North Ridge 5.6

Burke Green and I were lucky enough to get a guided tour up the North Ridge of Mt. Conness on Aug 14. Awesome day! Thank you Paul Minault!
I’m not a huge fan of long approaches or sufferfests, so I normally turn the page when I see 2-3 hour approach in the topo - but boy this climb really changed my tune. Burke says ‘My best day hiking ever’. Paul says ‘This is my kind of day – 5th class hiking’ I was really blown away by the variety of the terrain – this climb really has it all – alpine lakes, meadows, glacier, streams, snow fields, views, exposure, and amazing white granite – move this climb up your ‘to do’ list now.
The approach is about 4 miles and gains 1700 ft. Once on the granite, the 4th/5th class climbing gains about 900 ft. It took us 10 hours car to car at a leisurely rate. We had the luxury of 2 cars – we started at Saddlebag Lake, and finished at Sawmill Campground. Thanks Joni for the drop off!
We planned to free solo everything except the 2 pitch 5.6 rappel, so we packed pretty light:
One rope, harness, belay device, climbing shoes, helmet, food, sunscreen, topo, camera, one Nalgene bottle each, water filter (lots of refill opportunities), headlamp, clothes to spend the night (in case of epic), and some first aid/emergency shelter. You certainly could go lighter – a climber passed us with super small pack – I assume he planned to down climb the 5.6 unroped.
The first part of the hike passes by Saddlebag Lake (10,100ft) on very interesting rust colored stone with no vegetation anywhere. After Saddlebag lake, the Alpine beauty really hits you.
After passing Conness Lakes, the fun begins with a hike up sand and scree – hunting for the best gully. The route finding is not bad, and the Super Topo photo is helpful. Once on top of the ridge, you get a good view of the glacier and what you signed up for…
Follow the ridge to the start of the first tower – time to put the climbing shoes on…
After the first tower, awesome views of the summit and the exposure coming your way...
Some exposed 5th class scrambling to summit tower 2
Looking back at Tower 2 – this is what you down climb if you don’t carry a rope along…
After the 2 pitch rappel, you get to see the awesome white granite summit about 500 ft above. Beautiful 4th and 5th class climbing to get there.
Now for the summit shots! Fairview Dome looks so tiny from here! Once at the summit, you get to put your approach shoes back on - awesome!
The descent trail is awesome – different than the approach and more terrain variety awaits – lakes, meadow, snow fields, vistas - really beautiful and lots of light left – yea!
Descent meadow – the grass is just beggin for you to take a nap.
And nap we did. This is my kind of speed climbing
A flat trail leads you back to sawmill campgroud and beer in the car (still daylight!)