| North Ridge of Mount Conness 2008 Trip Report |
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| North Ridge of Mount Conness 2008   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: California, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Sep 19, 2008 Activities: Hiking, Mountaineering, Trad Climbing, Scrambling Season: Fall | Page By: squishy Created/Edited: Oct 8, 2008 / Oct 23, 2008 Object ID: 451256 Hits: 1044 Loading... Page Score: 89.58% - 24 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
My 1st alpine climbing tripRandomly, Summit Poster Biz, sent me an email and wanted to climb the North Ridge of Mount Conness. I must have been a little buzzed from some red wine when I sat down to reply. I was soon in the middle of changing jobs and packing for my 1st alpine climb. I had no idea what to bring so I just brought it all, climbing gear, camping gear and backpacking gear.
We left Sacramento at 9:00pm Friday September 19th, and reached Saddlebag lake campground after midnight. When we pulled into the parking lot and noticed a few people sleeping on the ground next to their vehicles and soon we did the same. Biz probably wanted to leave earlier, but we woke up with the sun. We organized a small lightweight rack for the day, consisting of a bunch of climbing gear (full set of Metolious ultra light cams, and a set of Black Diamond nuts complimented with lightweight slings and draws). I had some old green tea and set off toward the lake. We met a considerably large group near the dam, they were aiming for the normal route; it seemed it would be a crowded mountain. I didn't make it more than 10 minutes before throwing up all over the trail. Could it have been the old green tea I had for breakfast or something else?
Looking up the North Ridge of Mount Conness. |
The beta on the route was perfect, around this lake, around that lake, left side, and right side. We went up some slabs and shelves and higher to even more lakes. I felt like crap, I was moving fast but something didn't feel right. Was it the elevation, not enough water, not enough food? We stocked up on fluids at the last available water and headed up toward the ridge. I just slowed to a comfortable pace and tried to keep my heart rate under control.
Line showing our path to gain the ridge. |
The climbing became more solid and enjoyable, I encountered some easy class 4 moves but most of it was class 3 with some beautiful exposure over looking the dirty glacier below. Biz kept me in sight and kept asking how I was feeling, he was a very professional and courteous partner. We dropped into a notch before the first tower and traversed around it. On top of the second tower, we shoved some food in our mouths as we setup the first rappel. He again asked me how I was doing; we both knew this would be the easy turn around point if I was getting really sick. I felt sick, but I felt like climbing a lot more and I just pushed on, I figured if I kept going I would make it, sick or not. I just mumbled some general complaints and whinnying as I began putting my harness on, I didn’t feel good but I’d regret it if I let it turn me around.
Looking back toward Saddlebag lake from the north ridge. |
We rappelled down two pitches, this is the 5.6 down climb mentioned in the guide and also what gives the route its 5.6 rating. Biz then led the first two pitches up using only slings for protection, there was ample opportunity and the climbing was easy, low class 5 at best. I led a short pitch and found a crack to plug some cams into, four roped pitches in all. We thought the climbing was too easy to be slowed down by the rope and the daylight was going fast. We free soloed the last two pitches to the summit, and this section contained some of the more difficult moves. We down climbed a small chimney and I almost got stuck, me and my big 70 liter Osprey pack jammed up like a solid hex in a constriction. We also had to span a large gap with some awkward moves or choose a fearless jump with exposure in two directions.
Biz Looking down the route from the North Ridge of Mount Conness. |
I had two small slips, one was worth mentioning. During some 4th class climbing to the second tower, I moved a hand before being completely stable and checked a slip with exposure below me. I felt the sudden rush of almost dying and it was a very personal feeling. Biz was not far ahead, but the best partner in the world is not going to help you out of such a situation. It was the first time I’d felt like that, at least for a split second, I was falling. I’ve never moved so fast in my life, my hand shot over and grabbed the rock stopping my slip and instantly making me feel safe again. I looked down into nothing and had not realized how exposed I really was. It was one hell of a rush, but my new mantra is “three points of contact at all times”, lesson learned.
Yosemite's sea of domes and spires, Half Dome can be seen in the upper right. |
We reached the summit, took some pictures and signed the register. Other parties were topping out from different directions, a group on the west ridge and another climbing the South West Face or Harding route.
Biz starting down the 1st rappel from the second tower. |
We descended the normal route which neither of us had been on before, who knows if we actually used the trail; it didn’t look well used to me. We descended keeping Alpine Lake on our right and just aimed at Biz's truck. The sun was falling, and night was chasing us off the mountain. Biz wanted to keep in the sun in order stay warm and darted ahead, I tried but soon found myself dry heaving and brought to my knees. I puked about 10 times and dry heaved even more, it could have been anything. Dehydration, lack of food (lose of appetite), bad tea, or altitude sickness, something just wasn’t right. I felt better in less than 10 minutes and proceeded on down to Biz who was sitting and resting, the sun had just passed him and it was getting colder.
Looking up the North Ridge of Mount Conness. |
We headed straight back to the road and ended up in a campground about a half mile down the road from Biz's truck. Secret beta part, stick to the left at the river and try to go back through the trees to the damn. The final push to the road and up to Saddlebag Lake was daunting, even Biz was running out of gas by now, I was a walking zombie. I had read trip reports where people had made this mistake, and I still did it, here's mine.
Biz leading the 1st pitch upward toward the summit of Mount Conness. |
At Biz's truck we refueled with food and water once again, and I was finally beginning to feel better, possibly from the lower elevation. We were back in Sacramento by 10pm, 26 hours after we had left. I felt like I had climbed Pyramid Peak (in Desolation Wilderness) and then spent a full day climbing at Lovers Leap only to finish with an hour swim above 10,000 feet. I was completely wasted, it was an awesome introduction to alpine climbing and a climb I will not soon forget.
This roughly shows our route around the 1st tower to the rappel. |
Alpine climbing was much harder than I thought, who knows how much our packs weighed. The logistics and culmination of so many things make alpine climbing extremely hard. Biz, a mountaineering guide, even got tired by the time we were done.
Group shot after summiting Mount Conness. |
Biz was a great partner for this climb; he was very thoughtful and actually thinks about the team the entire time. He stuck with me when he obviously could have gone faster. I was way outside my comfort level a few times and I probably complained way too much, but that’s hiking with Squishy, my mouth has much more energy than the rest of me. As for my sickness, it could have been anything or a combination of everything, I guess I'll never know.
Interesting shot of our descent route. |
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