Being the highest peak in the area, the view was unobstructed in all directions. Pretty cushy for an off-trail route! I wasn't sure what the knife-edge would bring, but for a few more minutes the going was easy as I walked across the firm gravel of the "mini-plateau". The West Ridge of Mt. Roosevelt Lake is a trudge from Tuolomne Meadows, but there's great scenery along the way. Hiking Las Vegas.com 1 Hike: Mt. More Articles About California Hiking ... totally wiped out and fell asleep in the cold wind. Conness. On the opposite side of this mini plateau I could see a small knob of highly-fractured granite. With the competition including Cathedral Peak and Matthes Crest, this says a lot. There's one section of particularly significant exposure, however the rock and route quality remain consistently good. Nasty traffic resulted in a seven-hour drive from the Bay area to the start of my chosen route, in the Saddlebag Lake area on the eastern border of Yosemite National Park. Alpenglow on the approach. A couple of reasonably apparent herdpaths wound up these gravelly ledges, eliminating the need for any real routefinding here. Panorama from low on the East Ridge (l to r): The East Ridge, Mt. Conness, from near Cockscomb. West Ridge of Mt. Soon I was approaching the shallow saddle separating the buttress with the "real" start of the Mt Conness east ridgeline. The summit dropped away fairly steeply on the southwest side; on the east side, it dropped much more precipitously, down to the snows and ice of the Conness Glacier. Under crystal clear skies and still air, I started up the ridgeline. Dayhike to Mt Conness. Ascent via class 2 east chute between Conness and White. Left of Conness one can find Mount Ritter and Banner Peak. Conness with Mitchell. had described this as a class 3 route, and remembering to be extra careful while being out here alone, I started my way along the crest of the ridge. Well fed we headed off to Tioga pass. On the north side, the sheer cliffs continued westward, transitioning to form the headwall cliffs of the Conness Glacier. Two trails encircle the waters of Saddleback Lake. Conness 7. Next was the long descent down the east ridge back to Saddlebag Lake. Next section between the ridge and Conness plateau is a steeper class 2 section of dirt/rock mix. How about the White Mtn/Conness saddle approach? After passing beautiful alpine lakes, we get a view of the North East face of Mt. Easy walking, therefore, up grippy bedrock. If you look down you can practice your thousand⦠5. ;-) After drying my eyes, I quickly made haste to Mt Conness by following the North Ridge proper. Scrambling up through the 5th class sections ju⦠2. North Ridge of Mt. The scrub was the only thing that caused a bit of obstruction, but a bit of searching usually revealed an easy way through. All Locations > California > Yosemite NP > Tuolumne Meadows > Glen Aulin Area > Mt Conness West Ridge 5.6 YDS 4c French 14 Ewbanks V UIAA 12 ZA S 4b British It is a scenic climb with not too much vertical gain and can be done in 1/2 day. Although the forecast was good, I wanted to get a nice early start to minimize the chance of encountering afternoon showers or thunderstorms. There's even evidence of some trailwork along this ridge, where rock staircases have been formed out of slabby boulders. Conness is perhaps the best moderate alpine climb in Tuolumne. For those interested in less technical scrambles, Mount Conness crest area is paradise. Credit: rhyang. Next morning I started from Saddlebag Lake around daybreak and made my way towards the tarn east of Alpine Lake and the east ridge of Conness. It was exhilarating, and - for the first few minutes - not all that bad. Conness. Mt. At this point the ridge was only about two feet wide, and carefully peering into the gap, I didn't see any class 3-ish way to get down. I was able to more or less regain the crest as I neared its western end. Hiking Saddlebag Lake to Conness Lakes, East of Yosemite - Duration: 3:20. The lake sits beneath a rounded buttress that forms the ultimate termination of Mt Conness' eastern reach. I couldn't help but try and fit in some time in the mountains before heading back east. It was airy in a couple of places, but only in one or two spots is a hand needed to assist progress. I chose the western one, crossing over a dam that harnesses the water of the lake - although at this point, the water level was so low as to nearly render the dam useless. 3:20. The first bit was moderately steep, but wide and composed of solid, minimally-fractured granite. September 4, 2010. From the ridgeline's little mini-plateau, I could also now see - off to the south - a little body of water perched on the southeastern slopes of Mt Conness. A five-minute drive brought me back up to Saddlebag Lake, where I stopped at the large trailhead parking area. I happened to find myself in the Bay area of California for a work-related course in mid-August. Conness has been on tick list for a long time, but I was thwarted twice before, despite the route being very easy. Mount Conness is located on the north east border of Yosemite National Park at an elevation of 12,590â². This is mostly a cross-country hike from Tioga Lake to Mt Conness via a number of lakes. In fact, moments before summiting, I lost my brand new Arc'teryx hat. Later we would traverse the ridge from the summit to Virginia Peak, on the lower right of the photo (2020-10-18). The traverse idea worked out fairly well - the terrain at the roughly 11,000 foot level on the southern slopes of the buttress was fairly good - compacted gravel, or nice little stretches of subalpine grass or low scrub. I watched it rise and blow easterly with the winds as my eyes filled with tears. Photo licensing info. Right of Conness one can see the highest ridge of Yosemite NP, with Mount Ritter and Mount Maclure. Since it was now fully dark, I decided to simply continue a little ways up and off into subalpine terrain until I found a flat bit of unvegetated ground. Although afternoon clouds had begun to form, it was still mostly sunny and only slightly breezy on the summit. We didn't end up pulling up to Saddlebag lake road until around midnight. The route begins on Class 2, but sharp, distinct backbone ridge. Pleasant, super-scenic ridgecrest walking brought me to a high bump along the ridgeline, roughly at about 11,700 feet. Posing with the awe-inspiring ridge traverse of⦠2. I awoke before dawn and packed up, quietly walking back through the Sawmill campground to my car. It's more of a scramble most of the way and probably more enjoyable in sneakers than in climbing shoes. I then came to the first of the 'clefts' - gaps, perhaps 20 or more feet deep, that cut across the ridgecrest. Conness is a spectacularly long and serpentine alpine ridge ⦠Peaks: Mt Conness (sorted/filed as Conness) ; Place: California Difficulty: glaciers, skis . West Ridge Mt. At Middle Conness Lake, we left the trail and ascended granite ledges to gain the lower east ridge of Mt. Conness and the thin ridge leading to it. Conness in particular has claimed a number of lives. The rock began to transition to classic white Sierra Granite as I approached the saddle. Fantastic views were now available both north and south off of the ridgecrest; to the north, the Conness Lakes Basin, and to the south, the basin of the Monroe Hall Research Natural Area, plus many craggy and high peaks of Yosemite National Park beyond. Basically just gradually make your way up the west ridge for a little ways until itâs obvious that you need to leave it and proceed more directly up. Posted on July 10, 2020 by smiweb - Alpine Rock Climbing, Mt. Credit: rhyang. Descent via class 2/3 East Ridge Trip Report GPS Track Summited in a couple more hours, quickly signed the register and made my way down the East Ridge. Trip Date: 9.7.19. Conness August 2008 . Conness - East Ridge Route Trailhead: Sawmill Campground - marked Distance: 9 miles â up and back Elevation gain: 2,900 feet Elevation peak: 12,590 feet Time: 6 to 8 hours Difficulty: 4 Danger level: 3 Class: 3 â a few spots How easy to follow: 3 Children: No Map: See Page 6 Fees/Permits: None Waypoints (WGS 84): See Page 5 Sarah and I met up with Andrea in the parking lot of the Home Depot in Pleasanton as usual. From here you can climb the class 3 East Buttress itself for excellent views of North Peak and Mount Conness or skip the buttress by heading northwest to gain the East Ridge more gradually. Send feedback or leave comments (note: comments in message board below are separate from those in above message board), Web Page & Design Copyright 2001-2020 by Andrew Lavigne. Conness. Dana (at the far right). "East ridge looked pretty prominent during our climb of the north ridge", they said. In fact, Peter Croft called it the best route he had done in the Sierra backcountry (albeit before embarking on some of his recent mega-traverse-linkups). (. Airy but walkable. Fortunately, I didn't feel sick (but I was definitely experiencing a reduction in aerobic capacity - hence the 30 minutes to climb 400 feet!). We rolled out the east entrance of the park and headed up the road to Saddle Bag lake. al. Specifically the east ridge approach? The summit block itself was very prominent, rising up another few hundred feet into the sky a short way to the west. I chose the northern Sierra as my target, but something a bit off the beaten path: a climb of Mt Conness, highest of the Sierra Peaks north of Tioga Pass and full of interesting routes, from easy to challenging. Reminding myself that Secor et. To do the entire stretch of Mt Conness' east ridge, one starts at Saddleback Lake - a roughly 10,000-foot high body of water not far from Tioga Pass, and accessible via a short intermittently gravelled road off of highway 120 near Yosmite National Park's east entrance. Nearby North Peak has two steep couloirs popular for ice-climbing. Mt Conness East Ridge/Buttress Route Overview. Mount Conness is a 12,590 foot (3,840 m) mountain in the Sierra Nevada range, to the west of the Hall Natural Area.Conness is on the boundary between the Inyo National Forest and Yosemite National Park.The Conness Glacier lies north of the summit. A few minutes later I was standing on the 12,590-foot summit of Mt Conness. West Ridge of Mt. Conness as a day hike on Aug.17, 2008. Views of the Conness Glacier from the ridge were great. There are at least two class 3 routes to the summit. Alpine rock climbing at its finest! A few minutes later, three more hikers arrived at the summit. To the west, the angle of the ridgeline afforded me my first view of the 12,591-foot summit of Mt Conness - bare, solid, and still about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) away. The lower east ridge terminates in a broad saddle with a small weather station. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I was a little nervous as the mini-plateau narrowed and I approached the shattered bump of rock that marked the start of the knife-edged arete section. Beyond the dam, a few hundred yards of easy trail walking brought me to a point beneath the buttress that seemed to offer the best possible ascent line, and I turned off, heading uphill over loose, blocky talus. Mt Conness - North Ridge North Ridge Route 5.6, Border of Yosemite National Park Lee Vining, California 1 day / Cost: $375.00 / per person with 1 Climber 1 day / Cost: $225.00 / per person with 2 Climbers The North Ridge of Mt. Is it very dangerous? One trailhead is on the northern side of Tioga Lake, which is located a few minutes east of Tioga Pass (the toll entrance station) at an altitude of about 3,000m. Home » Blog » North Ridge of Mt. West Ridge of Mt Conness. What appeared to be a weather station was installed in the middle of this stretch of flat gravel. After about thirty minutes and four hundred or so feet of climbing, I popped out onto the so-called summit plateau - a broad southward-slanting plain of barren gravel and rock (or snowfields early in the season) that connected the east ridge route with the summit block. Mt. I could now survey most of the knife-edge ahead of me: roughly 700 yards of narrow, shattered, jagged rock, interrupted intermittently with ridge-crossing clefts. Lastly, how scary is that summit block? We chose to get some garlic noodles but he made the wiser choice with Chick-fil-A. I reverted to the nearby Sawmill walk-in campground, but I discovered (as I was walking in with my gear) that it too was full. North Peak juts into the sky across the valley containing Conness Lakes. The climbing is enjoyable, clean and generally quite easy even for a 5.6. Some people say they prefer the North Ridge of Conness, but I can't speak to that yet, since I haven't done it. 23 Aug 1998 - by Harlan Suits. I made for the most reasonable line up the broad face before me - it looked quite steep, but as I began up it, I found that it was an easy series of gravelly ledges. This was "Alpine Lake" - an important waypoint along the easier south-eastern route. If I had been with others, I might have been more adventurous. Conness. The West Ridge of Mt. The bump drops off sharply to the east and south in ribbed cliffs; to the west, the bump gently merges with a small, gravelly mini-plateau. Conness. Conness? It took me quite a while to figure out how to safely descend the chimney. We found this route to offer various terrain, with some class 1 through class 4 stuff. Tutlumne County: West tojust east of Eureka Valley and eastward nearly to Sonora Pass, at 9,000 feet; on WhiteMountain, Mount Conness, ridge between Dlngley and ⦠Send feedback or leave comments (note: comments in message board below are separate from those in above message board), Web Page & Design Copyright 2001-2020 by Andrew Lavigne. Nearly a thousand feet of rather tiring talus ascent (sometimes a little steeper, sometimes a little gentler) brought me to a reasonably flat shoulder of the buttress. I had hoped to camp at the Saddlebag Lake campground, but that was full by the time I arrived (on a Thursday evening, no less). The first route from the west requires an overnight stay at Young Lakes or the closer Roosevelt Lake. The walk across the plateau was a nice change from ridge scrambling or ledge climbing - nice, easy, flat walking. Note for future climbers: The parking at Sawmill is for campers and will probably be full; the road has copious pullouts. Based on the remaining ridgeline, I could only assume that this little bump was the beginning of the knife-edged portion (and therefore most challenging) part of the ridge. Mount Conness is right behind. I took a little break when I had finally fully descended the chimney. Easy walking mostly on the level allowed me to enjoy the scenery and make good progress. With such suitable conditions and given the near-noon time, I took off my pack and had a nice lunch break. Gradually, the terrain on the south side of the ridge began to merge with the main southeast bulk of Mt Conness. Local Californians from the Santa Barbara area, they had climbed up via yet another route from the west. 2 east chute between Conness and White one section of particularly significant exposure, however the began! 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