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brodracula
Trad climber
hawaii
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 19, 2015 - 01:54am PT
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awhile ago a friend and I went to do snake dike.we decided that in a day was to much for a couple of older guys.so we got permits to bivy at the base.finally after packing in and camping we were on the route.having seen a major storm hit half dome the day before and run a giant water fall down the route we decided we needed 2 ropes case of a weather bail.having come to the valley to do some wall all we had were 2 11 mill ropes.we soon realized how foolish we looked when a young climber came out of the bushes,stopping only to smoke a cig and put on his shoes,soloed right up the dike and was out of site in no time.
the route was a dream we went slow taking it all in.by the time we hit the top we found ourselves alone on half dome.unusual for 3 o' clock,we soon realized why a black cloud was bearing down fast,we ducked into a cave and rode out a hailstorm the temps were plummeting fast and we did not want to get stuck on top.so we headed to the cables to get back to our camp.as we started down we saw a girl clinging to the cables shivering and scared
shittless(she had taken a fall and had a small cut and frozen hands)
after seeing she was not ready to get down we took here back up put on a harness and daisy chain stayed in the cave till it stopped hailing.step by step we helped her down clipping in all the way down.i do think she was in trouble if we had not been there.
the whole experience was surreal,the camping was great and the solitude on the summit and views of the valley were awesome.the joke at the campfire that night was it took 2 days to do snake dike imagine how long it would take for us to do a wall ha ha.
with so much emphasis on speed and ratings nowadays It was nice to have a feeling of being out there.like the time tim loughlin and I did quarter domes in '79 most fun I ever had.camping at the base and on the route.
now for the kicker pics
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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Feb 19, 2015 - 02:08am PT
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kick ass!
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SLCompulsion
Trad climber
Vienna, VA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 04:00am PT
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Careful of the cave in a storm!
A good read:
Shattered Air: A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage on Yosemite's Half Dome by Bob Madgic
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 07:38am PT
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Very very nice TR, and yes your favorite photo is spectacular!!!
I personally applaud your style. Did you have to go back to the base to get camping gear, and what did you use for sleeping and shelter? How much did you carry? Did you stick with the rescuee, or was she fine at the bottom of the cables?
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Jones in LA
Mountain climber
Tarzana, California
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Feb 19, 2015 - 07:46am PT
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What you guys did to help the hiker, and your posting: way, way cool!
Rich Jones
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Feb 19, 2015 - 08:25am PT
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Nice rescue. Hope she makes a donation to yosar, or you guys.
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 10:25am PT
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F#ck yeah! Thank you!
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Daphne
Trad climber
Northern California
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Feb 19, 2015 - 10:49am PT
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^^^& that photo in incredible! Thanks for posting up your adventure!
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, or In What Time Zone Am I?
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Feb 19, 2015 - 10:51am PT
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Speechless. Rare for me!
Susan
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 11:31am PT
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Rad pic, and glad you were there to help someone in trouble. Was she on a solo trio or did someone abandon her?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 12:53pm PT
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Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.
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Andy Fielding
Trad climber
UK
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Feb 19, 2015 - 01:36pm PT
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Agreed that is a great picture. Well done on the ascent and the rescue. :)
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Feb 19, 2015 - 02:16pm PT
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Well done.
I came to the conclusion for myself a number of years ago that it's better to have a really long day and travel light and fast than to bring bivy gear, food, and water and have two semi long days. I feel way more worked doing the latter.
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crankster
Trad climber
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Feb 19, 2015 - 02:19pm PT
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Great photos. This cables are a nightmare.
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dave729
Trad climber
Western America
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Feb 19, 2015 - 02:46pm PT
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Snake Dike climbers morf into Cavemen, shelter in cave, find girl and, you guessed it, took her back to the cave. Old habits die hard.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Feb 19, 2015 - 03:11pm PT
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Whoo hoo!
An adventure!
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Feb 19, 2015 - 04:19pm PT
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Great work all around!
Storm photo from the top is spectacular.
Ditto on the cave bivy. I have heard some pretty gnarly things about being in the cave in a storm. Last time we did SD we ran like hell for the cables to beat a menacing cloud coming in.
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dugillian
Trad climber
Vancouver
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Feb 19, 2015 - 11:30pm PT
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Great pic!
Caves are uber dangerous in a lightning storm....Just google it to see why....You were very lucky.
Going down those cables was more gripping than climbing Snake Dyke.....The rock is so polished on the cables route.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Feb 20, 2015 - 04:27am PT
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Feb 20, 2015 - 05:51am PT
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Right on! Good stuff Maynard.
Don't worry about being old and slow, there are lots of us.....heh....
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