There's just one mountain in Northern California. At least one big mountain. The huge volcanic cone of Mt. Shasta can be seen from almost every place between Sacramento and the border to Oregon. Since the Mountain's base is at a mere 1000 m (~3000 ft) any climb on Mt. Shasta is strenuous with a huge height gain. The regular route...

Toulumne Meadows is the second climbing gem in the Yosemite National Park. As soon as it gets too hot to climb down in the celebrated Valley, Tuolumne offers cooler spots due to its elevation around 9000 ft (~3000m). The only hard thing about it may be the pronunciation of "Tuolumne", all the rest is pretty easy going: The Tioga...