Sierra Nevada passes

On Jun 4, 1:26 am, wrote:
Some passes through the Sierras in California are obvious from the
roads that go through them, examples being near Lake Tahoe (Hwy 50 and
Interstate 80) and Tioga Pass Road (Hwy 120) through Yosemite.

My question is what other passes, not marked by roads, are people
using? What are their altitudes and locations? Are they the highest
point on the crossing, or are there additional passes to clear
afterward?

About ten years ago, I flew from Bishop to the SF area and was
planning on using Tioga Pass until a local pilot told me about the
pass behind Mammoth Mountain that follows V230 almost to Fresno. It is
more than 500' lower than Tioga Pass and follows the San Joaquin
River's canyon, so once you're over the pass, you have a clear shot to
Fresno with no terrain clearance issues. I believe they told me the
pass was 9300', but a topo map I'm using seems to say it's 9400'. Does
anyone know the right altitude? I've flown that route several times,
including about ten days ago, and it's quite spectacular.

Thanks for any help.

Martin

I'm not sure what type of plane you are flying. I cross the Sierra
often in my Mooney. I usually do so around 14,000 feet. I'm not above
all the peaks but I'm well above what I'm flying over and high enough
to pick a spot to land (although the pickings aren't always 1st
choice). If the crossing is afternoon in the summer I'll often cross
at 16,000 just to aviod more bumps. You learn how to read the
mountains and the waves and ride the up drafts and jam through the
down drafts.