Mount Lyell (California)

This article is about the mountain in California, For other geographic features with this name, see Mount Lyell

Mount Lyell
Mount Lyell, June 2005
Elevation	13,120 ft (3,999 m) NAVD 88[1]
Prominence	1,927 ft (587 m) [2]
Parent peak	Mount Ritter [3]
Listing	SPS Emblem peak [4]
Location
Location	Madera and Tuolumne counties, California, USA
Range	Sierra Nevada, Cathedral Range
Coordinates	37°44′22″N 119°16′18″W / 37.739424°N 119.271569°W / 37.739424; -119.271569Coordinates: 37°44′22″N 119°16′18″W / 37.739424°N 119.271569°W / 37.739424; -119.271569
Topo map	USGS Mount Lyell
Climbing
First ascent	August 29, 1871 by John Boies Tileston [5][6]
Easiest route	Rock climb, class 2-3 [6]

Mount Lyell is the highest point in Yosemite National Park, at 13,120 feet (4,000 m) above sea level. It is located at the southeast end of the Cathedral Range, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northwest of Rodgers Peak. It is named after Charles Lyell, a well-known 19th century geologist.^[7] The peak also has the largest glaciers in Yosemite, Lyell Glacier.

Mount Lyell divides the Tuolumne River watershed to the north, the Merced to the west, and the Rush Creek drainage in the Mono Lake Basin to the southeast.

Climbing

The most common approach to Mount Lyell is from Tuolumne Meadows on a highly traveled section of the John Muir Trail. The round trip is approximately 25 miles (40 km) and involves 4,500 feet (1,400 m) of elevation gain when starting from the Tuolumne Wilderness Office. The hike is easy from Tuolumne Meadows, following the Tuolumne River to the head of the Lyell Canyon, and becomes moderate as it approaches Donahue Pass. Before reaching Donahue Pass, this route leaves the trail and heads south towards Mount Lyell.

Most summit ascents are done either over or around the Lyell Glacier. Seasonal and year to year variations on the glacier make it necessary to assess current conditions before choosing a route to the summit. The NW Ridge, from the saddle between Mount Lyell and nearby Mount Maclure, offers class 2-3 climbing with high snow levels on the glacier. Low snow levels increases the grade to class 3-4 on the exposed granite ledges, in which cases it may be easier to ascend the glacier more directly to the summit. The grade of the East Arete likewise increases with low snow conditions, going from class 3 to class 4 (the looseness of the rock underlying the glacier on the East Arete makes it somewhat dangerous in low snow conditions). Other routes exist on the south and west sides, but of greater difficulty and longer approaches.

See also

• List of highest points in California by county

References

1. ^ "Lyell 2". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=HR2884. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
2. ^ "Mount Lyell, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2629. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
3. ^ "Mount Ritter - California Mountain Atlas". Peaklist.org. http://www.peaklist.org/CAmtnatlas/tables/whitney/ritter.html. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
4. ^ "Sierra Peaks Section List". Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/spslist.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
5. ^ Russell, Carl Parcher (1947). One Hundred Years In Yosemite. Yosemite National Park: Yosemite Association. p. 78. ISBN 0-939666-60-X. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/one_hundred_years_in_yosemite/explorers.html#page_78. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Roper, Steve (1976). The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. pp. 93, 333. ISBN 0-87156-147-6. 
7. ^ Farquhar, Francis P. (1926). Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/l.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 

• Secor, R. J. (1999). The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes and Trails (2nd ed.). Seattle: The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 0-89886-625-1. 
• Townsend, Charles E. (July, 1899). A Trip To Mount Lyell. XXXIV. pp. 567–588. http://books.google.com/?id=UlU4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA3. 

External links

• "Mount Lyell". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:263079. 
• "Mount Lyell". SummitPost.org. http://www.summitpost.org/page/150494. 
• "Mount Lyell". County Highpointers. http://www.cohp.org/ca/Tuolumne_1.html. Retrieved 2009-08-12. 
• "Mount Lyell from Tuolumne Meadows via Lyell Canyon". Yosemite Explorer. http://yosemiteexplorer.com/trails/mount-lyell. Retrieved 2009-08-12.