On September 15th, 2024, Chris Morelli and I thrutched, wormed and grunted up the Snaz, an old-school, mega classic, ten pitch 5.10- on the commanding 1000 foot wall of Cathedral Rock. I led all the crux pitches, and eight out of nine total pitches, which provided a far different challenge than swinging leads on the same climb two summers ago.
The Snaz is a beast – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – or maybe I’m embarrassing myself. In the vast world of alpine trad climbing this hyper classic 1000 foot route represents all my climbing weaknesses wrapped in a single package. First off, there are three substantial roofs – 5.9, 5.10- and “5.7” respectively all back to back – a tall order for my toothpick arms. Second off, there are a few prolonged stretches of wide cracks – a 30 meter long, deep, 4-5 inch flare on pitch three and a 10 meter rattly fist crack on pitch five – also not my forte. I would describe myself as a technical climber, thriving on a steady diet of slabs, edging, off-vertical thin cracks and basically any other foot intensive style. Despite having sent many a Teton alpine 5.10 over the last few years, the Snaz gave me a run for my money. We climbed the route in nine pitches and some simul-climbing to the top of the buttress, the rare line of first ascent (most parties rappel from pitch seven, exclusively on fixed anchors, when the angle and difficulty eases off – though I think this is poor practice, more on this later), with new partner Chris Morelli. Chris is newer to trad climbing but remarkably strong for his tenure and sports nothing short of an excellent and infectious attitude. He had a smooth lead on pitch one which was fun to watch. I led the rest of the work, gradually loosing steam as the day waned on. The pitch three 5.8 off-width capped by an awkward 5.9 roof, formerly my crux, fell slow but smooth as butter for the first time in my three laps over the years. I made the over ambitious decision to link the next two pitches together, comprising a 5.7R fourth pitch and a fifth pitch double whammy of the aforementioned 5.8 fist crack and 5.10- roof crack. By the time I cranked through the roof crack, despite feeling pleasantly secure, I was pumped out of my tree and halfway to bonking. The final steep pitch, a remarkably unintuitive 5.7 roof and slippery mantle on pitch seven, produced a humbling meltdown. Perhaps I was low on electrolytes, unwilling to trust my feet on lichened smears baking in the blazing sun or simply a bit glycogen scant, but this thing took a good half dozen attempts climbing up and backing down before I finally beach-whale’d over the top with an embarrassing lack of grace. The remaining, often skipped yet pleasant in my opinion, two pitches to the top of Cathedral Buttress provided a pleasant reprieve. We walked off the the west and completed the mission in a somewhat leisurely 14 hours car to car.
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The Snaz is a climb I keep coming back to for its sustained climbing that addresses my weaknesses. It seems like the perfect barometer to gauge progress on burlier and somewhat heady trad climbing. While protection is abundant the whole way, fiddling with gear on overhanging hand jams is always a touch cerebral. After swinging leads in 2022 and finding the climb surprisingly manageable, I was astounded how difficult it was to come back and lead every crux pitch back to back to back. When analyzed critically, I believe that difference highlights a need to develop more efficient movement on the sharp end. Coming from a ski mountaineering and ice climbing background I tend to adopt the old-school “leader shall not fall” attitude, and while it’s nice not to make a habit of pitching off in the alpine, on steep and well protected routes like the Snaz it’s often okay to climb with a bit less apprehension. Clambering slowly over roofs and up steep cracks only increases the pump, the terminal disease of endurance climbing. Other errors included forgetting electrolyte tablets on a long south-facing summer rock climb, and neglecting to scale caloric consumption for the increase in physical output – I reached the summit nine hours after tying in with a suspicious amount of food. With those three points covered, I still feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment in being able to safely and somewhat steadily lead all the pitches on a Teton test-piece at the 5.10- grade – a tremendous indicator of growth from this young climber who often prefers to lambast himself for what he can’t do rather than celebrate incremental progress. I look forward to climbing more with Chirs. Onwards and upwards.
Resources:
The Snaz is covered in every major Teton climbing guidebook. However, the Mountain Project page is severely lacking. If you are traveling to the area and interested in this excellent rock climb, consider checking out my Patreon page for an in-depth topo and route description. Think of it like purchasing a single chapter of a guidebook.
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Ten Thousand Too Far is generously supported by Icelantic Skis from Golden Colorado, Range Meal Bars, The High Route, Black Diamond Equipment and Barrels & Bins Natural Market.
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DISCLAIMER
Ski mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing and all other forms of mountain recreation are inherently dangerous. Should you decide to attempt anything you read about in this article, you are doing so at your own risk! This article is written to the best possible level of accuracy and detail, but I am only human – information could be presented wrong. Furthermore, conditions in the mountains are subject to change at any time. Ten Thousand Too Far and Brandon Wanthal are not liable for any actions or repercussions acted upon or suffered from the result of this article’s reading.
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