Mount Winchell

Mount Winchell, a thirteener, is among the thirty highest peaks of California. It is in the Palisades region of the Sierra Nevada, on the Sierra Crest between Mount Agassiz and Thunderbolt Peak.

Mount Winchell
Mount Winchell's East Arête route, October 2007.
Highest point
Elevation13,781 ft (4,200 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence655 ft (200 m) [1]
Parent peakMount Agassiz[2]
ListingSierra Peaks Section[3]
Coordinates37°06′16″N 118°31′33″W [4]
Geography
Mount Winchell
Location in California
Mount Winchell
Mount Winchell (the United States)
LocationFresno and Inyo counties, California, U.S.
Parent rangeSierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS North Palisade
Climbing
First ascentJune 10, 1923 by Harvey C. Mansfield, John M. Newell, and Windsor B. Putnam[5]
Easiest routeEast Arête, class 3 scramble[6]

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.[7]

History
"Mt. Winchell" by Ansel Adams, circa 1930s.

Two mountain peaks in the vicinity were christened Mount Winchell during the 1870s, but neither of them were present day Mount Winchell. The United States Geological Survey applied the name to the present peak. The name's original application was made by Elisha Winchell for his cousin, Alexander Witchell,[5] who was a founding member of the Geological Society of America.

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 class 3 scramble up the east arête, is the least technical route. The first known winter climb by Norman Clyde, Morgan Harris, and David Brower used this same route in January 1938.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Mount Winchell, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  2. "Agassiz Col". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  3. "Sierra Peaks Section List" (PDF). Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  4. "Mount Winchell". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  5. Farquhar, Francis P. (1926). Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  6. Secor, R.J. (2009). The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, and Trails (3rd ed.). Seattle: The Mountaineers. pp. 259–261. ISBN 9780898869712.
  7. Mount Winchell (Map). Acme Mapper. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
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