Mt. Darwin
Evolution region, near Bishop · near Bishop · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- technical
- Elevation
- 13837
- Best season
- July–September for dry rock
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Lamarck Col / North Lake approach · Evolution Basin / Darwin Bench camps · Guide services offer it · One of the Sierra's grandest basins
- Best for
- A remote, technical summit in the Evolution country
- Features
- High point of the Evolution region · Class-4 with a roped summit pinnacle · Deep-wilderness position · Named for Charles Darwin
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- A roped move on the exposed summit pinnacle · Remote — a long approach far from any road · Altitude on a multi-day trip · Route-finding and storm exposure
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- roped-rock · scrambling · altitude
- Style
- rock-route
- Altitude
- 4
- Route notes
- The high point of the remote, magnificent Evolution region — a class-4 climb that culminates in a detached summit pinnacle requiring a genuine roped move, deep in the backcountry above Evolution Basin
- Beta note
- ~13,837 ft; Class 4 with a roped summit-pinnacle move; a remote, committing objective
- Intl tip
- The high point of the magnificent Evolution region, whose peaks the early Sierra Club named for great naturalists. Reaching it usually means crossing Lamarck Col from North Lake into remote backcountry, then class-4 terrain to a detached summit pinnacle needing a genuine roped move. A committing, high, deep-wilderness objective best done over several days, with all the seriousness remoteness implies. One of the range's most rewarding summits for strong alpine climbers.
- Directions note
- Approach from Lake Sabrina basin or North Lake via Lamarck Col
The guide
Mt. Darwin presides over the Evolution region, a sweep of soaring peaks and glacial basins so grand that the early Sierra Club …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Darwin — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.1697, -118.6739