On July 1, 2007, Richard Radanovich, Joey Radanovich, and I simply went up Mt. Dana and back down the usual route from Tioga Pass.
On June 22, 2008, we again went to its summit, but then returned via a loop that crossed a narrow ridge to Dana Plateau and decended down Glacier Canyon. The Mt. Dana region is shown in this map with the Tioga Pass starting point off the map at the left. A detail of the ridge crossing is shown on this blowup.
The lake in the foreground is Fantail Lake on Mine Creek. Going down the creek we see an unnamed lake, and Shell Lake. Just below Shell Lake is the ghost town of Bennetville. The reddish peak in the background is 13061-foot high Mt. Dana viewed from the North.
Nearing the top of Mt. Dana, we found a number of clusters of these gorgeous and hardy Sky Pilot (Polemonium eximium) flowers. In the background is Dana Meadows at the center, and Tuolumne Meadows with Lembert Dome at the far right. The green stretch going off toward the upper left passes over Tuolumne Pass and descends to Merced Lake and ultimately to Yosemite Valley.
Mt. Dana's summit provides a spectacular view of Mono Lake.
This 180-degree panorama extends from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and the Sierra crest west of Bishop, sweeps past the Cathedral Range, over Tuolumne Meadows and around to Tioga Pass. The parking lot on the extreme far right was our starting point 3100 feet below.
This panorama is not as smooth as it might be because I forgot to turn off the automatic exposure and because of some distortion in the camera lens. I'll have to go back and do it right some time.
Looking southeast from the summit, one can see the ridge connecting Mt. Dana with Dana Plateau. Dana Lake and Dana Glacier are in the canyon between us and Dana Plateau. A portion of Mono Lake can be seen at the upper left.
We were not sure we could cross this ridge safely. Should discretion become the better part of valor, we were prepared to descend via the canyon between Mt. Gibbs and Mt. Dana and circle back to our cars via the western base of Mt. Dana.
On the way to the ridge, we stopped to look down this chute to Dana Lake. Earlier in the day some climbers with crampons climbed up this chute to get to Mt. Dana's summit.
This panorama gives a detailed look at the ridge that must be crossed. Our path took us about 2/3 of the way across it on this side and then we passed to the other side for the finale. Joey went straight to the highest point on the ridge and then joined us near the crossover point.
It was important to avoid the loose rock below the hard crest and to carefully test rocks before using them.
Looking back at Mt. Dana, we could admire the east wall of Mt. Dana. The bluish ice of what is left of Dana Glacier is at the bottom surrounded by this year's snow.
After crossing to the south side of the ridge, we could look down on Kidney Lake and Gibbs Lake at the head of Gibbs Canyon.
Here is the final part of the crossing with the upper edge of Dana Plateau in the background. Richard is taking a lower path. Joey and I took an upper path.
Last updated: June 24, 2008
