[7] The mountain is 12,942 feet (3,945 m) tall, and there are several glaciers on its slopes.

Banner Peak is near the town of Mammoth Lakes; from there, climbers can hike to the foot of the mountain where various routes reach the summit, the easiest of which is a class 2[6] from the west end of Thousand Island Lake and then the saddle between Banner Peak and the slightly taller Mount Ritter.

The peak was named in 1883 by USGS topographer Willard D. Johnson who observed a banner cloud streaming from the summit.

[9] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains.

As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.