the Five Blue Lakes
I don’t know much about them, but they sit to the south of the two main peaks, offering water, meditation, and some flat territory I believe. I have seen photos I think depict them, and I think they do get substantial sun from the south since they are on a high plateau, perhaps at 12,000 feet. That altitude at this latitude actually allows for bushes and plant life beyond lichens and moss. In most of the Andes it is called Paramo, and I would assume it to be the same here, although some photos I look at make it look like slick rock or boulder fields, or craggy rock as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A1ramo
It would be my guess that the Five Blue Lakes are the logical base camp for an ascent. Part of me has been working in secrecy, but the best way to prove this would be to reach out to one of the people who climbed in the Sierra before it got two dangerous. I have found once such person online, but the email I sent didn’t come back.