|
September 15, 2002 Mike Koppe and Brian Biega climbed Snake
Dike on the West Face of Half Dome. The Journey began at
3:30 am after a restless night of sleep. Mke was anxious
for the climb and wanted to get an early start. Brian jumped
out of his sleeping bag when Mike woke him up.
A short drive from Camp 4 brought them to where the car
would rest for the day and they started off on foot with
headlamps on their heads. After a quick power hike on the
Mist Trail Brian led the two off into what would become
an adventure in itself.
No trail, loose rocks, large boulders and sandy slopes.
The two scrambled along the cat like trail under the imense
granite wall of Liberty Cap. The wind picked up as they
climbed into the chasm between Liberty Cap & Mt Broderick.
Approaching Lost Lake they came upon a couple climbers waking
up from a cold, masquito infrested night.
One hour later the rope was flaked out and the climb begin.
Strong winds slowed their progress as they struggled to
keep from being blown off of the cliff. A piece of licorice
and two bites of a Power Bar gave Mike the extra energy
he needed for the crux move.
At the belay on pitch 5 Mike was knocked off balance by
a qust of wind. He quickly relized the perilous nature of
hanging belays during high winds. Twenty more minuites and
two more pitches the rope came off and the two began the
ardous slog up the endless section of "2nd Class slabs
forever".
They enjoyed a fantastic summit finishing the other half
of the Power Bar. A couple of business calls and three sips
of water sent them on their way down the cables. Five min.
& five hundred feet of cables sent the two off on their
merry way finishing the descent in another two hours. Eight
hrs & twelve min after leaving the car the shoes came
off and the rest is history (and so are Mike's toe nails).
*(Note: Many pictures are from other Half Dome adventures.)
|
