Mount Winchell

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Mount Winchell

Mount Winchell from the northeast, looking up its east arête, October 2007.
Elevation 13,781 ft (4,200 m) [1][2]
Location California, USA
Range Sierra Nevada
Prominence 655 feet (200 m) [3]
Coordinates 37°06′17″N 118°31′34″W / 37.10472, -118.52611 [3]
Topo map USGS North Palisade[4]
First ascent June 10, 1923 by Harvey C. Mansfield, John M. Newell, and Windsor B. Putnam [5]
Easiest route class 3 scramble[6]
Listing SPS[7]

Mount Winchell, a thirteener at 13,781 feet (4,200 m)[1][2], is among the thirty highest peaks of California. It is in the northern Palisades region of the Sierra Nevada, on the Sierra Crest between Mount Agassiz and Thunderbolt Peak.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The Inyo-Kern County line follows Winchell's northwest-southeast ridges. Hydrologically, this same boundary divides the Big Pine Creek drainage from Dusy Basin, part of the Kings River's headwaters. Its west slopes fall within Kings Canyon National Park, while its east slopes are in the John Muir Wilderness of the Inyo National Forest[1]. It is flanked by the Thunderbolt and Agassiz Glaciers.

[edit] History

Two different mountain peaks in the vicinity were christened Mount Winchell during the 1870s, but neither of them were the Mount Winchell of today. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) took the name and applied it to the present peak. The name's original application was made by Elisha Winchell for his cousin, geologist Alexander Mitchell[5].

The first recorded climb of Mount Winchell was by Harvey C. Mansfield, Sr., John M. Newell, and Windsor B. Putnam, in June 1923[5]. Their route, a YDS class 3 scramble up the east arête, is the least technical way to the summit. The first known winter climb by Norman Clyde, Morgan Harris, and David Brower used this same route in January 1938[6].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) elevation given on the North Palisade topographic map is 13,775 feet (4,199 m). United States Geological Survey. North Palisade Quadrangle - California [map], 1 : 24,000, 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic). (1994) ISBN 0607882247.
  2. ^ a b The NGVD 29 elevation has been converted to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88), using the National Geodetic Survey's online vertical conversion tool. VERTCON Orthometric Height Conversion. National Geodetic Survey website. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  3. ^ a b Mount Winchell. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
  4. ^ Mount Winchell. Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
  5. ^ a b c Farquhar, Francis P. [1926]. Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club. Retrieved on 2007-10-08. 
  6. ^ a b R. J. Secor (1999). The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails, 2nd edition, Seattle: The Mountaineers Books, 250-253. ISBN 0-89886-625-1. 
  7. ^ Sierra Peaks Section Peaks List. Sierra Club Angeles Chapter SPS website. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.

[edit] External links