As I write this, a controversy regarding the Yosemite Valley route Snake Dike is raging, yet again.
As a quick summary, the route Snake Dike was first climbed in 1965 and is rated 5.7 R. First person accounts attest that the 5.7 crux moves are relatively well-protected but that the upper pitches, rated 5.3-5.4, are completely unprotected for much of their length, and give the potential for huge falls. Despite the long approach (6 miles), danger of very long runouts, and length of the route (2000 feet, 9 pitches), because of the “easy” grade and the beauty of the climb, Snake Dike is an extremely popular route, and has seen many, many thousands of safe ascents in 61 years.
There have been surprising few accidents on Snake Dike. One was caused by soloing, one was caused by user error at a belay, and a third, also caused by user error (getting off route and then falling when trying to down climb), which is linked below. It is because of the horrible seriousness of the most recent 2022 accident that controversy has raged ever since about adding extra bolts to the runout sections of Snake Dike.
Rather than rehash everything in the Mountain Project threads, I will link them here. There is also commentary available on reddit and online climbing magazines. If you are a newer climber, and plan on climbing any R-rated routes, it will be well worth your time to read through the threads. There is a lot of detailed background information to be found on the two most recent threads.
Anna Parsons accident:
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/122718181/yosemite-helo-rescue-710-half-dome
Rebolting Snake Dike:
Removing retrobolts on Snake Dike:
https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/203118563/half-dome-has-fallen
For the purposes of climber safety there are a number of things to be learned from the Anna Parsons accident and R-rated routes in general.
- Familiarity with the area rock – Anna and her partner had just arrived in Yosemite Valley, visiting from New Zealand, and decided to do Snake Dike as their introductory Valley route. In general, it is typically a wise idea to climb a number of well-protected, easy-for-you routes on your first visit to a new area, to familiarize yourself to the type of rock, the local grades, and the nature of the protection.
- Route finding – When attempting a long route with non-obvious transitions (traverses, multiple crack systems, long blank sections), it is wise to study available resources closely so that you don’t get off route. Slow down! Stop to re-read your notes and to look at your topos! One main cause of the Parson’s accident was that she missed clipping a set of anchor bolts completely. This omission, coupled with being off-route and falling when attempting to down-climb, led to the extremely long fall.
- Down-climbing – knowing how to downclimb is a very valuable skill and can and should be practiced. As a start, this is an exercise that can be done safely on toprope at your local gym, but is much harder to implement on real rock in dangerous situations. You may very well find yourself in a situation at some point where down-climbing without a fall could save your life (it has saved mine). Practice.
- Once again, a reminder that R-rated routes are by definition dangerous. “Severe injury or death may occur in the case of a fall on an R-rated route”. I have on more than one occasion outside heard people coming from a gym environment call a sport-bolted route with 12-15 feet between bolts as “runout”. Please understand that on an older trad R-rated route you might be going 30 feet or more without protection. Don’t venture onto R-rated routes unless you are confident you have the skills and experience to NOT FALL at the grade of the route. And even then, recognize that you need the mental steadiness to not freak out when there is no protection available. Knowing in your mind that you “never“ fall on 5.7 is different than leading your first 5.7 R route.
- An “easy” grade does not equate to a safe route. Any fall can be dangerous.
Climbing Dangers 
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