Sierra High Route / Evolution Loop
Kings Canyon NP / Inyo National Forest · near Bishop (east) / Kings Canyon entrance (west) / Independence (exit) · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Backcountry Skiing
At a glance
- Vertical
- 8000
- Best season
- March–May (spring consolidation is mandatory for this terrain · Attempting in unstable mid-winter is extremely dangerous in the complex terrain of the High Sierra)
Permits and booking
- Permit
- Kings Canyon / Sequoia National Park wilderness permit REQUIRED — quota-based, competitive. Apply through Recreation.gov far in advance. Inyo National Forest sections: wilderness permit required. Shepherd Pass trailhead (Bishop side): Inyo NF permit. Planning lead time: 6 months minimum for peak dates.
Worth knowing
- Gear you must bring
- Beacon · Probe · Shovel · Skins · Boot crampons (mandatory) · Ice axe (mandatory) · Rope (50m × 60m for crevasse-free but serious terrain) · Harness · Full expedition camping gear (tent rated for Sierra storms, sleeping bag to -20°F) · 10+ days of food · Water filtration · Satellite communicator (no cell coverage for entire route) · Navigation: 1:24,000 topo maps for all sections
- Gear worth bringing
- Airbag pack · Extra ski boot insoles / toe warmers · Sled for hauling gear on flat sections
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guides
- International Alpine Guides — Sierra High Route Ski Tour (7 days) · Sierra Mountain Center (Bishop)
Backcountry Skiing detail
- Nickname
- One of North America's Great Ski Traverses
- Directions note
- Multi-day traverse — trailheads vary by segment
- Ates
- extreme
- Tour types
- multi-day · ski-mountaineering
- Summit
- 13000
- Approach
- Sierra High Route: 7 days · Kings Canyon NP to Shepherd Pass exit · Evolution Loop: 5 days in the Evolution region · 60–80 miles of travel
- First timer with guide
- No
- Guide recommended
- Yes
- Avi zone
- Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center · esavalanchecenter.org
- Signature lines
- Kings Canyon to Shepherd Pass (Sierra High Route, 7 days) · Evolution Loop (5 days) · Muir Pass Crossing
- Intl tip
- Bishop is the eastern gateway for the High Sierra traverses — the town where permits are processed at the White Mountain Ranger District office, where Eastside Sports and Wilson's Eastside Sports provide last-minute gear, and where the Owens Valley's spring wildflowers (when rain cooperates) frame the Sierra crest in a view that prepares you psychologically for what's on the other side of those peaks.
The guide
International Alpine Guides describes the Sierra High Route ski tour as 'one of North America's top ski tours' — and the creden…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Sierra High Route / Evolution Loop — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.06, -118.67