Base Camp

Mount Muir

Mount Muir's impressive East Buttress

Despite being one of California's "official" fourteeners, Mount Muir may well be one of the world's most bypassed summits, as hoards of summer climbers en route to Whitney scamper within 200 vertical feet of Muir's 14,015-foot summit every day without giving the peak a second glance.

Those 200 vertical feet make for a challenging Class 3 (or IV) climb, however, and the summit itself is comprised of a precariously balanced bolder or two with quite a bit of air underneath—about 2500', give or take.

Muir's East Buttress is an impressive ridge of rock that may or may not be scalable without a rope, depending on your route finding skills and luck.

Several discontinuous fingers of snow do seem to form in Muir's northeast couloirs, suggesting No-Fall ski lines in heavy snow seasons.

To the west, Muir drops off quite precipitously down into the Hitchcock Lakes basin. This area is notoriously exposed and icy, and unlikely to make for good skiing under typical conditions.

The broad face just south of Muir, however, which is criss-crossed by the "100" or so switchbacks of the Whitney Trail is a fine advanced hill with terrific views of the entire Whitney region.

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