Blanca
Peak

Blanca Peak takes its name from the Spanish for white, for the snow that clings to its granite through summer. The Navajo call it Sis Naajiní, one of four peaks marking the boundaries of Dinétah, their traditional homeland, and revere it as the sacred mountain of the east. A Wheeler Survey party led by topographer Gilbert Thompson made the first recorded ascent on August 14, 1874, spending the night on the summit; the climbers reported finding a rock structure that may have predated their arrival.

Blanca is the highest of three adjoining fourteeners in the Sierra Blanca massif, alongside Ellingwood Point and Little Bear Peak. Most climbers reach all three via Lake Como Road, a four-wheel-drive track so punishing — its boulder pitches nicknamed Jaws 1 through 4 — that off-roaders drive it independent of any interest in the summits. Above the road, a Class 2 trail follows the ridge past Crater Lake to Blanca's top, a round trip of about 17 miles.