Hey guys, I'm planning a 4ish-day trip with a couple of friends for the middle of December, and I was hoping I could solicit some ideas about where we should go.

Basically, we want a place with:
1) Great views (this probably means altitude and/or local prominence)
2) Decent water availability
3) Enough wood to fuel our stove :-D

Additionally, we aren't equipped to handle four-season conditions. We don't want to deal with a whole lot of snow, nor temperatures lower than the upper teens or lower 20s at night.

We're coming from Austin TX and we naturally want to minimize driving time. Oh, and I know Big Bend seems a great candidate for the trip . . . but we've been there like 20 times already. We want something else.

All this leads me to believe we should look for some southern New Mexico mountains or the like. Any suggestions? I hear great things about Gila, but it's such a big place that I have a hard time choosing a particular section or route. Or maybe there's some other place that's equally good. Anything in the Sacramentos? I suspect the White Mtn Wilderness will already have lots of snow right?

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys!

Edited by freeradical on 11/30/2007 12:20:00 MST.

The white mountains are upwards of 10-12,000 feet so that is winter conditions.

Right right . . . I guess this could be a silly question, but I'm from the flat lands so I guess my ignorance might be excused: if any place is at 10, 11, 12000+ feet, does this automatically mean winter conditions during the winter months?

In any case, I'm not after elevation per se, but prominence. For the sake of great views, you know. Big Bend's South Rim is jaw-dropping, but it's only at 6 or 7000 feet.

So . . . any other ideas?