San Gorgonio Mountain

San Gorgonio Mountain
Elevation	11,503 ft (3,506 m) [1][2]
Prominence	8,294 ft (2,528 m) [2]
Parent peak	Mount Whitney [3]
Listing	Ultra, Hundred Peaks Section [4]
Translation	Saint Gorgonius (Spanish)
Location
Location	San Bernardino County, California, USA
Range	San Bernardino Mountains
Coordinates	34°05′57″N 116°49′29″W / 34.099162°N 116.824853°W / 34.099162; -116.824853Coordinates: 34°05′57″N 116°49′29″W / 34.099162°N 116.824853°W / 34.099162; -116.824853[2]
Topo map	USGS San Gorgonio Mountain
Climbing
First ascent	1872 by W. A. Goodyear and Mark Thomas
Easiest route	Strenuous Hike

San Gorgonio Mountain, also known locally as Mount San Gorgonio, or Old Greyback, is the highest peak in Southern California at 11,503 feet (3,506 m). It is in the San Bernardino Mountains, 27 miles (43 km) east of the city of San Bernardino and 12 miles (19 km) north-northeast of San Gorgonio Pass. It lies within the San Gorgonio Wilderness, part of the San Bernardino National Forest. Spanish missionaries in the area during the early 17th century named the peak after Saint Gorgonius.

Since it is the highest point in a region which is separated from higher peaks (e.g. in the Sierra Nevada) by relatively low terrain, San Gorgonio Mountain is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the United States. It is ranked 7th among peaks in the 48 contiguous states and 18th among overall.^[3]

Hiking

Several trails lead to the broad summit of San Gorgonio Mountain, which rises a few hundred feet (100 m) above the tree line. Any route requires well over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) of elevation gain.

The trail leading from the Fish Creek Trailhead to San Gorgonio Mountain has about 3,400 feet (1,000 m) of gain, less than the routes from the South Fork and Vivian Creek trailheads. Hikers should always take caution because some junctions on this trail are not well marked.

Aircraft wreckage

On December 1, 1953, a Douglas C-47 Dakota, serial number 45-1124, crashed at the 11,000 feet (3,400 m) level on the eastern face of the mountain. The C-47 was en route from Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska to March Air Force Base near Riverside, California when it struck the mountain at night in the middle of a storm. "The aircraft was last heard from at 9:51 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday." Thirteen people died.^[5]

Nearly one month after the C-47 accident a Marine Corps helicopter crashed on the mountain in coordination of the efforts of recovering the victims. The three crewmen of the helicopter survived the impact.^[6] Most of the wreckage of the two aircraft remain on the mountain and are accessible via the Fish Creek Trailhead or the South Fork Trailhead.

In more recent years, the mountain has claimed the lives of Frank Sinatra's mother and Dean Martin's son, in unrelated plane crashes.

Pan looking west and southwest from Mt San Gorgonio.

See also

• List of highest points in California by county
• Mountain peaks of California
• Mountain peaks of North America
• Mountain peaks of the United States

References

1. ^ The NGVD 29 elevation of 11,499 feet was converted using VERTCON to the NAVD 88 elevation of 11,503 feet.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "San Gorgonio Mountain, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=1417. Retrieved 2008-11-22. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "America's 57 - The Ultras". Peaklist.org. http://www.PeakList.org/USlists/USP5000.html. Retrieved 2008-09-28. 
4. ^ "San Gorgonio Mountain". Hundred Peaks Section List. Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. http://angeles.sierraclub.org/hps/guides/24I.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-14. 
5. ^ Fort Walton, Florida, "Transport Plane Wreckage Hunted", Playground Daily News, Thursday 4 December 1952, Volume 7, Number 44, page 2.
6. ^ "C47 Transport Crashes on Mount San Gorgonio". Qnet.com. http://www.qnet.com/~carcomm/wreck33.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-24. 

External links

• "San Gorgonio". SummitPost.org. http://www.summitpost.org/page/150533. Retrieved 2011-05-07. 
• "San Gorgonio Wilderness Association". http://www.sgwa.org. Retrieved 2008-11-24.