Mt. Conness (Sierra Nevada; 12,648’)

Mt. Conness sits north of Tioga Pass, just at the boundary of Yosemite National Park. It offer superb alpine climbing on perfect rock. The North Ridge is mostly fourth and easy fifth class and can be done as a day trip from Saddlebag Lake. The longer and more technical West Ridge has a more complicated approach, either from Saddlebag Lake with some elevation loss, or a long hike from Lembert Dome. Topo Map Routes: N Ridge (III, 5.6)

Mt. Conness from Conness Lakes in August

References: Chris McNamara, supertopo.com mountainproject.com

Date: August 13, 2014

Party: Paul and Dietrich Belitz

Route: N Ridge

Equipment: 60m half rope, light rack

Time: Saddlebag Lake - Ridge 3 1/2 hrs
Saddlebag Lake - Summit 6 hrs 30 mins
Summit - Saddlebag Lake 3 hrs 30 mins
Round Trip from Saddlebag Lake 10 hrs 30 mins

Trip report:

We took off from Saddlebag Lake at sunrise, and quickly hiked to Conness Lakes. On the approach we took a longer, but easier route than described by supertopo, climbing towards North Peak on easy terrain to climber’s right of the fourth-class route, and then descending into the saddle between North Peak and Conness. The ridge was amazing, and easier than we expected. We simulsoloed everything except for the drop past the Second Tower, which we rappelled. Just before the summit, when we thought we were done, we encountered an intimidating chimney downclimb that too us by surprise, but turned out to be easier than it looked. The views were amazing. On the way down we followed the trail, which takes a longer path through the notch in the ridge rather than the more direct descent shown by supertopo. Great trip, we should do the W Ridge, too!