Half Dome, May 2012
Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, Memorial Day Weekend 2012
I left work on a Friday afternoon doing my best to wrap things up before my trip. Shortly after I hit the road, I was realizing that I should have left much earlier. I had three hours until my flight out of Midway Airport and traffic on the interstate was at a standstill. To make a long story short(er), it ended taking me over two hours to get to the airport. I just barely missed the 45min cutoff that guarantees that your checked luggage will make it onto the flight. I was that guy running through the concourse and just barely making it onto the plane, covered in sweat, looking for a spot to cram my carry-on in the overhead compartments. Fast forward to later that night and I was in San Jose, thrilled that my checked luggage had made it with me, and was greeted warmly by my good friends Randy, Kei, and Derick (all Purdue Outing Club [aka POC] alumni). We stuffed my gear into Randy’s Jeep and from the airport headed straight towards Yosemite National Park.
The whole reason behind this trip was because our good friend Ritwik (also POC alum) was celebrating his 40th birthday and decided to plan a gathering of friends and family to one of the most beautiful outdoor spots and climbing meccas that used to be in his backyard when he was working out of Sunnyvale.
Throughout the weekend, we packed the rented cabin full of people and enjoyed the great camaraderie. During the day, the group would split up to find their own adventures, whether it involved hiking, climbing, white water kayaking or getting lost. Then we’d convene in the evening and tell our stories. It was a blast.
My main objective for the weekend involved climbing a route on Half Dome called the Snake Dike. The route carries a rating of 5.7 R, meaning the actual climbing isn’t very difficult, but it offers poor protection, so falling is not really an option otherwise you would risk terrifyingly long falls before the rope catches you. In addition to this mental aspect, it takes a long day to do the route because it involves a 6 mile hike (and 2500ft of elevation gain) just to get to the base of Half Dome. Then the climbing route ascends 800ft up the slabby granite face on the Snake Dike feature, after which you walk up hundreds more feet of calf burning slab until you reach the summit. After that, you descend the cables route and then hike another 9 miles back to the car. I was glad to have found a willing and competent partner, Brian, to join me in the adventure.
Brian and I started hiking from the car at 5:15am and started up the Mist Trail which later joins up with the John Muir Trail. Its truly a beautiful hike that takes you up Vernal and Nevada falls and hiking in the twilight hours of the morning was a bit surreal. I was a bit surprised by how many hikers we had passed along the way. They were undoubtedly ‘Cables Route’ hikers, who intended to hike around the back of Half Dome and ascend the cables.
We arrived at the base of the climb at 9:30am and unfortunately there was a party of 3 that had just gotten there a bit before us. We chatted with them a bit as they took their time to get started. As we watched the guy start climbing, I was realizing that they were not so experienced. They were nice guys, but were pretty much clueless in multi-pitch climbing. They used a double rope system, but didn't know how to use it properly and or manage the excess rope while belaying. They climbed slowly and would fumble around endlessly at every belay station. Had we started before them, I have no doubt that Brian and I could have climbed the route in at least 2-3hrs less than what we did.
The climbing was interesting, full on polished friction slab in the beginning and then solid climbing once you get onto the dike. We started on the route at about 11am. The major theme of the route was RUNOUTS. Right off of the ground I was looking at a huge pendulum swing before getting past the first section and once you get onto the dike you get to clip a bolt maybe every 60-75ft. Its not a difficult route, but its definitely an attention-getter and is still a serious climb. Eventually the angle of the slab eases up and the route ends. You pack up the rope and start walking up the rest of the way on the calf-burning slab. I was feeling the burn and the altitude, panting heavily after every 7 steps or so. Soon we stood on the summit at 5:20pm. We pretty much had it to ourselves and enjoyed the view. To get down we descended the cables route and man, talk about sketchy. The rock was so slippery and polished along the cables that I can’t believe anyone would try to go up that without clipping in with a harness. It was comically ironic that Brian and I were both sketched out by the cables after climbing the route we did. Once we were off of the rock we had a 9-mile hike out. At least most of it was downhill. We got back to the car at 10:15pm, an 18hr day car to car. All in all, it was a great day.
Some times I figured out from looking at the time stamps on my photos:
5:15am – started hiking from car
9:27am – got to base of the route
11:15am – about the time we started climbing
12:32pm – waiting for the party ahead of us just before the crux traverse
6:37pm – finished the climbing route and walking up the slabs
5:20pm – standing on the summit
5:47pm – started descending the cables
10:15pm – back to the car
18hrs – entire day from car to car
4:15hrs – approach time
7hrs or so – time we spent on the route! (unbelievably long)
5hrs – time from summit to the car
Getting back to the cabin late at night, a few POCers were still up and welcomed our arrival with leftover food and cake from the celebration they had for Ritwik earlier that evening. Desiree heated up some bbq ribs for me and Brian handed me a piece of cake, now that was a perfect end to a long day!
Read MoreI left work on a Friday afternoon doing my best to wrap things up before my trip. Shortly after I hit the road, I was realizing that I should have left much earlier. I had three hours until my flight out of Midway Airport and traffic on the interstate was at a standstill. To make a long story short(er), it ended taking me over two hours to get to the airport. I just barely missed the 45min cutoff that guarantees that your checked luggage will make it onto the flight. I was that guy running through the concourse and just barely making it onto the plane, covered in sweat, looking for a spot to cram my carry-on in the overhead compartments. Fast forward to later that night and I was in San Jose, thrilled that my checked luggage had made it with me, and was greeted warmly by my good friends Randy, Kei, and Derick (all Purdue Outing Club [aka POC] alumni). We stuffed my gear into Randy’s Jeep and from the airport headed straight towards Yosemite National Park.
The whole reason behind this trip was because our good friend Ritwik (also POC alum) was celebrating his 40th birthday and decided to plan a gathering of friends and family to one of the most beautiful outdoor spots and climbing meccas that used to be in his backyard when he was working out of Sunnyvale.
Throughout the weekend, we packed the rented cabin full of people and enjoyed the great camaraderie. During the day, the group would split up to find their own adventures, whether it involved hiking, climbing, white water kayaking or getting lost. Then we’d convene in the evening and tell our stories. It was a blast.
My main objective for the weekend involved climbing a route on Half Dome called the Snake Dike. The route carries a rating of 5.7 R, meaning the actual climbing isn’t very difficult, but it offers poor protection, so falling is not really an option otherwise you would risk terrifyingly long falls before the rope catches you. In addition to this mental aspect, it takes a long day to do the route because it involves a 6 mile hike (and 2500ft of elevation gain) just to get to the base of Half Dome. Then the climbing route ascends 800ft up the slabby granite face on the Snake Dike feature, after which you walk up hundreds more feet of calf burning slab until you reach the summit. After that, you descend the cables route and then hike another 9 miles back to the car. I was glad to have found a willing and competent partner, Brian, to join me in the adventure.
Brian and I started hiking from the car at 5:15am and started up the Mist Trail which later joins up with the John Muir Trail. Its truly a beautiful hike that takes you up Vernal and Nevada falls and hiking in the twilight hours of the morning was a bit surreal. I was a bit surprised by how many hikers we had passed along the way. They were undoubtedly ‘Cables Route’ hikers, who intended to hike around the back of Half Dome and ascend the cables.
We arrived at the base of the climb at 9:30am and unfortunately there was a party of 3 that had just gotten there a bit before us. We chatted with them a bit as they took their time to get started. As we watched the guy start climbing, I was realizing that they were not so experienced. They were nice guys, but were pretty much clueless in multi-pitch climbing. They used a double rope system, but didn't know how to use it properly and or manage the excess rope while belaying. They climbed slowly and would fumble around endlessly at every belay station. Had we started before them, I have no doubt that Brian and I could have climbed the route in at least 2-3hrs less than what we did.
The climbing was interesting, full on polished friction slab in the beginning and then solid climbing once you get onto the dike. We started on the route at about 11am. The major theme of the route was RUNOUTS. Right off of the ground I was looking at a huge pendulum swing before getting past the first section and once you get onto the dike you get to clip a bolt maybe every 60-75ft. Its not a difficult route, but its definitely an attention-getter and is still a serious climb. Eventually the angle of the slab eases up and the route ends. You pack up the rope and start walking up the rest of the way on the calf-burning slab. I was feeling the burn and the altitude, panting heavily after every 7 steps or so. Soon we stood on the summit at 5:20pm. We pretty much had it to ourselves and enjoyed the view. To get down we descended the cables route and man, talk about sketchy. The rock was so slippery and polished along the cables that I can’t believe anyone would try to go up that without clipping in with a harness. It was comically ironic that Brian and I were both sketched out by the cables after climbing the route we did. Once we were off of the rock we had a 9-mile hike out. At least most of it was downhill. We got back to the car at 10:15pm, an 18hr day car to car. All in all, it was a great day.
Some times I figured out from looking at the time stamps on my photos:
5:15am – started hiking from car
9:27am – got to base of the route
11:15am – about the time we started climbing
12:32pm – waiting for the party ahead of us just before the crux traverse
6:37pm – finished the climbing route and walking up the slabs
5:20pm – standing on the summit
5:47pm – started descending the cables
10:15pm – back to the car
18hrs – entire day from car to car
4:15hrs – approach time
7hrs or so – time we spent on the route! (unbelievably long)
5hrs – time from summit to the car
Getting back to the cabin late at night, a few POCers were still up and welcomed our arrival with leftover food and cake from the celebration they had for Ritwik earlier that evening. Desiree heated up some bbq ribs for me and Brian handed me a piece of cake, now that was a perfect end to a long day!
