Riding the dragon's back on the Swiss Arete. That Swiss engineering is really something...

Mt. Sill (14,153 ft.) Swiss Arete (III, 5.6)
Normally, we recommend combining this climb with another climb or 2 in the Palisades because of the lengthy approach required. We offer the Swiss Arete of Mt. Sill on its own because it is so classic that it alone is worth the journey.

Mt. Sill was named after Edward Rowland Sill, a poet and teacher in the Bay Area, by famed Sierra mountaineer Joseph LeConte. Long before that, the native Paiute identified the peak as a special one on the Big Pine skyline calling it, Nee-ma-mee-shee, the "Guardian of the Valley." The 1938 Swiss Arete is an amazing technical masterpiece of a ridge, seemingly engineered and built for climbing (by the Swiss??). The arete grows steeper as it narrows to a crescendo- a short, strenuous vertical headwall with cracks in it. This leads to fun 3rd and 4th class blocks and ledges to a lofty, and very rewarding, summit.

Trip Itinerary | Prerequisites | Additional Information