Mount Carl Heller

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Mount Carl Heller
Vacation Peak
Carl Heller mtn.jpg
West aspect
Highest point
Elevation 13,211 ft (4,027 m) [1] [2]
Prominence 495 ft (151 m) [3]
Parent peak Tunnabora Peak (13,563 ft) [4]
Isolation 1.00 mi (1.61 km) [4]
Coordinates 36°36′42″N118°17′55″W / 36.611594°N 118.298654°W / 36.611594; -118.298654 [3]
Naming
Etymology Dr. Carl Heller
Geography
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Mount Carl Heller
Location in California
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Mount Carl Heller
Mount Carl Heller (the United States)
Location Sequoia National Park
Tulare County  /  Inyo County
California, U.S.
Parent range Sierra Nevada
Topo map USGS Mount Whitney
Geology
Rock age Cretaceous
Mountain type Fault block
Rock type granitic
Climbing
First ascent 1966
Easiest route class 3 scrambling [4]

Mount Carl Heller is a 13,211-foot-elevation (4,027-meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. [1] It is situated on the common border shared by Tulare County with Inyo County, as well as the shared boundary of Sequoia National Park and John Muir Wilderness. It is set 13.5 miles (21.7 km) west of the community of Lone Pine, 1.9 miles (3.1 km) north of Mount Whitney, and 0.6 miles (0.97 km) northwest of Tunnabora Peak, the nearest higher neighbor. Mount Carl Heller ranks as the 105th-highest summit in California. [4] Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises approximately 1,755 feet (535 meters) above Wallace Lake in 0.38 miles (0.61 km).

Contents

History

The first ascent of the summit was made in August 1966 by Carl Heller and Al Green via the East Arête. [2]

This landform is unofficially named after Dr. Carl Anthony Heller (1922–1984), founder of the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group in 1958. [5] His group's search and rescue operations in the Mount Whitney area saved many. He was a research chemist and mountaineer who made the first ascent of this peak. This feature has also been called "Vacation Peak", [1] in association with its position immediately above Vacation Pass.

Peaks seen from Mount Whitney summit. Mount Carl Heller near center (see file annotations for identifications) Mts. Morgenson and Russell from Mount Whitney summit.jpg
Peaks seen from Mount Whitney summit. Mount Carl Heller near center (see file annotations for identifications)

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Carl Heller is located in an alpine climate zone. [6] 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 (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range. Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains west to the Kern River via Wallace Creek, and east to Owens Valley via George Creek.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, ISBN   9781594857386, page 83.
  2. 1 2 John Moynier, Claude Fiddler (1993), Sierra Classics: 100 Best Climbs in the High Sierra, Chockstone Press, ISBN   9780934641609, p. 50
  3. 1 2 "Mount Carl Heller, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Carl Heller, Mount - 13,225' CA". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ Elizabeth Wenk (2016), One Best Hike, Wilderness Press, ISBN   9780899978321, p. 138
  6. ↑ "Climate of the Sierra Nevada". Encyclopædia Britannica .
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