Here's How to Summit Every 14er in California
California is home to 15 summits that exceed 14,000 feet of elevation (hence the term 14er), including the tallest mountain in the Lower 48. While Colorado may hog the spotlight with 58 peaks above this benchmark height, scaling the Golden State's 14ers is its own singular achievement—one that often requires more skill and longer days. Yes, there are far fewer 14ers out here than in Rocky Mountain country, but they're generally a whole lot harder to climb.
California's summits require technical rock climbing up to 5.9 (moderate range) and mountaineering gear, including an ice axe and crampons year-round. In addition to their heightened technical demands, most of California's 14ers involve more than 5,500 feet of vertical gain and 15 miles round-trip, requiring several days to complete a single peak for the average summit seeker.
What Is a 14er?
Owing to the difficulty of climbing California 14ers, climbers have loosened the tighter Colorado rules attached to Rocky Mountain peak bagging, which require all ascents and descents be done on foot and include a minimum of 3,000 feet of gain and loss respectively. Also, Colorado defines a 14er only if the peak has a saddle with a prominence of 500 feet between summits. If California followed this guideline, its number of 14ers would be reduced to 11 or 12 peaks.
Related: 50 Best Hikes in the World Every Adventurer Should Do in Their Lifetime
Conversely, California has adopted the looser 14er-climbing criterion: "Be honest about how to summit every peak when sharing." In other words, there are no hard-and-fast guidelines that constitute a successful Cali climb aside from simply and truthfully stating how it was accomplished. Did you traverse to every peak, for example, or climb every mountain from the base? Did you base jump or paraglide off of the summits, or mountain bike to the top, or skip the dicey summit blocks (a growing trend for Starlight and Thunderbolt for safety reasons for soloists) at the top? It doesn't matter, as long as you summited and specified how you did it.
Ready to test yourself on Cali's greatest peaks? Here's a rundown of the state's 15 monster mountains and how to approach them—from ideal routes and recommended gear to what to expect when going for the summit.
Complete Guide to Hiking California's 14ers
The tallest mountain in the Lower 48, Mount Whitney is a heavily sought-after hike to the summit that often takes between 20 to 23 hours. While most would likely prefer to tackle this peak over several days, the difficulty with permitting, established for conservation purposes, prevents many from overnight trips.
The far lesser-known and more demanding second tallest peak in California, Mount Williamson only sees a few summitings every year. This peak is remote and often takes teams 10 to 12 hours just to reach the mountain's base. Once on the mountain, be ready to stem your way to the summit ridge via a fourth-class chimney that some have called a 5.2 and guidebooks often underestimate as third class. While you're here, consider climbing in conjunction with Mount Tyndall.
One of the few 14ers outside the Sierra Nevada Mountains, White Mountain stands alone across Owens Valley. It's California's easiest 14er along its lengthy but straight forward 4x4 trail to the summit.
North Palisade is a peak with many faces. Flanked with a glacier on the eastern side and a dry western aspect, it's the perfect mountain for budding alpinists to hone their skills.
Starlight Peak is a wild and challenging climb for most peak baggers. Approaching the mountain and reaching the summit block of Starlight requires climbing a 50-foot 5.3 headwall. Like Thunderbolt Peak, this one comes with a controversial summit block debate: Have you really summited if you didn't stand on top of the block? Debate amongst yourselves, but just know this summit block can be dangerous and should be taken seriously.
Straying the farthest away from all the other 14ers in California, Mount Shasta is one of the southernmost volcanoes in the Cascade Range. This glaciated volcano is a wonderful introductory mountaineering peak as you battle strong winds, false summits, and snow travel with crampons and an ice axe. Climbing Mount Shasta is unlike any other 14er in California.
As a stand-alone peak, Mount Sill might be my favorite summit of the California 14ers. The most popular route, Swiss Arete, ascends a stellar granite arete for three to seven pitches, depending on where you access. Requiring glacial travel, speed, endurance, creative route finding, and rock climbing skills, Mount Sill unites many of the challenging aspects of alpine climbing.
Polemonium Peak is a somewhat forgotten peak, and many don't climb it as a stand-alone mountain as it's dwarfed by the summits surrounding it. That said, this mountain is well worth the challenge.
Getty
Mount Russell requires the most technical rock climbing skills to reach the summit, but that shouldn’t hold you back more than inspire you to grow. The most popular route to climb Mount Russell is the Fishhook Arete, which has two pitches of 5.8/5.9 climbing and is eight to 10 pitches long.
Getty
Comparable to many of the remote summits in Colorado, Split Mountain is arguably tougher to reach than to climb. The roads to its trailhead at Red Lake Trail can be hard to navigate, require four-wheel-drive, and often have locked gates. In recent years, fires in the area have limited access to the mountain. Thankfully, the roads are back open.
Mount Langley is the second-easiest 14er in California and a great starting point if you aspire to climb all 15 of these great peaks. This is a long hike with a short and safe scramble to the summit. Overnight permits for the area are easy to get, so I suggest taking your time with this peak and swimming in as many of the Cottonwood Lakes as possible. For a greater challenge, day hike Mount Langley from Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead or the Tuttle Creek route.
One of the longest (and coldest) days of my life was spent hiking Mount Tyndall, but you needn't be like my climbing partner and me. Mount Tyndall is a long single-day outing that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, so do yourself a favor and opt to scale this phenomenal peak over two or three days instead. Yes, you'll need to pack more food, but your mental game will be much stronger.
Mount Muir sits on the same massif as its better-known neighbor, Mount Whitney, and many climbers aren't aware that it's actually a separate peak. While Whitney baggers tromp right past it, Muir is accessed right after the Whitney Trail's famous 99 switchbacks by a relatively quick 20-minute scramble. While there may be at least 100 other humans on this trail, you'll likely be all alone on the summit of Mount Muir.
Middle Palisade is the perfect combination of challenge and relative ease. This peak should be climbed as your third or fourth 14,000-foot peak as it provides a good idea of the skill set required to climb California's other 14ers without getting in over your head.
Thunderbolt Peak is a heart-fluttering summit. The Southwest Chute approach from Bishop’s Pass offers pure solitude and requires constant perseverance. Reaching the peak's famed summit block requires several hours of scrambling, rock climbing a 5.5 headwall, then traversing a long and narrow catwalk where a fall would be fatal. Most will take three days to complete this climb.