Mount Agassiz
Mount Agassiz from Bishop Pass Trail.
Highest point
Elevation	13,899 ft (4,236 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence	893 ft (272 m)[1]
Parent peak	North Palisade[2]
Listing	Sierra Peaks Section[3] Western States Climbers Star peak[4]
Coordinates	37°06′43″N118°31′51″W / 37.1118775°N 118.5307554°W /37.1118775; -118.5307554[5]
Geography
Mount Agassiz Show map of California Mount Agassiz Show map of the United States
Location	Fresno andInyo counties,California,U.S.
Parent range	Palisades,Sierra Nevada
Topo map	USGS North Palisade
Climbing
First ascent	August 30, 1925 byNorman Clyde[6]
Easiest route	West slope,scramble, (class 2)[6]

Mount Agassiz, at 13,899 feet (4,236 m), is one of the 20 highest peaks of California. It is the northernmost and easiest to climb of the majorPalisades summits.^[6] This peak is not to be confused with the 9,967-foot (3,038 m) peak by the same name inDesolation Wilderness, also in the California Sierra.

Agassiz is at the north end of the Palisades in the eastern Sierra Nevada, nearBishop Pass. It stands on the boundary betweenKings Canyon National Park andInyo National Forest, andFresno andInyo counties.^[5]

In 1879,Lilbourne Winchell named it Agassiz Needle forHarvard University professor ofzoology andgeologyLouis Agassiz.^[7] Later, theUSGS recognized it by its current name.

The peak is named after Swiss-American scientistLouis Agassiz.^[8][9] The name Agassiz Needle was originally applied to another nearby peak in 1879, likelyMount Winchell, but at some point the name moved to the current peak.^[9]

There are three major routes to Agassiz's summit. The easiest is the west slope, both for its non-technical ascent and proximity to the Bishop Pass Trail. From South Lake, the trail climbs gently to Bishop Pass, and the summit route begins there. An attempt to ascend from the west via a chute can lead off route, to areas requiring more technical mountaineering skills and equipment.

Another class 2 scrambling route is the southeast face by way of the south ridge, from Agassiz Col.

A more technical route is the northeast face, which requires class 4 climbing.Norman Clyde established it by following a canyon,couloir andarête from Fifth Lake.^[6]

• Mountain peaks of California
• Palisades of the Sierra Nevada

• "Mount Agassiz".SummitPost.org. RetrievedAugust 18, 2007.

• Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park
• Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness
• Mountains of Fresno County, California
• Mountains of Inyo County, California
• Mountains of Northern California

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2025
• Coordinates on Wikidata