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Easy trad on Mt Boyce 18-Jul-2016 At 2:49:45 PM PeterW

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I just did Snake Dike in June. (Partly to prove that at 60 I'm not dead yet!) Lots of fun, but it's a long day (we took 12 hours moving fairly fast) and you definitely want to get an early start! We started at 5am from Half Dome Village, and depending on how fast you're moving you might consider starting even earlier. You *REALLY* want to get to the start before other parties if you can! The belays on Snake Dike are miniscule, so you pretty much have to wait for the party/parties ahead to move on before you get the next belay.

Take lots of water (and a filter or Steripen since water sources along the way are unsafe). I had a pair of Z-fold Black Diamond walking poles which were worth their weight in gold - lightweight, and not a concern while you're climbing with a pack! You need very little gear after the first pitch or two, mainly quickdraws. A pair of rubber-palmed gloves makes descending the Half Dome cables much easier - a significant factor when you're fighting you're way past hordes of tourists. In general though, travel light!

Some excellent warmup routes to look at in Yosemite would be on Manure Pile Buttress, such as After Six (5.7) and Nutcracker (5.8). (We did After Six, and if I ever return to Yosemite then Nutcracker is top of my list.)