Prerequisites
Technical climbing skills are required: you should be able to comfortably follow 5.6. This is a physically demanding day and you have the ability to traverse broken uneven slopes with a light pack.
Inclusions
Price includes guiding, permits and group climbing gear. You need to have shoes and harness. Local accommodation is not included in the program.
Mt. Conness is the high point of the Saddlebag Lake region, just north of Tioga Pass. Since it sits on the border of Yosemite National Park it has a great view of all of the eastern part of the park, as well as eastern California.
The North Ridge offers a fun route to the top with a huge variety of climbing and a fun approach and descent making for a good outing for those who have done a bit of climbing and are interested in "putting it all together" on a longer climb.
Itinerary We meet at the Saddlebag Lake parking area, trying to get going pretty early for the climb, often at first light, depending on the time of year. The parking area is a couple of miles down the spur road that leads off Highway 120 between Lee Vining and Yosemite Valley just before the Tioga Pass Resort. We approach via the Saddlebag Lake Trail as it traverses around the lake for a mile before flattening out at the head of the lake near Greenstone Lake. We continue past small lakes and tarns, steadily climbing towards a pass between Conness and North Peak.
As we near the pass the route steepens and becomes a little looser and sandier.
We only need to put up with this for about twenty minutes though as soon we're at the pass and at the start of the north ridge.
Once on the ridge the going gets progressively more difficult until finally we rope up, staying that way until the top. We first top out on a small tower and then do a short rappel to gain the main ridge section. Much of this portion is fourth class but several sections in the middle offer mid fifth class, as well as some interesting possible variations near the top. Overall, plan on several hours of fourth class and half a dozen pitches of fifth class climbing. A use trail from the summit leads back to our trailhead. The round trip can take anywhere from eight to twelve hours.
Notes The best guidebooks are Supertopo's “High Sierra Climbing” by Chris McNamara and Peter Croft's “The Good, The Great, and the Awesome”.
Get them from Maximus Press.
We highly recommend that you spend at least one night at moderate altitude (higher than 8,000') just prior to the trip. Spending a night in Mammoth would do the trick or better yet, camped at an even higher trailhead, such as the Sawmill Creek Campground on the Saddlebag Lake Road or in Tuolumne, for a night just before the trip. Please refer to our Planning for Success info sheet for more info.
