Mt. Muir
Sierra crest, Whitney Trail · near Lone Pine · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- scramble
- Elevation
- 14012
- Best season
- July–September when the trail is snow-free
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Side trip off the Mt. Whitney Trail · Uses the Whitney Trail permit/lottery · No separate approach · Pairs with a Whitney summit day
- Best for
- An easy-to-reach but exposed bonus 14er
- Features
- A 14er just off the Whitney Trail · Short, thrilling class-3 finish · Airy summit-block moves · Often paired with Whitney
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Short but seriously exposed class-3 summit block · Altitude — often climbed late in a long Whitney day · Loose rock; a fall from the summit block is consequential · Same weather & permit constraints as the Whitney Trail
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- scrambling · altitude
- Style
- rock-route
- Altitude
- 5
- Route notes
- A 14er hiding in plain sight — a short but genuinely exposed class-3 scramble to a airy summit block, reached as a side trip from the Mt. Whitney Trail about a mile below Trail Crest
- Beta note
- ~14,012 ft; a 1–2 hr class-3 side trip off the Whitney Trail with real exposure at the top
- Intl tip
- The 14er most Whitney hikers walk past — its summit sits just off the Mt. Whitney Trail a mile below Trail Crest, but the true top is a short, genuinely exposed class-3 scramble up a summit block. A great bonus objective if you're comfortable with exposure and hold a Whitney Trail permit (same lottery permit). Tackle it fresh, not exhausted; the position is spectacular but a fall from the block is serious.
- Directions note
- Approach from Whitney Portal via the Mt. Whitney Trail
The guide
Mt. Muir is the 14er most Whitney hikers walk right past — its summit sits just off the Mt. Whitney Trail about a mile below Tr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Muir — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.564, -118.293