Mount Muir - Climbing

Climbing

Among mountain climbers, a peak needs to meet certain criteria in order to be included in some lists. To be listed as an independent peak a summit must have 300 feet (91 m) of prominence. A reliable source gives Mount Muir's clean prominence as 298 feet or 91 meters, and so the peak does not qualify for some lists of fourteeners based on elevation and prominence. It is included in some lists, because list makers use several methods to calculate prominence. Other lists are based on more subjective criteria and Mount Muir is included in the Sierra Peaks Section list, and the Western States Climbers list.

The easiest approach is from the John Muir Trail just north of its junction with the Mount Whitney Trail in Sequoia National Park. The trail passes very near the summit and the climb involves a short stretch of difficult scrambling up the steep, boulder-strewn, western slope to the summit block, (class 3). A dayhike permit or a backcountry permit with a Whitney Zone stamp is required to hike the Mount Whitney Trail. There is no record of the first ascent.

The east side of Mount Muir, which is in the John Muir Wilderness, is a near-vertical cliff about 1,400 feet (430 m) high. The route on this side (the north side of the east buttress) was first climbed on July 11, 1935 by Nelson P. Nies and John D. Mendenhall. It is a roped climb, (class 4). The south side of the east buttress, also class 4, was first climbed on September 1, 1935, by Arthur B. Johnson and William Rice.