Mount Tyndall is a peak in the
Mount Whitney region of the
Sierra Nevada in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. At , it is the tenth highest peak in the state. The mountain was named in honor of the Irish scientist and mountaineer,
John Tyndall.
Geography
Tyndall lies on the
Sierra Crest
The Sierra Crest is a roughly generally north-to-south ridgeline that demarcates the broad west and narrow east slopes of the Sierra Nevada and that extends as far east as the Sierra's topographic front (e.g., Diamond Mountains and Sierran e ...
, which in this region forms the boundary between 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 and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it encompa ...
and the
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest po ...
on the east, and
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief ...
on the west; and the boundary between
Inyo and
Tulare counties. Mount Tyndall is west of the higher
Mount Williamson, and about north-northeast of Mount Whitney.
History
Mount Tyndall was first climbed on July 6, 1864, by
Clarence King
Clarence Rivers King (January 6, 1842 – December 24, 1901) was an American geologist, mountaineer and author. He was the first director of the United States Geological Survey from 1879 to 1881. Nominated by Republican President Rutherford B. Hay ...
and
Richard Cotter who were members of the
California Geological Survey and under the overall direction of
Josiah Whitney
Josiah Dwight Whitney (November 23, 1819 – August 18, 1896) was an American geologist, professor of geology at Harvard University (from 1865), and chief of the California Geological Survey (1860–1874). Through his travels and studies in the ...
and the field leadership of
William Brewer. King and Cotter were attempting to make the first ascent of Mount Whitney, and had made a long trek from
Kings Canyon, only to realize months later that they had climbed the wrong peak.
Climbing routes
The easiest route on Mount Tyndall in terms of access and climbing is the Northwest Ridge, which involves an easy
scramble (). It begins about one half mile (0.8 km.) west of Shepherd Pass and about north of the peak. Other non-technical routes exist on the gently sloped west side of the peak. At least two significant technical routes lie on the much steeper east face; the first of these routes was climbed by noted mountaineer
Fred Beckey
Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of the tallest peaks and best ro ...
and Charlie Raymond in 1970.
See also
*
List of California fourteeners
References
External links
*
* In Chapter 3 of the free online version of this book, King gives an account of the first ascent of Mount Tyndall.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyndall, Mount
Fourteeners of California
Mountains of Sequoia National Park
Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness
Mountains of Inyo County, California
Mountains of Tulare County, California