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 The Sierra Crest is a roughly generally north-to-south ridge, ridgeline that demarcates the broad west and narrow east slopes of the Sierra Nevada and that extends as far east as the Sierra's escarpment, topographic front (e.g., Diamond Mountain ...

between Mount Agassiz and Thunderbolt Peak.

Geography

The Inyo-

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

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 Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...

, while its east slopes are in the

John Muir Wilderness The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for , in the Inyo National Forest, Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist ...

of the Inyo National Forest.

History

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 The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

applied the name to the present peak. The name's original application was made by Elisha Winchell for his cousin, Alexander Witchell, who was a founding member of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...

. The first recorded climb of Mount Winchell was by Harvey C. Mansfield, Sr., John M. Newell, and Windsor B. Putnam, in June 1923. Their route, a scramble up the east

arête An arête ( ; ) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequ ...

, 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winchell, Mount Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness Mountains of Fresno County, California Mountains of Inyo County, California Mountains of Northern California

Geography

History

See also

References

External links