Tioga Pass / Dana Plateau
Tioga Pass (Hwy 120, Yosemite's eastern gate) · near Lee Vining · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Backcountry Skiing
At a glance
- Vertical
- 3000
- Best season
- April–June · A spring rite of passage once Tioga Road plowing reaches the pass
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No permit for the Inyo NF side. Tioga Road (Hwy 120) is plowed to the Yosemite gate in spring — you ski from where the plowing ends. Note: entering Yosemite's high country may involve park boundaries — know where you are. High-alpine terrain.
Worth knowing
- Gear you must bring
- Beacon · Probe · Shovel · Skins · Ski crampons · Ice axe · Boot crampons · Helmet
- Gear worth bringing
- Airbag pack · Rope for steep couloirs · Whippet
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guides
- International Alpine Guides · Blackbird Mountain Guides
Backcountry Skiing detail
- Nickname
- Skiing Yosemite's High Gateway
- Directions note
- Hwy 120 / Tioga Rd closed in winter — spring access from the closure gate
- Ates
- complex
- Tour types
- ski-mountaineering · day-tour
- Summit
- 13061
- Approach
- Spring access as Tioga Road (Hwy 120) is plowed to the Yosemite gate — a classic spring rite once the road opens partway
- First timer with guide
- No
- Guide recommended
- Yes
- Avi zone
- Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center · esavalanche.org
- Signature lines
- Dana Plateau steep lines · Mt. Dana bowls · Mt. Conness / North Peak area
- Intl tip
- Tioga Pass is the eastern gateway to Yosemite, above Lee Vining. The Whoa Nellie Deli at the Tioga gas station is the legendary pre/post-ski meal. This zone pairs with the whole Eastern Sierra spring circuit, and in summer the same country is prime hiking (the Yosemite high country) — see that guide.
The guide
Skiing Tioga Pass is one of the great spring rites of California backcountry skiing — each year as the plows push Highway 120 u…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Tioga Pass / Dana Plateau — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.91, -119.258