Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Non-technical peak near Bishop

I'm going to be in Bishop with a group of people of varied climbing abilities/fitness levels over memorial day weekend. I'm wondering if there are any peaks in the area that would make a decent day trip that are class 3 or below. (I know about white mountain peak but I am looking to see if there's anything in the Sierra) Does anyone have any suggestions? Or if there are no peaks can you recommend some cool hikes?

Sammy, Mt Tom is class 2 from Horton Lake. An easy hike in from the forest service gate, but might require 4WD to get that far. It offers a great view from the summit. I think the route description might be in Secors' book.

There are many 13ers in the area that are class 3 and below that have fantastic views.

Go to the link and see the list:
http://www.summitpost.org/palisades/171074

Agassiz has great views of the 14ers and the entire area. Cloudripper has a short approach, then class 3 all the way to the summit. There's something for everyone there. The scenery and views there eclipses anything on White Mtn IMO.

Mt. Goode may be doable and has some light class 3 at the top if memory serves.

Cloudripper is fun, too. We did it from Big Pine Lakes but I don't know if I would want to deal with snow in the class 3 sections.

There's absolutely nothing to do here. Just keep right on driving...

May I ask:

1) What sort of mileage are you looking for?
2) What sort of elevation gain are you looking for?
3) Are you coming straight from sea level or are you getting a chance to acclimate?
4) By non-technical Class 3 are you talking about easy (no exposure) Cl3?

I have a full bag of options here, but it would help to know a bit more information.

-L

Thanks for the info everyone!

MooseTracks, in terms of distance and elevation gain I'm just looking for something that people who are in decent shape but don't do a whole lot of mountaineering would handle. So non-technical as in no class 5, but I'd probably also want to avoid super exposed stuff too. I want it to be challenging enough to be fun, but not so hard it ruins someone's day. We'll be camping around the Buttermilks for about a day, so we'll have a little bit of acclimatization.

I took a look at Cloudripper and that seems like the difficulty level I'm looking for - depending on the route 7-10 miles round trip, 3-4 K elevation gain, class 2-3.

SammySam - The Moose lives in Bishop, and the mountains you are asking about are her "back yard", so you've come to the right place.

CaT