Snake dike anchor conditions

Hello! Does anyone know the current conditions on the anchors on snake dike, especially the upper pitches? I have read here and there that the anchors from pitch 4 and onwards are sketchy. Can anyone who has climbed it recently clarify this? Thanks

No, I do not know their condition. Consider though...

It's relatively low angle 5.4 - you could belay by sitting down and belaying directly off your harness (with no redirect through the anchors). If you did this it is highly unlikely you'd ever weight the anchors. As far as belaying for the next lead..... a leader could probably arrest his/her own fall just by laying down on the rock, but if someone is at risk of a lead fall on the upper pitches, they really shouldn't be leading (or even on?) the route in the first place.

IOW, while they may be sketchy*, it's a manageable risk.

*I'd be curious as to how someone determined they are sketchy.

I climbed it in mid June and they were bomber. The two piece anchor I sat on in the penultimate pitch was not, however.

@zeb which pitch is the penultimate pitch? What was the exact set up? Thanks

Hobo Greg wrote:

 I’ve tried spread eagle self arresting on even lower angle slab and it doesn’t work like you think it would.

Wait, what? Details! Every time I do the Stately walk-off with my wife, I just say "starfish" and you'd stop after a slip. (Assuming you don't ROLL!)
Are you saying the starfish self-arrest doesn't work?!? 

The ASCA went through and replaced the bolts and anchors just a couple years ago.  Far less sketchy than when I did it a while ago.

The Snake Dike bolts were replaced (with 3/8") in 1992, before ASCA.
I did the climb in 2010 when Roger Brown replaced bolts on the routes to the right of Snake Dike, and all the bolted anchors were good.
We hauled a bunch of fixed ropes from each bolted anchor, etc.
Eventually you are at gear anchors, and we didn't have any problem with those, either.

Zeb Martin wrote: I climbed it in mid June and they were bomber. The two piece anchor I sat on in the penultimate pitch was not, however.

which pitch is the penultimate pitch? What was the exact set up? Thanks

Thanks everyone for your replies! I have already had bad experiences in Tuolumne with rusty anchor setups. I just don’t want to have that again on a climb that is already poorly-protected!

Tristan Perry wrote:

which pitch is the penultimate pitch? What was the exact set up? Thanks

I think the one right before the big canyon-y/crevasse area where most people unrope. I just got a bit lost and used more cams than I'd like, I also only brought like 5 or 6. 

I sat on a bush with a two piece anchor

Bolts are all good. They arnt buttonheads with leepers, they are Rawls with good hangers, some smcs some newer metolious, course they should get some tlc like everything in Yose, maybe an extra bolt or two at some of the main anchors that newer climbs could congest things up on, but don’t worry about the anchors. I’ve seen much worse here 

did the route yesterday. the first few bolted anchors are newer and in good shape. the rest are 90's thin SMC hangers with 3/8 bolts and most are spinners. didn't die. 

On August 1, 2022, Anna Parsons a visiting climber from New Zealand took a huge fall on Pitch 3.  She lived, but broke nearly every bone in her body.  Her foot was amputated.  YOSAR rescued her.  Her medical bills have already topped $1.4 million.  

I last did Snake Dike in 2018 (and many times previous) and I thought some of the bolts were not in good condition.  I read here that some have been replaced.  However for years, I have argued that additional bolts need to be placed on the route.  People respond with stories about how easy the route is and the traditions with the route.  That being said, even the first ascent team said that it needed more bolts.  At the time, I offered to put in 1/2" stainless bolts in and was pretty much told off.  

It's time to add more bolts to Snake Dike to prevent future tragedies.  I hope all those people who argue against additional bolts on the route are helping Ms. Parsons with her medical bills.

Long thread here: Yosemite Helo Rescue 7/10 - Half Dome ?

Bottomline adding more bolts would not have prevented Ms. Parsons from climbing past the anchors.

David, save your hardware and please go bolt an amazing new route somewhere else on half dome. There’s tons of potential for amazing new lines up there. Lots of virgin rock on all sides of the dome. Bolt it really well and make it a clip up so it doesn’t offer the same mental challenge that Snake Dike has offered climbers for years. I’d probably climb it at least once! 

Allen Sandersonwrote:

Long thread here: Yosemite Helo Rescue 7/10 - Half Dome ?

Bottomline adding more bolts would not have prevented Ms. Parsons from climbing past the anchors.

She was 6 ft above the anchors. The last bolt was 35-40 ft below her.. 

If there was another bolt between the last and the anchors it certainly would have helped the severity of the fall. 

H Luewrote:

If there was another bolt between the last and the anchors it certainly would have helped the severity of the fall. 

There is no way to know that or predict the severity. Please read the other thread in its entirety.

David Engelwrote:

On August 1, 2022, Anna Parsons...took a huge fall on Pitch 3.  She...broke nearly every bone in her body.  

There are 206, give or take a couple, in the human body. Please stop assisting magazine writers in their embellishment to get clicks.

  At the time, I offered to put in 1/2" stainless bolts in and was pretty much told off.  

For good reason.

It's time to add more bolts to Snake Dike to prevent future tragedies.  I hope all those people who argue against additional bolts on the route are helping Ms. Parsons with her medical bills.

"I hope every person who ever makes/has a mistake/poor decision/overconfidence, has any deleterious consequences mitigated by the generosity of the community at large." 

There, fixed that for you.

I'm really glad we found another place to argue about this, it looks like the last thread is losing steam.

David Engelwrote:

That being said, even the first ascent team said that it needed more bolts.

And those additional bolts were added by Roper on the second ascent.

  It's time to add more bolts to Snake Dike to prevent future tragedies.  I hope all those people who argue against additional bolts on the route are helping Ms. Parsons with her medical bills.

Please read the other thread, referenced immediately after your post, in its entirety.

I just chopped all the bolts. You're welcome