Mt. Conness 12,590′

I used to ski Tioga Pass area a lot in the late 90’s I started going to Mt. Conness in June, usually at the end of the season because it was money in the bank for snow lingering in the Y couloirs. You can’t drive up to the Saddlebag Lake Trailhead until late spring due to a gate closer down low near hwy 395 at the Mobile Gas Station. Today you could ride your e-bike up the 7-mile 3000′ Tioga Pass Road a month or more before the gate opens! When that gate finally does open, you may still be in for a steep 2-mile uphill road approach to saddlebag lake. in 2024 Marty and I walked the damn thing only to find you could drive in the next day. The Saddlebag Lake concession business blocks the road to work on it before they finally allow the public to drive up there. If there is snow on the Saddlebag Lake Road and you have to add the 2 uphill miles, that is good news. It’s a fat snowpack year and there won’t be many tracks from other skiers either. Well, it’s hard to know if snow is on the road or not, due to the tree cover at the beginning. So, bring your E-bike and sus it out the night before. Maybe you can ride all the way to the Lake and save an hour going and coming back. We walked the 2 miles in ski boots. We were so certain of snow cover by looking around us that we didn’t bother bringing trail shoes. And it was plowed and melted 10 minutes up the road, so we walked in ski boots the whole way up 2 miles of steep pavement. Welcome to backcountry skiing.

When you make it to Saddlebag Lake, you are in for a few miles of flat but beautiful travel to the base of Mt. Conness or North Peak from Saddlebag Lake. It’s not too hard to ski both peaks. In 2024 Marty and I did that, and I left pics of that beautiful day in the reply here. Let’s see your replies please! Upload small res photos if you know how.  After skiing the Y Couloir, which is very steep at the top and can be a firm, I usually traverse skiers’ right on the way down to find the “S” shaped couloir. You can’t see it from above. You might want to draw it on your Gaia app topo when you see it during the ascent. At least take photos of it in case you end up over there. Or you can drop right into the basin below the Y and roll out of there. Traversing up high isn’t going to help you save a lot of time getting back. I’ve also enjoyed skiing on the Mt. Conness Glacier itself, which is a short run but steep enough and exhilarating. The snow has always been extra smooth for me over there.   The Conness Glacier might be the easiest glacier to access for skiing in California. I look forward to a run over there as my main reason for doing this tour. there are also 2 small chutes above the Conness Glacier that I have seen tracks in. I assume those riders just walked towards the summit for 20 minutes and dropped in. You miss the Y couloir though. Good to know in case you don’t want to ski back down the Y, as it might be softer or less tracked out over there. 

I have never gone up to the Conness Summit from a ski tour. That would add an hour or two with your skis left at the Y. Better to get the show on the road and ski back down while the snow is still good. Mt. Conness has some famous moderate ridge scrambles in the summer, as well as a worthy and easy hike to the base of the glacier with just trail shows. Get more familiar with Mt.Conness. It’s bad ass and in your backyard.  I’ll toss some recent pics in the reply below.

I’ve included a few pics borrowed from friends in this post. Most of my pics are from May 13, 2008. I’m not sure when these other larger images where taken.  I also included a homemade map from Steelman, I assume he won’t mind.

The other peaks to ski when you can drive up Tioga Pass Road near the entrance of Saddlebag Lake are North Peak, False White, Mt. Dana, and Ellery Bowl. If you can drive all the way to the Tuolumne Park entrance, you can skin a few flat miles west and ski Mammoth Peak, Koip Peak and a few others. You can drop many long steep couloirs off the Dana Plateau if you have a car shuttle, but we got used to just climbing those from the bottom starting at the power plant. I’ll need to do a Mike’s Ski Tours post next on Tioga Pass…it’s all coming back to me now.  Sleeping in your car up around Tioga Pass has always been unofficially allowed because you are just outside of the park.

Kicker skins could be helpful to knock out the long flat miles around Saddlebag Lake and also at the park entrance if you go out to Mammoth or Koip Peak.I have a few pairs, we sell them at the shop. They are a fun secret weapon to reduce leg fatigue due to reduced friction. You can’t go up more than 15 degrees though, so you’ll want to bring full length skins also..

I apologize if my writing is confusing. This is just a fun thing for me. I re-write every time I look at them honestly, and that’s not often. I can help you the best in person while looking at some of these pics. Or call me anytime for an opinion on your timing and overall ski tour plan in these mountains.