Panther Peak (9,006') is a small summit in Sequoia National Park along the ridge connecting Moro Rock and Alta Peak. Its steep south face, defined by two prominent buttresses, is displayed to hikers on the popular High Sierra Trail. Until around 2015, this 600–700-foot formation had received little attention from climbers. 

Today, Panther Peak has become a fully developed climbing destination and a worthy addition to the Generals Highway climbing circuit. It is well worth a visit if you're already climbing at Moro Rock, Tokopah, the Chimney Rocks, the Baldies, or elsewhere in the area. The collection of orange granite towers that forms the summit ridge offers excellent rock, abundant sunshine, outstanding views, and uniquely steep, featured granite face climbing.

Krymptonite (5.11b, 5 pitches) was the first route established on the south face and has seen numerous repeats since. Every pitch climbs high-quality rock and combines cracks with bolt-protected, steep, sustained face climbing. Expect wild sequences on positive crimps on steep featured granite. The first ascent was completed in April 2015 by Vitaliy Musiyenko and Adam Sheppard, after Sheppard, Matt Schutz, and Daniel Jeffcoach had established the first two pitches earlier that month.

John and I had one more day in SEKI before I headed to the Needles to meet another partner and he returned to Yosemite to climb NIAD. Unsure whether John would take a rest day before NIAD, I began looking into routes I could top-rope solo. Panther Peak seemed to offer several options that could be accessed from above, and Krymptonite looked particularly appealing. I had run into Daniel Jeffcoach on my previous trip to SEKI, so I sent him a message asking about the logistics of reaching the Pitch 4 anchor. Serendipitously, he was looking for a partner and had independently planned to climb Krymptonite. We teamed up, and John ultimately decided to join as well. Climbing as a group of three can be fun sometimes—lighter packs on the approach, good company, and more time to relax and socialize at the belays. The tradeoff, of course, is that progress tends to be slower, but on a route where speed isn't critical, the extra camaraderie can make for a really enjoyable day.

We climbed in fix-and-follow style, with the two followers climbing about 30 feet apart. Daniel led the first two pitches, John led the next two, and I enjoyed a nice top-rope ride. The final pitch was a short mid-fifth-class scramble to the summit ridge.

The climbing was every bit as good as advertised. Nearly every pitch offered memorable movement on excellent rock. The Pitch 3 and Pitch 4 face pitches were my favorites and rank among the better granite face pitches I've climbed. John achieved an impressive onsight of both difficult leads. By early afternoon we topped out among the orange granite towers of Panther Peak and enjoyed expansive views across the Great Western Divide and the heart of Sequoia National Park.

This page includes a route overlay and pitch-by-pitch photos from the climb.

Singles .1-.2, doubles .3-#2, single #3. 10 quickdraws + 4 alpine draws. Micronuts (HB #6 seems to fit well) useful for protecting the mantle move getting to the first bolt on P3.