Birch Mountain (California)

Last updated
Birch Mountain
Birch mountain.jpg
Birch Mountain's east side from route 395, May 2009.
Highest point
Elevation 13,608 ft (4,148 m)  NAVD 88 [1]
Prominence 938 ft (286 m) [1]
Listing
Coordinates 37°03′46″N118°25′07″W / 37.0627115°N 118.4187135°W / 37.0627115; -118.4187135 Coordinates: 37°03′46″N118°25′07″W / 37.0627115°N 118.4187135°W / 37.0627115; -118.4187135 [4]
Geography
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Birch Mountain
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Birch Mountain
Location Inyo County, California, U.S.
Parent range Sierra Nevada
Topo map USGS Split Mountain
Climbing
First ascent 1887 by J.W. Bledsoe [5]
Easiest route Scramble by southwest ridge or south slope, class 2 [5]

Birch Mountain, or Paokrung (Northern Paiute for "Mountain of Stone" [4] ), is one of the fifty highest peaks of California. Of the major peaks of the Palisades, it stands farthest from the Sierra Crest.

Judging by its few summit register entries, it is climbed far less than its nearby fourteener neighbors on the crest. [6] But its placement on the Sierra Peaks Section list [2] adds to its appeal to peak baggers, and its low technical demand makes it a rewarding ski mountaineering destination. [7]

See also

Birch Mountain centered, from the northeast across Owens Valley. Big Pine landscape.jpg
Birch Mountain centered, from the northeast across Owens Valley.

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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 Sierra Nevada peaks.

The Thumb (California)

The Thumb is a 13,356-foot-elevation mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in Inyo County of northern California. It is situated in the Palisades area of the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. It is 1.3 mile (2.1 km) east of Middle Palisade, and 1.6 mile (2.6 km) west-northwest of Birch Mountain. The Thumb ranks as the 83rd-highest summit in California. Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises over 2,500 feet (770 meters) above Birch Lake in approximately one mile. The John Muir Trail traverses below the southwest aspect of the mountain, providing an optional approach access.

References

  1. 1 2 "Birch Mountain, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-09-14.[ self-published source? ]
  2. 1 2 "Sierra Peaks Section List" (PDF). Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club . Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  3. "Western States Climbers Qualifying Peak List". Climber.org. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  4. 1 2 "Birch Mountain". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  5. 1 2 Secor, R.J. (2009). The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, and Trails (3rd ed.). Seattle: The Mountaineers. p. 224. ISBN   978-0898869712.
  6. "Birch Mountain". SummitPost.org. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  7. "Birch Mountain's Southeast Face". SierraDescent.com. Retrieved 2008-09-14.