ASI - Tioga Pass - Mt. Conness, The North Ridge

Technical Difficulty (Class):

Prerequisite Skills:

Physical Condition:

Client/Guide Ratio: 2:1

Includes:
Guides climbing and safety gear, climbing helmet (reservation required).

Does not include:
Personal items on gear list. Boat taxi $10 roundtrip (when available).

Operating under Special Use Permit, Inyo National Forest.

Mt. Conness (12,590'), The North Ridge II 5.6 1 Day

This fantastic route may be the absolute favorite among the ASI Guides. It reminds us of a crescendoing symphony that just gets better as it goes.

Cost:
$265 ea/2 people
$450/1 person

Dates:

Aug 22, 2010   (Sun)
Sep 15, 2010   (Wed)
Sep 19, 2010   (Sun)

The Approach:
From Saddlebag Lake (10,087'), we either hike around the westshore or take the boat taxi (when available) to the north end. From here, we follow a spectacular alpine drainage to the highest of the Conness Lakes, then the saddle between North Peak and Mt. Conness.

The Climb:
From the saddle, we begin the long, beautiful ridge climbing increasingly interesting rock to a high point in the ridge. From here, we downclimb (5.6) lower or rappell a steep drop-off into a prominant notch. From the notch, we climb the continuously spectacular ridge that steepens right to the high point of the ridge on excellent quality rock.

The Descent:
From the summit, we'll retrace our steps to the Conness Plateau and cross it to descend the East Ridge route. With good route finding, a class 2 route can be found by connecting the appropriate lines of weakness back to the boat taxi at Saddle bag Lake (2 1/2 hrs.).

Preparation:
Cardiovascular conditioning: prepare with at least 3-4, 40 min+ aerobic workouts per week including hill running, biking, or hard-hill hiking with a pack and ski poles. Pre-climb acclimatization recommended to include hiking and sleeping at 8,000' or higher 1 or 2 days before the climb.

Prerequisites:

Expereince climbing 5.6 or greater with a top-rope
Previous rappeling experience
Previous multi-pitch climbing recommended
Mountain hiking
Very good physical condition prepared for a long day of off-trail hiking, scrambling, 4th and 5th class rock climbing at elevations above 12,000' (see physical condition description)

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