Mount Conness

Hiked: 8/7/2021
Distance: 8.8 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 12595'
Prominence: 2647'
Elevation Gain: 3314'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.6
Round trip time: 7 hours 45 minutes
Recommended water: 136 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Sawmill Campground
Difficulty: Strenuous

A jewel of Yosemite, Mount Conness (SPS #137) is protected by a giant wall and its own glacier. Conness is known for rock climbing routes on the wall and a challenging north ridge. I decided to attempt the less intimidating east ridge starting from Sawmill Campground. My wife was on a backpacking trip deeper in Yosemite, leaving me to my own solo adventure. There is a parking lot at Sawmill, but only for campers, so I parked back along the road.

There were two hikers that started a few minutes ahead of me. I would catch up with them later on the eastern plateau. I hiked past the campers and followed the trail across a couple of creek crossings. The first two miles only gained 300', leaving all the work for the off trail segment. The slope was very steep right after I left the trail. I angled northeast toward Apline Lake. There was a bit of class 2 on the slope and some light bushwhacking. The plants were soft, without thorns, and didn't cover the whole slope. When I reached Apline Lake, the other hikers had just finished a break and were moving up. I hopped stones across the corner of the lake and found a use trail on the north side.

First good look at Conness

Left the trail here, serious climbing ahead

Mount Conness above Alpine Lake

I hiked north of the remnants of the Conness Glacier, there wasn't much left. The route went up a rocky face. There were a series of sandy ledges that kept everything class 2, and a couple of viable routes up. About 20 minutes after starting up, I popped out on the eastern plateau. The two hikers that had started ahead of me were taking a break. I stopped to chat and found that one of them had been up Conness before. We talked about a few of our favorite hikes in the area before I continued. At the end of the plateau, sheer cliffs led to the top of Conness and one jagged ridge. The final ridge was class 2 as advertised, but there was about 100' of knife-edge, with 1000' drops on either side. The knife-edge section is near the bottom, though there was an exposed move close to the top. I reached the summit to find it occupied by a marmot. He gave up the summit when I was 10' away. I found a reference mark and register. The benchmark appears to have been removed. I was relieved to see a lot of the smoke had blown over and I could enjoy the views. Mt. Dana rose sharply, and I could see many famous Yosemite peaks, including a fuzzy, distant view of Half Dome. A few minutes later, the other hikers arrived. I spent about 20 minutes at the summit before starting the descent.

Slabs and ledges

The plateau is ahead, left of the notch. Class 2.

First look at the summit tower

Final ridge with knife-edge section, class 2 unless you make a mistake

The other two hikers coming up the final ridge

Marmot, sovereign of the summit

Looking down on Ragged Peak

I came down slowly over the knife-edge and continued down from the plateau. While much easier to come down, it didn't go fast. I still had a lot of navigation to do to reverse course. Below Apline Lake, I kept taking the easiest way down, and that dropped me on the trail east of where I originally departed. My descent path might be a little easier going up. I was glad to have Conness in the books. It hit all the marks for beauty, difficulty, and length.

Final look back