I’ve always had the perspective that climbing is not a sport you can casually get into. Similar to skateboarding or surfing, its progression is brutally difficult and takes a ton of time. Some say these are all lifestyles. Climbing brings one more aspect to the game that’s hard to match: from day one the risk and consequence feel quite morbid. This is especially true in California where the most interesting climbing (to me) lies in the endless granite playground of the Sierra. Here the vast majority of climbing is traditional mutipitch or alpine terrain. In laymen terms this means that there is almost no infrastructure for protection1. Most of the crags and alpine zones of the Sierra were pioneered decades ago when gear and ethics encourage bold and challenging route development. Generally this requires climbers to use gear like cams & nuts to build protection of their own. I knew that if I ever wanted to really experience climbing as intended for the area I would need to spend a whole lot of time building up skills slowly and steadily. Luckily for me this year, I was still unemployed and on the hunt for adventure in the mountains. As Spring began I was finally able to spend weeks at a time honing in my skills and seeking bigger terrain. It was time to challenge myself just like every other climber in the area has done for generations past.
My first trip of the season was right to Yosemite Valley. I was traveling with my friend Shyvonne and our original plan was to warm up on a Thursday afternoon before attempting Snake Dike the following day. It was mid May, so the days were long and the temperature was still fairly cool for the valley. For my first roped climb in Yosemite we opted for one of the most forgiving and easy routes we could find. Swan slab is a three pitch 5.6 that is a 5 min walk from the Yosemite Lodge parking lot. It’s walk off descent is surprisingly chill and I opted for flip flops on the harness. As I started up on lead there was maybe 10 ft of 5.6 moves before backing off to a relatively chill gully. Each pitch afterwards had a great belay and it felt like a rare treat to have such a good introduction to the area. After a second pitch through a 4th class gully I arrived at a comfortable belay ledge. Behind me was the striking Sentinel Rock Headwall and Half Dome in the distance. Next up was a hand crack on low angle terrain that traversed slightly across a large granite face. The pitch was relatively short and I felt super comfortable the whole time. Afterwards I belayed up my partner and scrambled down the sandy descent in my flops. As an introduction to Yosemite I felt like Swan Slab was surprisingly chill and easy to navigate. Little did I know nearly every other route I’d climb this summer would be difficult to find, sketchy on route, and treacherous to descend in comparison.
After swan slab and a relaxing evening in the valley, we prepared to depart for the mist trail early the next morning. Our plan was a single day ascent of snake dike, which would involve nearly 8 miles and 4000 ft of approaching before even putting on our climbing shoes. The route itself was a test piece for beginner climbers. It’s a popular classic2 that ascends a steep slab before ascending a prominent dike3 that ‘snakes’ up the opposite side of half dome as it’s regular cable route for tourists. Although it only goes at 5.7, its a test piece due to its extreme runouts and sparse gear placements. It’s recommended to bring only 2-3 cams & a handful of slings for nearly 2000 ft of slab. It’s lower pitches are steep and take some cams while the higher pitches on the easier dike itself have maybe a single bolt between anchors. All in all this makes for an extremely committing climb where headspace can make or break the ascent. My partner Shyvonne was psyched to lead these pitches, but it would still be a challenging and scary endeavor.
It was my first time on the mist trail and I was lucky to experience it for the first time in spring conditions. We got up just before sunrise and by the time we got to Vernal Falls it was flowing in full glory. We ascended the stairs with a ton of mist and took a nice water break at the river flats above. Shortly after came the 1000 ft of stairs leading up to Nevada Falls, which was just as spectacular. After another quick pause, there was only about a mile left of flat trail before we branched off towards the backside of half dome. This flat valley was a treat in itself. We were alone in a forest with views of Lost Lake and the southeast face of Half Dome rising thousands of feet above us. Then we were greeted by the start of the bushwhack. It began with weakness in the ridgeline leading up to Half Dome. Some cairns loosely guided the way but we still got off course a handful of times. The path steeped and zig zagged up the ridge until we met a broader view of Half Dome’s south aspect. Guarding our exit was a gradually sloping hillside with tons and tons of manzanitas. We completely lost the path at this point and slowly trudged up the terrain.
Despite our relatively quick pace I gradually began to notice Shyvonne was struggling through the bushes. Due to some stomach pain she was unable to eat many calories during the approach. She was a strong hiker but there was no making up for empty fuel. By the time we made it up to the beginning of the route we were both pretty worked. Ahead of us there were two parties and we had time to rest up at the base. I had a bad feeling about starting up the route with my partner teetering on an empty stomach. Knowing that I would also want a clear headspace if I were to lead the route I only gave words of encouragement. Bailing would not be an option after pitch one. Regardless Shyvonne racked up and started up the slabs. Twenty feet in there was a long diagonal traverse through featureless terrain. She took one or two steps into the void before stopping. I could tell it wasn’t the day. The retreat was easy enough from there but I knew the feeling. Committing would come another day. For now she joined me back at the belay and we took a break to wind down from the experience.
After some reassurance we decided to make the best out of the day following the difficult bail. Nearby was a perch over Half Dome’s iconic Northwest face called the diving board. The snake dike approach was 500 ft short of this cliff face and it was a quick scramble before we found the zone. Coming to terms with the bail was difficult, but the view into the valley did make up for the feeling just a little bit. Glancing over the huge ‘diving board’ granite block was an insane 2000 ft or so drop to the valley floor. The face itself looked spectacular and couldn’t help but inspire a big wall future effort if I managed to level up enough. For now we took it all in before accepting the long retreat back to Happy Isles. Bushwacking aside the descent was not too bad. The trail was now filled with a million tourists but I still had gas left in the tank. It would be a different story if we had committed to the climb and suffered through the bonk on the way out. After about 13 hours we finally made it to the trailhead and got an early night’s sleep. I would want to make it up snake dike one day but can never be upset with a good bail.
The next few days were pretty hectic. We took an easy morning in the valley before getting back on the road to the city. Early the next morning I would join my friends for SF’s iconic ‘Bay to Breakers’ race. We cruised the course in a matching set of Power Rangers costumes before a fantastic picnic celebration at the Golden Gate Park’s Panhandle. It was a perfect Sunday with friends before I’d embark again up North towards Shasta and Lassen volcanos4. I’d get back that next Wednesday night and reset with a full day of rest back home. Come Thursday night Shyvonne and I were back at it. We planned on a day out in Tahoe this time and slept at the trailhead of Lover’s Leap. This huge cliff band on highway 50 is an iconic climbing destination and one of the closest to the bay area. It’s smaller Hogsback slab has a ton of moderate climbing options and we planned to get in as many pitches as possible. Starting it off was ‘Prosciutto’, a 5.10c slab that Shyvonne put up with a stick clip. I really wanted to get better at slab without taking egregious leader falls5, so any top rope seemed like a huge win for me. The climb was super challenging for me and felt like I had to trust nothing footholds at my limit a couple of times. Despite a few falls on top rope I managed to get to the chains feeling slightly more confident at slabs than when I started.
It was a great intro to the area and plopped us right at the start of ‘Ham & Cheese’ for round 2. This would be a three pitch 5.6 and a good way to test our practice from earlier on top rope. In classic Sierra fashion it was still a pretty bold route for the grade and Shyvonne had to pull through a spooky roof on pitch one. Afterwards it was my turn on lead for the 5.5 second pitch. Luckily it felt pretty secure and we blitzed up the rest of the route without any snags. The view of Lover’s Leap cliff band at the top of the route was pretty inspiring. We even saw a film crew doing some promotional work on Bear’s Reach6 and I felt compelled to come back when I felt ready for 5.7. For that day we still had some gas in the tank and made our way back down for one last route. Ever since I had seen Hogsback from ski trips through highway 50 I wanted to lead the classic beginners route called ‘Knapsack Crack’. As a beginner leader this felt like it would be a cruise on cool terrain. Luckily for me this turned out to be true and we thoroughly enjoyed the romp up easy terrain for our last lap. I made it up in two pitches and really felt confident on lead for the day.
That night we took a short drive to the excellent Echo Lake trailhead for a night in the van. We had one more day of recreation in store and decided to explore the area outside of Lover’s Leap. First up was a quick hike around the lake towards the desolation wilderness boundary. I had always wanted to ski in this area and it was cool to see the distance peaks in their summer coat. This time around we turned back after a few miles and got back in the car for a second afternoon outing. Following a quick lunch at Mountain Slice in Tahoe City we made it up the road to Donner Pass. The views from the crag were epic and we towered over Donner Lake below. It was a Saturday and the pullout was packed with climbers from the area in contrast to the weekdays at the Leap. Feeling less inspired we made the call to romp up ‘Kindergarten Crack’. Similar to Knapsnack it felt cruiser and easy for the grade. Regardless it was great fun and rewarded us with even more spectacular views of the area from the small rocky summit. I was surprised to see three small ski resorts all from this perch and knew I’d need to explore the area more in the winter once again. Shortly after we got back on the road for SF. The past week had been such a crazy series of trips out into the mountains of California. Instead of feeling overwhelmed I returned home refreshed. My heart was set on harder challenges ahead. Little did I know this would just be the start of an epic summer full of weeklong trips to the Sierra and beyond.
- Climbing protection refers to bolts or other fixed gear that would catch a fall ↩︎
- “Classic” – In climbing context; timeless, a must do ↩︎
- “Dike” – Geologic Formation; in context of Snake Dike its a namesake, vertical, and narrow band of hard rock with more texture ↩︎
- ’26 Volcano Season ↩︎
- Lead climber falling on slab = cheese grader experience ↩︎
- Famous three pitch 5.7 ↩︎
