Mount Gilbert (California)

Mount Gilbert is a 13,106-foot (3,995 m) mountain located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada range in California, United States.[3] It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park and John Muir Wilderness, and along the common border of Fresno County and Inyo County. It is 18 miles (29 km) west of the community of Big Pine, 0.8 mile (1.3 km) northwest of Mount Johnson, and one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Mount Thompson, which is its nearest higher neighbor. Mount Gilbert ranks as the 127th-highest summit in California.[2] Topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 3,900 feet (1,189 m) above LeConte Canyon in less than two miles, and the northern aspect rises 3,340 feet above South Lake in 2.5 miles.

Mount Gilbert
North aspect, upper right
(Mt. Johnson on left, South Lake below)
Highest point
Elevation13,106 ft (3,995 m)[1]
Prominence426 ft (130 m)[1]
Parent peakMount Thompson (13,494 ft)[2]
Isolation0.94 mi (1.51 km)[2]
ListingSierra Peaks Section
Coordinates37°08′11″N 118°35′54″W[3]
Naming
EtymologyGrove Karl Gilbert
Geography
Mount Gilbert is located in California
Mount Gilbert
Mount Gilbert
Mount Gilbert is located in the United States
Mount Gilbert
Mount Gilbert
Location
CountryUnited States of America
StateCalifornia
Parent rangeSierra Nevada[1]
Topo mapUSGS Mount Thompson
Geology
Age of rockCretaceous
Mountain typeFault block
Type of rockgranitic
Climbing
First ascent1928 Norman Clyde
Easiest routeScramble class 2[2]

History

This mountain's name commemorates eminent geologist Grove Karl Gilbert (1843–1918), who worked much of the Sierra Nevada range with the Wheeler Survey.[4] The mountain's name was officially adopted in 1911 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.[3] The first ascent of the peak was made September 15, 1928, by Norman Clyde, who is credited with 130 first ascents, most of which were in the Sierra Nevada.[5]

Climbing

Established climbing routes:[6]

  • Southwest slope – class 2 – September 15, 1928, by Norman Clyde
  • Northeast slope – class 3 – May 19, 2002, by party of seven
  • Engram Couloir – class 5.6 – September 3, 1972 by Al Fowler, Dan Eaton, Ron Cale
  • West face – class 5.7 – 1985 by Claude Fiddler, Vern Clevenger

Climate

Mount Gilbert is located in an alpine climate zone.[7] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains south into the Middle Fork Kings River, and north into Bishop Creek.

View from Coyote Ridge, left to right: Mts. Goode, Johnson, Gilbert, Thompson

See also

References
  1. "Mount Gilbert, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  2. "Gilbert, Mount". ListsOfJohn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  3. "Mount Gilbert". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  4. Farquhar, Francis P. (1926). "Place Names of the High Sierra".
  5. Hedden, Alan M.; Brower, David R. (1954). "A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra".
  6. Secor, R.J. (2009). The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, and Trails (3rd ed.). Seattle: The Mountaineers. p. 285. ISBN 978-0898869712.
  7. "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica.
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