Ski Tour of Tioga Pass

Our camp in the High Sierra with Mt. Dana in the background.

For years I’ve dreamt of hiking/skiing up the Eastern entrance of Yosemite National Park when its road is gated shut in the winter to access one of my favorite sections of the High Sierra, the Twenty Lakes Basin area at the foot of Mt. Conness. This spring offered a golden opportunity as the dangers of the closed road had diminished greatly (avalanche and rockslides occur frequently in the middle of the winter) yet the amount of accumulated snow left in the high Sierra was massive and prevented the road from being opened. My close friend Iver Johnson joined me on the adventure. We headed out a couple days before the Memorial Day Weekend to make sure we would have the place to ourselves. It was an absolutely incredible trip. We experienced some of the most beautiful backcountry in conditions that few get to see it in. We were amazed at how our bodies recovered from stresses that we thought would take us days if not weeks to recover from. At times we were completely spent and our overladen packs seemed filled with concrete and at other times we were literally giddy with excitement and joy. When the trip ended both of us said we were unlikely to ever hike that road to the crest again while at the same time admitting that we would not have traded the experience for ANYTHING. Enjoy the photos and videos. I tried to fill in the details of our trip in the captions.

First light on Mt. Dana, May 25, 2019. Winter is far from over in the high Sierra.

Starting the long hike up Tioga Pass Road from the winter closure gate.

Iver pounds the deserted pavement of Tioga Pass Road.

Enjoying the sun and spectacular vistas while hiking Tioga Pass Road.

Ascending Tioga Pass Rd. to the crest of the Sierra.

Iver and the long road ahead.

Cornices along the crest of the Sierra.

As we reached the pass, massive cornices could be seen along much of the crest of the Sierra.

Iver transitions from hiking to skiing. Despite having to transport the same amount of weight it was a relief to get our skis and boots off of our backs and onto our feet.

We skied North up Saddle Bag Lake Road and found the old resort buried under snow. Back when this resort was functioning they would normally be busy preparing the boats and docks at this time of year.

Iver being Iver.

Dinner with a view.

A long winters night. Camp with White Peak and Mt. Conness in the distance.

Another view of camp at 3am.

First light and a beautiful view of Mt. Dana.

Our camp (10,400 ft) at sunrise after a long and snowy night. Mt Dana stands tall in the background.

Clouds along the crest of the Sierra.

We head out to ski tour into the Twenty Lakes Basin behind Saddlebag Lake.

The combination of cornices overhanging our intended route and warm sun made us reconsider our plans.

Iver finds a little snow bowl to do some morning laps on.

Iver skiing down to the shore of Saddlebag Lake.

With a storm arriving that evening Iver and I decide to play it safe a bug out.

The storm arrives early. Thankfully we are now on the closed road and my vehicle awaits us at the end of it.

Iver retreats in a snow storm.

When you are exhausted, cold, burdened with a heavy pack, in a blustery snowstorm and can't help but smile, you are either delirious or experiencing life to its fullest (and realizing it). I think I can speak for Iver as well as myself when I say, there was nowhere we would have rather been than right there, right then.

Iver steps out of winter and back into a landscape with a much broader color palette.

Our start and finish point, Lower Lee Vining Canyon Campground. It was 7.5 miles from there to where we had to put on our skis. After returning to our basecamp Iver and I actually watched a movie on my iPhone in my car as the storm outside intensified.