Thomas Gurviez - Jul 22, 2007 8:02 am Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2007
solo by Dana couloir
Ascentn by Dana couloir alone, completely icy above the bergshrund, descent by the normal route
s_kavert - Jul 3, 2007 12:36 pm Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
Route: NW Slope
Climbed with my wife as a warmup for Mt. Shasta at the end of June. Got a late start and had to hurry due to clouds moving in. The views of the surrounding peaks and Mono Lake were definitely the highlight.
ryan_tx - Jul 1, 2007 3:26 pm Date Climbed: Jun 27, 2007
June Day Hike
Climbed this peak with 4 other buddies via NW route as a day hike in preparation for Half Dome two days later. A little tougher than we expected (me being a flatlander and all). Only a couple of people on the trail throughout the day. The marmots on the summit were very photogenic & active. The views from the top are excellent.
Fredd C Dobbs - Jun 26, 2007 6:15 pm Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2007
From Tioga Pass
Lots of 'upside' to this peak including great vista photo ops. Unfortunatley my Kodak malfunctioned on half my shots. I guess I'll have to go back-next season.
J Fox - Jun 26, 2007 11:14 am Date Climbed: May 26, 2007
Dana Coloir
My brother Jon and I climbed this on our Memorial Day bash in Yosemite. We used this as our acclimitization peak. The coulior was in great condition. We had a blast and great views from the summit. We descended via the walkers route.
96avs01 - May 28, 2007 8:28 pm Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
Alternate Destination
Dayhiked NW slope with the GF after slicing a tire on White Mtn. Road canceled plans to hit Telescope Peak. Great views and enjoyable conditions with minimal people for Memorial Day weekend!
Bill Kish - May 20, 2007 11:32 pm Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2005
Trail from Tioga Pass
Early morning ascent with my dad in preparation for Whitney. The storm from the previous afternoon left a good amount of snow above 12,000' but my father insisted on the summit even in his old worn-out tennis shoes. x2 after a Whitney meetup, x3 during a dry winter when Tioga Pass was open in January, x4 with my daughter June 13 2021
yaknjorgl - Apr 10, 2007 12:03 am Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2006
on the highway
nice view
bcd - Mar 19, 2007 1:34 am Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2004
climbed with tom grundy.. good for only 2 hours of sleep! got off just before nasty
weather moved in
muajee - Dec 20, 2006 4:45 am Date Climbed: Jul 2, 2006
From Tioga Pass
A really fun hike.
The view seen from the summit was AWESOME - definitely one of my favorites! I was literally speechless while up there...
Somehow I missed the view of Dana Lake on the way up... ...heard it was amazing. It's o.k. I will be back. :)
Oh yeah, and we saw people snowboarding down. That certainly made a fast, I mean, really fast descent… ~_~
rhyang - Oct 30, 2006 4:49 am Date Climbed: Oct 29, 2006
Dana Couloir
Soloed the Dana Couloir yet again, enthused by PellucidWombat's beta.
Sure enough, the couloir had lots of good neve, some blue ice in the upper half of the couloir in streaks and patches, some relatively new snow pockets, and some aerated white ice here and there. Schrund was most easily passable on left side.
Cold and windy day, but relatively clear. Dana Lake had a layer of ice, and I could see small icefalls forming on the north side of the peak.
In the summit register someone had noted an FA recently (within the last two weeks), something about 5.10b, crappy rock, WI5 ice ... hmm ...
--
Route Climbed: Solstice Couloir
Date Climbed: 9-Sept-2006
Started from Tioga Lake at 5am, got to moraine above Dana Lake around 7-ish, and had originally planned on soloing the Dana Couloir. But the Solstice looked filled in from bottom to top, and looked clean - none of the usual nasty rockfall I'd seen in it before.
Entered couloir around 7:30 at 11500'. Bottom half was ho-hum hard snow. Top half steepening neve, probably 45-50 degrees. The leftmost finger had a dramatic finish, maybe 75 degrees (?) for about 10-15'. To the right looked like some stuff that was overhanging, maybe the remains of a cornice...
Exited couloir around 8:45 around 12500', got to summit around 9:15 or so. Added new notebook to summit register.
Beautiful day, excellent views. Took the trail down to Tioga Pass and hoofed it back to the car (about a mile), returned before noon.
--
Route Climbed: Dana Couloir
Date Climbed: 25-September-2005
Solo. Got kind of a late start - didn't get to the moraine until 10am, bergschrund by 11, topped out around 12:15.
Couloir was still mostly good solid neve, but did have a nice patch of hard brittle water ice in the middle that stretched all the way across. There were also few patches of fresh powder from a small storm that had passed through earlier in the week.
Bergschrund could be crossed on left and right still - I tooled a bit on the schrund and then crossed it on the right, then traversed left to climb roughly the middle of the couloir. Took a rest on the ice around midway with an ice screw anchor (of course I'd also brought a harness and some slings just for that purpose).
The ice was hard. No wonder, my thermometer at Saddlebag Lake read around 20 deg F. It had to be in the teens overnight up there.
Instead of heading up to the summit, I intended to contour around to the Dana Plateau and descend from there. Somehow I got off the ridge and headed down a scree / talus gully back into the cirque, which wasn't too much fun. Next time I'm staying on the ridge ...
Solstice couloir looked like the top was melted out.
--
Date climbed: 12-Aug-2005
Route: Dana couloir
Started at oh-dark-thirty from Tioga Lake, bumbled around, but made my way up the boulderfields. A big patch of ice was exposed on the glacier, and I spent some time reviewing abalakov anchors (v-threads) in anticipation of this year's alpine ice season.
The bergschrund was open, though good snowbridges existed on the left & right sides. I went right, and began climbing the couloir proper at 9am.
A small strip of ice was present, maybe about 100', in the center left, high in the couloir. Got a couple of swings in with my ice tools to start the season out right.
Exited the couloir around 10. The summit register looked like it needed a new notebook. Took the tourist trail down.
--
Route Climbed: Dana Couloir
Date Climbed: 26-Sept-2004
Backpacked in to the lake below the glacier for a Fall Ice Seminar run by Sierra Mountain Center. Started next day around 5am, short-roped up the steeper part of the glacier to an anchor at the bergschrund, which we crossed towards the climber's left (crossing on the right looked hairy). The couloir itself was mostly neve on the right and left, but water ice in the center. Climbed up the left side in about 7-8 pitches to the scree on the saddle, had an early lunch, then went up the short scramble to the summit. Coming back down we descended a scree-filled class 3 gully to the lake, again short-roped. Fun !
PellucidWombat - Oct 23, 2006 11:02 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
from Dana Couloir
A variety of conditions (from neve to thick brittle ice) made the climb quite interesting and fun. Being sick was not, as I was lethargic the entire day and could barely eat anything!
Just a day hike, good exercise. I'd like to come back and do the couloir.
mlarkin2002 - Oct 10, 2006 2:09 am Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2005
Dana-Gibbs traverse
2nd ascent - stopped only long enough to sign the register (surprised to see one on Dana - had to sign the cover since it was so full), then proceeded on to Gibbs, then back to SR 120 and 3mi of road-walking back to Tioga Pass.
mlarkin2002 - Oct 10, 2006 2:07 am Date Climbed: Aug 1, 2004
Dayhike from Tioga Pass
Slogged up the talus from Tioga Pass. Slept 30m on summit, then descended. Climbed w/3 others. Lunch at the Whoa Nellie.
uwjennie - Sep 28, 2006 1:30 am Date Climbed: Sep 26, 2006
Dana Couloir
Great neve climbing.
Peak Baguette - Sep 26, 2006 6:28 am Date Climbed: Sep 24, 2006
Route: NW Slope from Tioga Pass, Date: 09.24.06
The most amazing views of Mono Lake from the summit plus the added fun of a 20.3% average grade!
Mark N - Sep 16, 2006 11:40 pm Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2006
From Tioga Pass
Nice half day hike. Easy way to experience some great views. Was particularly impressed by Dana Lake. Who knew a lake could be that blue?
Thomas Gurviez - Jul 22, 2007 8:02 am Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2007
solo by Dana couloirAscentn by Dana couloir alone, completely icy above the bergshrund, descent by the normal route
s_kavert - Jul 3, 2007 12:36 pm Date Climbed: Jun 9, 2007
Route: NW SlopeClimbed with my wife as a warmup for Mt. Shasta at the end of June. Got a late start and had to hurry due to clouds moving in. The views of the surrounding peaks and Mono Lake were definitely the highlight.
ryan_tx - Jul 1, 2007 3:26 pm Date Climbed: Jun 27, 2007
June Day HikeClimbed this peak with 4 other buddies via NW route as a day hike in preparation for Half Dome two days later. A little tougher than we expected (me being a flatlander and all). Only a couple of people on the trail throughout the day. The marmots on the summit were very photogenic & active. The views from the top are excellent.
Fredd C Dobbs - Jun 26, 2007 6:15 pm Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2007
From Tioga PassLots of 'upside' to this peak including great vista photo ops. Unfortunatley my Kodak malfunctioned on half my shots. I guess I'll have to go back-next season.
J Fox - Jun 26, 2007 11:14 am Date Climbed: May 26, 2007
Dana ColoirMy brother Jon and I climbed this on our Memorial Day bash in Yosemite. We used this as our acclimitization peak. The coulior was in great condition. We had a blast and great views from the summit. We descended via the walkers route.
96avs01 - May 28, 2007 8:28 pm Date Climbed: May 27, 2007
Alternate DestinationDayhiked NW slope with the GF after slicing a tire on White Mtn. Road canceled plans to hit Telescope Peak. Great views and enjoyable conditions with minimal people for Memorial Day weekend!
Bill Kish - May 20, 2007 11:32 pm Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2005
Trail from Tioga PassEarly morning ascent with my dad in preparation for Whitney. The storm from the previous afternoon left a good amount of snow above 12,000' but my father insisted on the summit even in his old worn-out tennis shoes. x2 after a Whitney meetup, x3 during a dry winter when Tioga Pass was open in January, x4 with my daughter June 13 2021
yaknjorgl - Apr 10, 2007 12:03 am Date Climbed: Aug 15, 2006
on the highwaynice view
bcd - Mar 19, 2007 1:34 am Date Climbed: Jun 10, 2004
spring snowup the hiking trail and down the Solstice Couloir
ripper333 - Jan 4, 2007 2:45 pm
third pillarclimbed with tom grundy.. good for only 2 hours of sleep! got off just before nasty
weather moved in
muajee - Dec 20, 2006 4:45 am Date Climbed: Jul 2, 2006
From Tioga PassA really fun hike.
The view seen from the summit was AWESOME - definitely one of my favorites! I was literally speechless while up there...
Somehow I missed the view of Dana Lake on the way up... ...heard it was amazing. It's o.k. I will be back. :)
Oh yeah, and we saw people snowboarding down. That certainly made a fast, I mean, really fast descent… ~_~
rhyang - Oct 30, 2006 4:49 am Date Climbed: Oct 29, 2006
Dana CouloirSoloed the Dana Couloir yet again, enthused by PellucidWombat's beta.
Sure enough, the couloir had lots of good neve, some blue ice in the upper half of the couloir in streaks and patches, some relatively new snow pockets, and some aerated white ice here and there. Schrund was most easily passable on left side.
Cold and windy day, but relatively clear. Dana Lake had a layer of ice, and I could see small icefalls forming on the north side of the peak.
In the summit register someone had noted an FA recently (within the last two weeks), something about 5.10b, crappy rock, WI5 ice ... hmm ...
--
Route Climbed: Solstice Couloir
Date Climbed: 9-Sept-2006
Started from Tioga Lake at 5am, got to moraine above Dana Lake around 7-ish, and had originally planned on soloing the Dana Couloir. But the Solstice looked filled in from bottom to top, and looked clean - none of the usual nasty rockfall I'd seen in it before.
Entered couloir around 7:30 at 11500'. Bottom half was ho-hum hard snow. Top half steepening neve, probably 45-50 degrees. The leftmost finger had a dramatic finish, maybe 75 degrees (?) for about 10-15'. To the right looked like some stuff that was overhanging, maybe the remains of a cornice...
Exited couloir around 8:45 around 12500', got to summit around 9:15 or so. Added new notebook to summit register.
Beautiful day, excellent views. Took the trail down to Tioga Pass and hoofed it back to the car (about a mile), returned before noon.
--
Route Climbed: Dana Couloir
Date Climbed: 25-September-2005
Solo. Got kind of a late start - didn't get to the moraine until 10am, bergschrund by 11, topped out around 12:15.
Couloir was still mostly good solid neve, but did have a nice patch of hard brittle water ice in the middle that stretched all the way across. There were also few patches of fresh powder from a small storm that had passed through earlier in the week.
Bergschrund could be crossed on left and right still - I tooled a bit on the schrund and then crossed it on the right, then traversed left to climb roughly the middle of the couloir. Took a rest on the ice around midway with an ice screw anchor (of course I'd also brought a harness and some slings just for that purpose).
The ice was hard. No wonder, my thermometer at Saddlebag Lake read around 20 deg F. It had to be in the teens overnight up there.
Instead of heading up to the summit, I intended to contour around to the Dana Plateau and descend from there. Somehow I got off the ridge and headed down a scree / talus gully back into the cirque, which wasn't too much fun. Next time I'm staying on the ridge ...
Solstice couloir looked like the top was melted out.
--
Date climbed: 12-Aug-2005
Route: Dana couloir
Started at oh-dark-thirty from Tioga Lake, bumbled around, but made my way up the boulderfields. A big patch of ice was exposed on the glacier, and I spent some time reviewing abalakov anchors (v-threads) in anticipation of this year's alpine ice season.
The bergschrund was open, though good snowbridges existed on the left & right sides. I went right, and began climbing the couloir proper at 9am.
A small strip of ice was present, maybe about 100', in the center left, high in the couloir. Got a couple of swings in with my ice tools to start the season out right.
Exited the couloir around 10. The summit register looked like it needed a new notebook. Took the tourist trail down.
--
Route Climbed: Dana Couloir
Date Climbed: 26-Sept-2004
Backpacked in to the lake below the glacier for a Fall Ice Seminar run by Sierra Mountain Center. Started next day around 5am, short-roped up the steeper part of the glacier to an anchor at the bergschrund, which we crossed towards the climber's left (crossing on the right looked hairy). The couloir itself was mostly neve on the right and left, but water ice in the center. Climbed up the left side in about 7-8 pitches to the scree on the saddle, had an early lunch, then went up the short scramble to the summit. Coming back down we descended a scree-filled class 3 gully to the lake, again short-roped. Fun !
PellucidWombat - Oct 23, 2006 11:02 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2006
from Dana CouloirA variety of conditions (from neve to thick brittle ice) made the climb quite interesting and fun. Being sick was not, as I was lethargic the entire day and could barely eat anything!
heyitsme - Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
danaGREAT views! starts w a trail, then free for all to the top by hopping rocks. well worth it.
alpinebunny - Oct 13, 2006 6:39 am
Day HikeJust a day hike, good exercise. I'd like to come back and do the couloir.
mlarkin2002 - Oct 10, 2006 2:09 am Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2005
Dana-Gibbs traverse2nd ascent - stopped only long enough to sign the register (surprised to see one on Dana - had to sign the cover since it was so full), then proceeded on to Gibbs, then back to SR 120 and 3mi of road-walking back to Tioga Pass.
mlarkin2002 - Oct 10, 2006 2:07 am Date Climbed: Aug 1, 2004
Dayhike from Tioga PassSlogged up the talus from Tioga Pass. Slept 30m on summit, then descended. Climbed w/3 others. Lunch at the Whoa Nellie.
uwjennie - Sep 28, 2006 1:30 am Date Climbed: Sep 26, 2006
Dana CouloirGreat neve climbing.
Peak Baguette - Sep 26, 2006 6:28 am Date Climbed: Sep 24, 2006
Route: NW Slope from Tioga Pass, Date: 09.24.06The most amazing views of Mono Lake from the summit plus the added fun of a 20.3% average grade!
Mark N - Sep 16, 2006 11:40 pm Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2006
From Tioga PassNice half day hike. Easy way to experience some great views. Was particularly impressed by Dana Lake. Who knew a lake could be that blue?