Mount Mendel rises in California’s Sierra Nevada within Kings Canyon National Park, beside Mount Darwin on the Sierra crest in the Evolution Region, where many features reflect the history of evolutionary thought. Theodore S. Solomons and E. C. Bonner of the United States Geological Survey named it as part of a group of peaks honoring major exponents of evolution, and it specifically honors Gregor Mendel, the Augustinian friar regarded as the father of modern genetics. Beyond its scientific naming theme, the mountain is also a notable High Sierra climbing objective, especially its North Face, which contains two of the range’s hardest ice climbs.