The Hundred Peaks Section (HPS) is a

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

society within the Angeles Chapter of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

that serves to provide mountaineering activities for Sierra Club members in the southern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

, the

Transverse Ranges The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...

, and the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

, and to honor mountaineers who have summited peaks in those mountain ranges. The section hosts summit hikes and scrambles in the Los Angeles and Inland Empire area 3 to 4 times per week. These hikes are open to the public.

History

The Hundred Peaks Section is the second-oldest of the Angeles Chapter mountaineer sections, and is its most active. It was started by outdoorsman Weldon Fairbanks Heald (1901-1967) in 1941, who wanted to summit 100 peaks in Southern California.

Membership

To become a member of the HPS, one must be a Sierra Club member and have climbed at least 25 peaks on the HPS List and subscribe to the section newsletter, ''The Lookout''. Especially accomplished members are awarded with ''emblems'', with the following grades (from highest to lowest): * Thousand Peaks Emblem * List Completion * 200 Peaks Bar * 100 Peaks Emblem Upon receiving one of the normal emblems, members may be recognized with one of the following additional emblems, which are not ranked: * Pathfinder Emblem * Explorer Emblem * Snowshoe Emblem * 100 Peaks Leadership Emblem * 200 Peaks Leadership Emblem

HPS List

To the general public, they are most known for their

peak bagging Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as 100 Peaks ...

list. One of the longest curated peak bagging lists in the country, it covers 281 of the most notable peaks in southern California. Unlike the

Sierra Peaks Section The Sierra Peaks Section (SPS) is a mountaineering society within the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club that serves to provide mountaineering activities for Sierra Club members in the Sierra Nevada, and to honor mountaineers who have summited Sier ...

or Desert Peaks Section lists, there are no "emblem" peaks of particular significance; all peaks are considered to have equal importance when it comes to being recognized for completing the list. Peaks are added and taken off the list regularly, depending on availability of public access and interest.

Notable members

Ingolf Dahl Ingolf Dahl (June 9, 1912 – August 6, 1970) was a German-born American composer, pianist, conductor, and educator. Biography Dahl was born Walter Ingolf Marcus in Hamburg, Germany, to a German Jewish father, attorney Paul Marcus, and his Swed ...

Mars Bonfire Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis Eugene McCrohan; 21 April 1943), also known by the stage name Mars Bonfire, is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter, best known for writing the hit song "Born to Be Wild" for Steppenwolf. Career Born Dennis Euge ...

John Backus John Warner Backus (December 3, 1924 – March 17, 2007) was an American computer scientist. He directed the team that invented and implemented FORTRAN, the first widely used high-level programming language, and was the inventor of the Back ...

References

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External links