Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak from High Trail above Agnew Meadows
Mt. Ritter is the taller of the two peaks, dead-center in the photo, at 13,150'.
Banner Peak is to the right, just under 12,900'. The two classic Class 3 routes
go up either the glacier to the saddle between Ritter and Banner, and then up to
Ritter's summit ridge, or up the large snow bowl to the left of Mt. Ritter and
up one of the chutes to the upper bowl and on to the summit. The Class 2 route
up the opposite, western, side of Mt. Ritter was our goal, requiring hiking along
the east side of the valley and around past the headwaters of the San Joaquin at
Thousand Island Lake, which lies beyond the low intervening ridges and a mile or
so to the right of Banner Peak in this view.
Photograph copyright 1996 by J. Alan Ritter, St. Louis, MO USA
