Base Camp

White Mountain

White Mountain's southwest face

14,292-foot White Mountain sits on the edge of California and Nevada, well within the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Consequently the region ranks among the most arid on the entire planet, and is home to a unique and fragile environment.

Nevertheless, Porcella and Burns warn severe storms can build over White Mountain literally "within minutes," perhaps in part because of the peak's dramatic rise above the Owens Valley.

White Mountain is home to a variety of interesting features, including the Bartcroft high altitude research facility and summit laboratory, and of course the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. In summer, it's possible to drive all the way to 12,000 feet, via an admittedly-miserable washboard road.

Such a lofty starting point makes for a relatively trivial summit assault, with altitude the main adversary. Unquestionably, White Mountain is the easiest California Fourteener to summit (baring altitude issues), as one merely follows a closed-to-public-vehicles road all the way to the top.

Sea-level residents should pay particular attention to symptoms of altitude sickness. Thanks to the 12,000-foot trailhead, it is entirely possible to drive up from the coast and stand atop the summit in a matter of hours—a sure recipie for mountain sickness, or worse.

Skiers intriged by White Mountain should note that the area becomes nearly inaccessible once the snow starts falling. It's possible to climb up from the Bishop/Owens Valley region, though this is a likely trailess prospect, entailing a savage 11,000 vertical feet of gain.

> Back to Base Camp