Times

Begin approach from Convict Lake: 7:55 am
Base of Northeast Gully: 8:36 am
Summit: 10:39-11:07  am
Begin descent: 11:07 pm
Car: 1:10 pm

Splits

Approach: 41 min
Climb route: 2 hours 3 minuts
Descend to car: 2 hours 3 minutes
Total time: 5 hours 15 minutes (includes 28 minute break on summit)

2nd

Start from Convict Lake. Hike a trail around the lake until the obvious start of the gully. The approach is about 1.5 miles long and gains 700 feet in elevation.

5.2

Climbing the gully up Laurel Mountain is a mile-long test of endurance and route-finding, weaving through 3rd- and 4th-class terrain. From afar the line looks clear, but up close it’s a maze of gullies, part Sierra scramble, part canyoneering. The pumice-like rock makes for surprisingly solid climbing amid surrounding choss, with colorful intrusions adding geologic interest. Most climbers solo, though some carry a short rope for steeper steps; sticky-rubber approach shoes are ideal.

11,812 ft

Atop the summit, you are rewarded with a view of Mono Lake to the north.

North Ridge

There are three reasonable descent options: (1) Laurel Creek Trail and Convict Canyon Trail back to Convict Lake, (2) Laurel Creek Trail to Sherwin Creek Road, and (3) the North Ridge.

I chose the North Ridge since it’s the shortest and doesn’t require a car shuttle. This descent is about 4 miles. From the summit, head west and parallel the north ridge for roughly a mile, keeping near the crest. After about a mile, the ridge becomes more defined and a large cirque appears to the north. Step onto the ridgeline for a few hundred yards until you find a scree-and-sand gully dropping east. Once in the main gully, the steep scree gives way to steep sand and low shrubs. An intermittent use trail continues all the way back to Convict Canyon Trail, within about a hundred yards of where the climb began.

Note: I descended a scree gully as per the route descriptions I had. However, I noticed that my OnX map had a dotted path drawn a little further to the north, so perhaps there is a better descent than what I chose.