Mount Humphreys, which stands at an impressive 13,986’, dominates the surrounding area with its incredible prominence. It is one of the Sierra Club‘s 15 emblem peaks, the highest peak near Bishop, and is not topped by any Sierra peak to the North.
One great way to climb it is to run up beautiful Piute pass and then scramble up the northwest notch (class 4). The route officially starts at the Piute Pass/Lamarack lakes trailhead sign by the bathrooms at the end of the road. Follow the trail up to Piute pass where you will have spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. From the pass you may pick whatever line of XC travel you want to get to the base of Humphreys (the terrain is very runnable). Once at the base (there is a lake), there are several ways to scramble up to the northwest notch and then up to the summit (there is a fantastic route description here: https://www.summitpost.org/southwest-slope-northwest-face/155668 ). Tag the summit, run back down to Piute pass, follow the trail back down, touch the sign, and you’re done!
