desiring to lead this climb to be comfortable soloing 5.3-5.4 before attempting this route. G-man & I soloed the last (5.2) pitch, 'finishing' the route @ 18.35(!!).
Got our stuff together & started hiking up the endless slabs @ 18.50. Summited @ 19.25. Hung out, took some photos, were the last to leave, @ 19.51. W/ our weak headlamps it took seemingly forever to get back to the car (esp. after not being able to find the parking lot) shortly before 2.00. Long day but amazing climb!
25 May, 2013
Snake Dike
Walked up with John-O, Steve, and Marek from the trailhead, starting at 18.26. Arrived at the base?? I started up first; first pitch-and-a-half went fine; got stymied when I couldn't find the bolt shortly above the roof. Waited for Steve to go past with rope to show where was (didn't want to have to do any sketchy downclimbing if I didn't have to). A short pause at the crux, although it was fine once I pulled it. Rest of route sublime, esp. when I turned the headlamp off. Topped out at 2.36. Shivered until the amazing sunrise. Great experience!
Route Climbed: Cables Date Climbed: October 4, 2003
My friend and I left the Bay Area at 4:15 AM and arrived at the trailhead parking lot at 7:15. Not too many people on the way up but the cables were beginning to become jammed when we got there. Reached the summit at 11:30 AM and ate lunch. By the time we descended the cables they were quite crowded and soon went into gridlock as usual. Made it back at 3:00.
M and N Denyer - Mar 30, 2004 10:51 am
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: June 17, 2003Did this awesome hike with Brian Jenkins. Have been wanting to do it for quite sometime. Gorgeous weather and views. The cables were fun going up and down--dodging panicked tourists. Mark decided it was quicker to walk just outside of the cables to avoid the crowds.
ScottyS - Mar 18, 2004 10:43 am
Route Climbed: Snake Dike Date Climbed: March 15, 2004Did the Snake Dike route for the first time with my friend bearbnz --- very fun. The trip was a bit of an adventure, all told. Read about it in this trip report.
derbilly - Feb 24, 2004 2:59 am
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: October 17, 2001After trail running up to the cables and waiting for some dude to come down and tell me how cramped up his hands were, I grabbed some gloves and pulled myself up. The cables had just been taken down a week earlier making the climb up a little more exciting. I had the summit to myself and took some time to explore the area and soak in the views. I was rather content after hearing stories about traffic jams on the cables.
mposner - Feb 23, 2004 11:46 am
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: September 1992My wife and I did the one day hike to the top. It was a long day. I had a real bad case of poison oak. We made it, but we didn't have much gas left in us after we finished.
Going up the cables was a blast. I felt like Batman going up a side of a building.
birdhead - Feb 4, 2004 1:57 am
Route Climbed: Cables Date Climbed: May 2002 and 2003I guess this is the hike to do. Great views. Lots of people.
Rob - Jan 29, 2004 8:14 pm
Route Climbed: N.W. face Regular Route Date Climbed: 2000Climbed the NW Face reg route once, and Snake Dike about 5 times.
Lara - Jan 27, 2004 7:13 pm
Route Climbed: The cables Date Climbed: October, 2003After a lovely side trip to Nevada Fall we made it to top for a very late lunch. After an hour we only shared the summit with about 10 other people. One Half Dome veteran planned to enjoy the full moon by himself at the top. D and I jogged down all the relatively flat sections to make the most of the disappearing daylight. I was glad I wasn’t wearing sandals like one of the people we encountered on the trail. I got back to the car tired, happy and pleased to be in such good company.
Sam Mills - Jan 24, 2004 4:24 pm
Route Climbed: Cable Route Date Climbed: Summer 1976I climbed this with a few high school buddies during a road trip to Yosemite in 1976. We started around 9:00 am in just tennis shoes and cut-offs, no shirts, food or water, and got back at sundown.
mtnfoto - Jan 21, 2004 1:30 pm
Route Climbed: NW Face Date Climbed: September 19982 day trip up this amazing wall!
Dave Dinnell - Jan 13, 2004 2:09 am
Route Climbed: Cables Rt.; Snake Dike Date Climbed: July 1986; May 1987Climbed the cables route with a group of kids that some friends and I were leading on a day hike from Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley. Half Dome was a spontaneous side trip. Snake Dike, climbed with friends John Pfieffer and Russ Stein, is great and I've been back several times to repeat it. In '87 it was still o.k. to spend the night on top, so we climbed with packs on our backs and cooled our beer in the summit snow pack. Unforgetable view of the stars that night!
Dave Daly - Nov 2, 2003 11:18 pm
Route Climbed: Snake Dike Date Climbed: July 1996My first Yosemite multi-pitch climb. A few false starts below the overlap but managed just fine. Waited an hour and a half for one party to clear the second pitch belay anchors while 4 other parties waited below us!!! Also jogged up the Cables about a half dozen times over the years.
fedak - Oct 24, 2003 11:06 am
Route Climbed: Cable Route Date Climbed: 18-Oct-200310x for Half Dome and 1st time with the cables down. Hadn't planned on doing the dome a 2nd time this year, but was playing tour guide for a friend who had never been to the park.
Beautiful clear fall day and the Aspens were displaying their colors.
Pics are here
TDRoberts - Oct 20, 2003 8:38 am
Route Climbed: Cables Route Date Climbed: July 03Great hike from the Valley. Very warm day - and very crowded. Met a large group of teens gathering thier energy and looking for encourgement before going up. Took Mist Trail variation and enjoyed the spay on the way down.
Johnhl94563 - Oct 12, 2003 10:16 am
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: 10/10/03Time for the annual trip up Half Dome before the cables come down (3rd year in a row now). Despite being a Friday in October there were quite a few people on the summit. Beautiful fall weather. Nice and warm once the sun came up (high 30's before then).
Personally I find I don't like the gloves. Just grip the cable with your hands :-) However on the way down, gloves would be nice to allow your hand to slide down the cable for a faster descent.
Rick Kent - Oct 9, 2003 3:17 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Route via the Cables Date Climbed: May 31, 2003Loved it! The cables were cool. Only complaint: too many people.
Romain - Oct 7, 2003 1:51 pm
Route Climbed: Snake Dike Date Climbed: October 6, 2003Very nice day in the mountains. Climbed with Rene' Renteria, alternating leads. It is a pretty awesome route on a pretty awesome piece of granite. But it is also an easier route than the rating would lead to believe - there are basically just a couple of moves of 5.7. The rest is easy 5th/4th class. I suspect the rating might be there to keep crowds away, but if that's the goal it's not a big success. 8 parties on there on an October weekday, who would have thought... Fortunately we got to the base of the route first and stayed first till the end.
Here are the pics:
Snake Dike
Diggler - Oct 6, 2003 11:55 am
Route Climbed: The cables Date Climbed: 5 October, 2003Another semi-epic. Lara and I had a reasonable starting time of 7.49, from the TH parking lot. Adopted a rather leisurely pace, also making sure to check out Nevada Fall on the way (spectacular! Was able to actually go up to the wall & touch the water coming down, something that would be impossible during the spring).
Finally reaching the base of the cables, despite menacing-looking clouds overhead, we went for it anyway (it's the Sierra Nevada, not the Rockies!), feeling great about our decision when the clouds moved over towards Mt. Clark. Got up to the summit ~15.30. Hung out up top for awhile, enjoying the summit after a lot of work. Took off @ 16.44.
On the way down, encountered a clueless tourist from Israel (went up in sandals, didn't appear to have any extra clothes, had run out of water, & didn't have a light source), and a (little bit less) clueless couple, who also didn't have any light (they'd left at 10.00 in Oct for a 17-mile hike!)- as we encountered them first, we let them borrow our extra 1-LED mini light. They got down all right. Don't know about the other guy- probably made his first unplanned bivy. Saw a full-grown rattlesnake on the way down, too! Got back to the car at 21.09, taking 3:20 to get back to Oakland. Long hike, great company, beautiful day, & amazing surroundings!
Snake Dike, 11 June, 2005:
Climbed w/ Gordon. Started @ 7.40. Great weather, & awesome to walk past raging Vernal & Nevada Falls in the spring!
W/ 3-4 parties ahead of us upon arrival at the base, had to wait ~ 1 hr to even start. Then once on the route, the pace of the group 2 or 3 parties ahead slowed to a snail's, & we ended up waiting another hour or 2 at a hanging belay- not fun!!!
Aside from that, though, the climb was amazing!!! Run out, exposed, & stimulating!! Perfect rock & amazing views (also don't have to worry about fiddling w/ gear!). I would definitely advise those desiring to lead this climb to be comfortable soloing 5.3-5.4 before attempting this route. G-man & I soloed the last (5.2) pitch, 'finishing' the route @ 18.35(!!).
Got our stuff together & started hiking up the endless slabs @ 18.50. Summited @ 19.25. Hung out, took some photos, were the last to leave, @ 19.51. W/ our weak headlamps it took seemingly forever to get back to the car (esp. after not being able to find the parking lot) shortly before 2.00. Long day but amazing climb!
25 May, 2013
Snake Dike
Walked up with John-O, Steve, and Marek from the trailhead, starting at 18.26. Arrived at the base?? I started up first; first pitch-and-a-half went fine; got stymied when I couldn't find the bolt shortly above the roof. Waited for Steve to go past with rope to show where was (didn't want to have to do any sketchy downclimbing if I didn't have to). A short pause at the crux, although it was fine once I pulled it. Rest of route sublime, esp. when I turned the headlamp off. Topped out at 2.36. Shivered until the amazing sunrise. Great experience!
Brett A - Oct 4, 2003 10:54 pm
Route Climbed: Cables Date Climbed: October 4, 2003My friend and I left the Bay Area at 4:15 AM and arrived at the trailhead parking lot at 7:15. Not too many people on the way up but the cables were beginning to become jammed when we got there. Reached the summit at 11:30 AM and ate lunch. By the time we descended the cables they were quite crowded and soon went into gridlock as usual. Made it back at 3:00.
Romain - Oct 3, 2003 1:35 am
Route Climbed: Cables Date Climbed: June 1999From Tenaya Lake, over Clouds Rest, and back, with Sven Rady. Very crowded, but very nice.
madclimber - Sep 26, 2003 12:29 pm
Route Climbed: The Cables Date Climbed: September 20, 2002Bring leather work gloves. The cotton gloves are no good and that's why people leave them there. Also, wear shoes with good traction!