Yosemite Helo Rescue 7/10 - Half Dome ?

More visual context for people who haven't climbed it. Pink numbers show where ea pic was taken, and direction observer is looking

1 - looking from low red-circle optional belay toward 5.4 climbing. a ways above the climber is the .75 placement

2 - looking from belay 2 down the dike you climb to gain the anchor (this isn't the Snake Dike itself, just another of the beautiful dikes on HD). there is a bolt near the climber in the red pack - i believe this bolt is what caught Anna's fall (?). the rope coils show the fall terrain, and the sweep that a pendulum would have caused.  

3 - looking back toward belay 2 from the route's crux, the 5.7 leftward traverse on p3 that leads to the snake dike proper. two climbers are at belay 2, the belay that Anna didn't see/clip. another view of the climbing lead up to the anchor, where Anna may have gotten off route, and the fall terrain below.

4 - taken from the same spot as pic 3, but showing more of the Snake Dance dike that runs above anchor 2. this is where the topo shows No! in red rectangle. there is a bolt a ways up this dike that has lured many off route.

FWIW, with or without more bolts I guess Snake Dike is going to continue to attract parties that aren't ready. Adding bolts will attract more of them - call it the Cables Principle, as people have discussed above. This older thread on bailing off of Snake Dike came to mind, where I related an experience from last year with another party at this same anchor (not the day shown in the pics above). These two climbers wouldn't have been safer w more bolts - they just weren't ready to be up there. 

Last time I climbed Snake Dike, last April, there was a party at the p2 anchor. We were the last party of the day, having started late to try to avoid crowds. We gave them lots of time before we left the ground, but they weren't moving, so we started up. When my partner arrived they asked her if we'd like to pass. In chatting, turns out that they were planning to bail. 

It was the first multi-pitch climb for both of them, and only one of them had lead experience, mostly indoor. The other had also never rapelled before. The leader wasn't liking the look of p3 and was about to rap on his single 60m; the plan was to rap the plumb line 30m, hoping to make the ground, and then his partner, who'd never rapelled, would follow after him. They were both very gripped. Rapping from there on a 60m would have been not good - 30m was going to leave him in the middle of the face - especially if he didn't have skills to reverse that mistake.

My partner was gentle and kind and convinced them to let her lower them in turn, using their rope, which she then dropped to them. They were nice people, way over their heads, who would have been in trouble if there were no parties behind them.

Lind ziwrote:

Seeing the recent comments, I actually do think I have one more thing worth contributing. Simply to encourage anyone who wants to enjoy SD in relative solitude to consider going when the HD cables are down.

FYI don't expect solitude. On a Saturday this March there were probably 50 people who went up the cables and it was some of the sketchiest shit I've ever seen.

Good lord. People have to much time to type. The route isn’t gonna change. You are all wasting your time here. None of the valley dwellers are going to allow this route to be changed. If you add bolts, they will last a day at most before getting chopped. Also, mark my words, give it a month and we will have all found the next thing to squabble over. 

Todd Berlier wrote:

quick soapbox:

i think that everyone commenting in these threads should give their opinions as just that--i mean im happy for you that you have strong opinions but they are still opinions. although it is 100% fact that Danny Carey is the best drummer of all time.  

secondly i also think we should comment on these threads thinking of the injured or dead as our own son or daughter. 

lastly, my experience on on Snake Dike:

about the year 2000, i was about 32 and primarliy a sport climber and boulderer. i had come to yosemite for 2 days from SLC. day 1 was to try midnight lightning (which i failed on--got matched on the lightning hold once after about 3 hours) and day 2 was snake dike. my partner was my gf at the time with a fair amount of tr experience up to 5.10. i would be leading all the pitches. i had trad climbed easy 10s and not a lot of multi-pitch. my first two times leading i decked from 15 feet on new yosemite at nrg and scared myself close to shitless on a 5.7 at stone mountain, nc. those auspucious beginnings were about 5 to 10 years behind me. we got to the base just after dawn with one party ahead and one behind. the climb itself went very well--its been awhile so my memory of the climb is not exact but i remember being scared getting to the first bit of pro on pitch 1. pitch 2 went well and i just remember it being meandering and i don't remember being scared on it. from the anchors on pitch 2 i was able to kinda chill and take in my surroundings while belaying: the awe i felt looking down into the valley is what i remember best. just being perched on the side of this monolith, climbing it with my gf felt like a fairytale. i remember looking up and not seeing the party ahead. the party behind was still racking up and two more parties were chilling or arriving. i remember looking up at the next pitches on the dike itself and not seeing any bolts or gear. i think i had a photocopy of a topo and feeling very confident of the route. i remember thinking that if i fell i would be thought of as a dumbass--no helmet, cell phone, and no way my gf would have any clue of how to rescue me/us if i was injured. i remember her coming up to the belay in a great mood and having a ball. i set out up the dike and for me this is where my experience was magical: i was just flowing--being very deliberate with each hand and foot placement--like i was soloing out by myself with no one around--if i or my gf spoke i don't remember. every once in a while i would pause to just to make sure i was in a good state of mind, take some deep breaths scan for the bolt or the anchor. i remember marveling that i wasn't scared when i looked down and followed the rope past the lone bolt to my gf 100 feet below and not seeing the next anchor. when we finally got to the top i remember being more pissed off than i have ever been on a summit: there were maybe 50 people there eating shit food, someone had a boom box playing the rolling stones--never liked the rolling stones. i remember passing people on the cables grumbling obscenities about everyone there ruining my experience. i felt bad later and still do about allowing the last bit to get to me.

i dont want the character of the climb to be changed. i want others to get what i got (hopefully a little more safely). i hope anna heals quickly and still gets out for adventures. if the next generation does decide to change the character of the climb i certainly wont chop anything--ill shrug and say, "ok, their choice," and not think much more about it. 

Danny Carey is the best drummer of all times and with a few exceptions, I don't like the Rolling Stones.

Do people still practice downclimbing anymore? I almost never see anyone doing it outside and I almost never see it at the gym, but it is an invaluable tool for old chickens like me who don’t like to fall.

Didn’t Peter Croft have something to say about that? 

I downclimb everything I climb, 5.10 and under at the gym. It's one of the main reasons I go to the gym. Becoming solid at down-climbing is essential for the scrambling I like to do.

Todd Berlier wrote:

ugh. ok. i admit it: i like Paint it Black--but that's it!

and Lindzi--part/a lot of the respectfullness of this conversation is because of your thought out and civil responses. so thanks goes to you!

Oh come on.  Midnight Rambler for sure. I guess I won’t get any love for Charlie Watts?

I regret the unfortunate accident and hope for a quality recovery for the injured party.  Snake Dike is well known to be a no-falls climb; despite this it is already overcrowded. I have counted as many as 6 parties on it at a time, using binoculars from Glacier Point.  If it were bolted to make it safe for everyone then it would likely become even more popular. The Cables route is an example of what happens when an easy but potentially dangerous route becomes overcrowded. 

Climbing is an inherently risky sport. Yosemite has many dangerous routes but also many that are reasonably safe. Information is readily available to enable good decisions. Replacing existing hardware that has become unsafe is a good thing and we should all support it. But I do not believe adding new bolts to long-established routes is appropriate.

If a bolt is luring climbers off a trade route, would it be so bad to flag it with a tag or some red tat or something? Did first ascensionists want to preserve the route-finding confusion they created?

How about we put a solid line of bolts 20ft to the left and right of the dike all the way up every 10ft. That way it has protection but it is technically off route to go clip it.

Cherokee Nuneswrote:

Climbing is not in it's infancy. It has been practiced for +100 years, unlike Pickleball for example. There is a rich, bold history and tradition and some of us are going to protect that heritage and the ethics that help preserve it. It doesn't matter if some kids come along whining about how they can't measure up to the standards of old. We couldn't either, by and large. Its not supposed to be easy and safety is almost always in the hands of the climber, not the gear.

Climbing is most assuredly in its' infancy. Modern climbing began a single generation ago for me. Give it another couple hundred years before we start talking about the history and tradition. By that time, we will be confronted with the dilemma of whether or not to re-texture the rock, because well-climbed routes will have become polished to the point of being many times harder than they were originally. We are privileged to have been around in climbing's infancy. All these squabbles over bolting etc, are proof of that fact. We are all trying to have our say about the future of climbing. Personally, I see, "Certified Rock Texturer", become an esteemed position in the climbing heirarchy.

Mike Cremsenwrote:

If a bolt is luring climbers off a trade route, would it be so bad to flag it with a tag or some red tat or something? Did first ascensionists want to preserve the route-finding confusion they created?

I'm terrible at route finding and didn't find the route finding on Snake Dike much of a challenge. If people don't read the topo how is the tat going to help them? 

John Smithwrote:

How about we put a solid line of bolts 20ft to the left and right of the dike all the way up every 10ft. That way it has protection but it is technically off route to go clip it.

Why not just put up an entirely separate route that will take much of the traffic off of Snake Dike?

Ricky Harlinewrote:

I'm terrible at route finding and didn't find the route finding on Snake Dike much of a challenge. If people don't read the topo how is the tat going to help them? 

Why not just put up an entirely separate route that will take much of the traffic off of Snake Dike?

The big problem is the route itself. Just go straight from XX anchor 1 on the topo to XX anchor 3 (pretty sure there is another XX anchor not listed at the bottom of the dike lower than where it shows you should be). I still don't see it being noticeably harder than going to the right and back to the left. If you just go straight up to the dike you can't get off route.

Best wishes to the injured climber. Just horrible.

My ascent of Snake Dike was a thrilling and beautiful experience. I’m glad it exists the way it is. There are many other climbs in the world if you can’t muster what it takes to do SD. This conversation is all theory - any attempt to add bolts to Snake Dike will be swiftly and justifiably removed.

Glen Priorwrote:

Climbing is most assuredly in its' infancy. Modern climbing began a single generation ago for me. Give it another couple hundred years before we start talking about the history and tradition. By that time, we will be confronted with the dilemma of whether or not to re-texture the rock, because well-climbed routes will have become polished to the point of being many times harder than they were originally. We are privileged to have been around in climbing's infancy. All these squabbles over bolting etc, are proof of that fact. We are all trying to have our say about the future of climbing. Personally, I see, "Certified Rock Texturer", become an esteemed position in the climbing heirarchy.

No. Your first sentence showcases the absurdity of that argument, as you refer to ‘modern climbing’ which is something that has already significantly evolved from earlier versions of the sport. By your logic, the automobile industry is also in its infancy, since cars of the future might be powered by miniature fusion reactors. In reality, that industry is approaching (or some argue has already surpassed) it’s zenith.  By your rational, the Grand Canyon is also in its infancy, because it will look entirely different in 200 million years from now, since the process of erosion is just getting started.

Damn, so glad I did SD about 30 years ago.  My wife and I saw not a single person until we summited and went down the very uncrowded cables, which even as an experienced climber felt kinda sketch.  Coming from NZ, right?, I suspect she had precious little Yos slab style climbing experience, and the grade--hell, ANYONE can climb 5.7--was a dangerous lure.  Before we went up there, my wife and I had climbed tonnes on the apron--classic slabs like Lucifer's Ledge et al.--and I think we'd done Crest Jewel by then, too.  We were totally primed for it, and it went off beautifully.  But you gotta screw down your head and know what's what.  I feel so bad for the injured woman.  Her life has been forever changed.  Let hers be a cautionary tale for other suitors.

I argue "modern" climbing begins with the golden age of alpinism in 1854. You can read Edward Whymper's books online, a lot of the things he talks about seem surprisingly modern.

• 1862 English Football Association formed
• 1865 Matterhorn is climbed
• 1869 John Muir climbs Cathedral Peak
• 1880 British trad climbing in the Lake and Peak districts is underway
• 1891 Basketball is invented
• 1892 first bouldering competition.
• 1896 first marathon race in the modern era, Boston Marathon begins one year later
• 1900 Fontainbleau is being regularly visited as "the usual practice area" of the French Alpine Club
• 1906 Free climbing of ~5.9 difficulty in Germany by Oliver Perry Smith
  
  

Mike Cremsenwrote:

If a bolt is luring climbers off a trade route, would it be so bad to flag it with a tag or some red tat or something? Did first ascensionists want to preserve the route-finding confusion they created?

You must be joking 

Jason Kimwrote:

No. Your first sentence showcases the absurdity of that argument, as you refer to ‘modern climbing’ which is something that has already significantly evolved from earlier versions of the sport. By your logic, the automobile industry is also in its infancy, since cars of the future might be powered by miniature fusion reactors. In reality, that industry is approaching (or some argue has already surpassed) it’s zenith.  By your rational, the Grand Canyon is also in its infancy, because it will look entirely different in 200 million years from now, since the process of erosion is just getting started.

What's really in its infancy is air travel, 58 years between first flight and first person in orbit. Good lord a lot can change while something is still in its infancy 

Fail Fallingwrote:

You must be joking 

You need to get out and about a bit more if you think that person was joking.