Dale Matson
If you spend any time at all in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,
you become curious about the names of some of the peaks that are organizing
features as you hike the trails. Some names are obvious like Mt. Muir (14,019’)
near Mt. Whitney (14,508’) but others are not. Much of the influence in the
Sierra Nevada came from the East Coast by way of Harvard that produced notable
surveyors and geologists and the West Coast by way of prominent early Sierra
Club members and U.C. faculty. John Muir, Theodore Solomons and Joseph
LeConte were notables from this latter group. Mount Solomons (13,040) is near Muir
Pass and LeConte Canyon, Mt. LeConte (13,936') and the LeConte Divide are named after Joseph LeConte.
Two books that I’ve read recently have filled in a lot of
gaps in my knowledge base. One is “Mountaineering In The Sierra Nevada” by
Clarence King and the other is “Norman Clyde Close-ups Of The High Sierra”.
Norman Clyde is arguably the greatest mountaineer of the
Sierra Nevada with the most first ascents and 100’s of first route ascents. In
his day, he could petition the USGS to name a peak if he was the first
ascender. He named Mount Mallory (13,851') and Mount Irvine (13,786') in honor of the ill-fated
mountaineers who lost their lives attempting to climb Mt. Everest in 1924.
Clyde Peak (13,861’) in the Palisades group was named after Clyde posthumously.
A glacier also bears his name. The tallest of the Minerets in the Ritter Range
is also named after Clyde (12,270’).
Many of the Sierra Peaks were named by and after members of
the California Geological Survey. They were explorers as much as they were
geologists and scientists. Clarence King, Richard Cotter, William Gardiner, Josiah Whitney, Charles Hoffman (Mt. Hoffman) and
William Brewer were contemporaries exploring and mapping the Sierra Nevada. The
U.S. Congress consolidated the various western geological surveys into the USGS
with Clarence King as the first head. King’s account of his first ascent of
Mount Tyndall (named after another scientist who influenced King) with Richard
Cotter demonstrates both their skill and courage.
Mount Agassiz (13,899’) in the Palisade group was named
after Harvard University geology professor Louis Agassiz. Finally, Mount
Humphreys (13,992’) in Humphrey’s Basin in Eastern Fresno County was named
after Andrew Humphreys a chief engineer of the U.S. Army. He was involved with
survey work related to the Transcontinental Railroad.
Amelia Earhart Peak (11,969') in Yosemite was named after the aviator in the 1960's and has been the scene of an annual pilgrimage by female pilots since that time.
Amelia Earhart Peak (11,969') in Yosemite was named after the aviator in the 1960's and has been the scene of an annual pilgrimage by female pilots since that time.
Mt. Brewer Center Left Behind East Lake
Mt. Agassiz From Dusy Basin
Mt. Clarence King From 60 Lake Basin
Mt. Cotter On Right Gardiner Basin On Left
Mt. Humphreys From Humphreys Basin
Mt. Whitney Right Of Center
No comments:
Post a Comment