Banner Peak
Ritter Range, near Mammoth · near Mammoth Lakes · Eastern Sierra
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- scramble
- Elevation
- 12942
- Best season
- July–September; snow lingers on the approach into summer
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Agnew Meadows / Ediza Lake approach · Ritter–Banner saddle route · Usually paired with Mt. Ritter · Iconic Thousand Island Lake foreground
- Best for
- The other half of the Ritter–Banner skyline
- Features
- Forms the classic Thousand Island Lake view · Class-3 via the Ritter saddle · Usually climbed with Ritter · Quintessential Sierra alpine scenery
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Loose class-3 rock and a snow saddle early season · Altitude and long approach · Rockfall between parties · Afternoon storms on the exposed ridge
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- scrambling · altitude
- Style
- mixed-alpine
- Altitude
- 3
- Route notes
- The graceful pyramid that forms half of the Sierra's most famous skyline with Mt. Ritter — a class-3 climb via the saddle between the two peaks, usually combined with Ritter on the same trip
- Beta note
- ~12,942 ft; Class 3 via the Ritter–Banner saddle; often climbed with Ritter
- Intl tip
- The elegant pyramid in every Thousand Island Lake photo — with Mt. Ritter it forms one of the Sierra's most photographed skylines. A class-3 climb, usually via the saddle between the two peaks, so nearly everyone bags Banner and Ritter together on one backcountry trip. Expect loose rock, an early-season snow saddle, real altitude, and a long day from a lakeside camp. A magnificent, achievable objective for class-3 scramblers, in about the best scenery the Sierra offers.
- Directions note
- Standard approach from Agnew Meadows via Shadow Lake / Ediza (summer shuttle from Mammoth may be required)
The guide
If you've seen a photo of Thousand Island Lake, you've seen Banner Peak — the elegant pyramid that, with neighboring Mt. Ritter…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Banner Peak — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.7022, -119.1961