Sierra Peaks Section#Emblem Peaks

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.

History

The Sierra Peaks Section was established in 1955. The Section maintains historic summit registers at Bancroft Library on the University of California, Berkeley campus.{{cite web |url=http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/fifty/spsbriefhistory.html |title=Sierra Peaks Section Brief History }}

Membership

To become a member of the SPS, one must be a Sierra Club member and have climbed at least six peaks on the SPS List; it is not necessary that the peaks be Emblem peaks. For verification purposes, two of those ascents must be done on an official SPS trip.{{cite web |url=http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/membership.htm |title=Sierra Peaks Section Membership Page }}

Especially accomplished members are award with emblems, with the following grades (from highest to lowest):{{cite web |url=http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/emblems.htm |title=Sierra Peaks Section Emblem Introduction Page }}

Third List Completion
Second List Completion
First List Completion
Master Emblem
Senior Emblem
Emblem

Upon receiving one of the normal emblems, members may be recognized with one of the following additional emblems, which are not ranked:

Geographic Emblem
Explorer Emblem

SPS List

To the general public, they are most known for their peak bagging list, created in 1955, a product of the Sierra Club's long legacy of promoting climbing in the Sierra Nevada.Andy Selters. Images of America: Inyo National Forest. p. 83 Completing the list is highly prestigious in American mountaineering circles, and climbers who complete the list are often cited as having done so (e.g. by the American Alpine Club).1997 American Alpine Journal. p. 394.

The list is divided into three levels of importance. The Emblem peaks are considered the most iconic peaks of the Sierra Nevada, and to summit all of them is the goal of many peak baggers and alpinists. Mountaineers peaks are less notable peaks known for presenting mountaineering challenges; they do not have the prestige that Emblem peaks have attached to them, but ascending them is necessary to gain higher levels of recognition for Section members. Finally, there are the numerous general peaks of lesser note.

Some peaks require substantial rock climbing experience (e.g. North Palisade and Mount Clarence King), and in some cases snow travel skills. Most peaks may require few technical skills, although the commonly cited difficulty ratings of peak climbs in the Sierra Nevada are considered to be understated, or “sandbagged”.{{cite web | last=Drummond | first=Lizz | title=Numbers Game: Classic Sandbags at 4 Historic Crags | website=Climbing Magazine | date=2013-09-03 | url=https://www.climbing.com/places/numbers-game-historic-sandbagged-crags/ | access-date=2020-07-18}}{{cite web | url=https://adventuresportsjournal.com/ten-favorite-high-sierra-climbs/ | title=Ten Favorite High Sierra Climbs | date=21 October 2009 }} The majority of peaks are very remote and require substantial cross-country travel.

The list is an example of a subjective "decision by committee" list with the peaks on the list being determined by the Sierra Club. Peaks are occasionally added or removed from the list due to a variety of factors, such as accessibility, notability, and interest.Helman, Adam. The Finest Peaks - Prominence and Other Mountain Measures. The list is followed by thousands of hikers and climbers and has been noted in numerous books and guides on the Sierra Nevada.

There are 15 Emblem peaks, 35 Mountaineers peaks, and 197 general peaks, for a total of 247 peaks.{{cite summitpost| id = 404706 | name = Sierra Peaks Section | accessdate = }} The number of peaks is traditionally set at 248, the original number of peaks listed in 1955; however the number changes at times due to issues such as legal access or higher interest in one peak over another.

The elevations listed below are those officially described on the list (based on USGS topographic map contours), and may not be the actual elevations of those peaks, although they are usually accurate to within 50 feet.

=Emblem Peaks=

File:Mount Whitney 2003-03-25.jpg]]

File:MountWilliamsonManzanar2002.jpg

Peak[http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/spslist.pdf SPS List, 20th edition]	Elevation
class="wikitable sortable"
Olancha Peak	{{convert\|12123\|ft}}
Mount Whitney	{{convert\|14491\|ft}}
Mount Williamson	{{convert\|14370\|ft}}
Mount Kaweah	{{convert\|13802\|ft}}
Mount Brewer	{{convert\|13570\|ft}}
Mount Clarence King	{{convert\|12907\|ft}}
Split Mountain	{{convert\|14042\|ft}}
Mount Goddard	{{convert\|13568\|ft}}
North Palisade	{{convert\|14242\|ft}}
Mount Darwin	{{convert\|13831\|ft}}
Mount Humphreys	{{convert\|13986\|ft}}
Mount Abbot	{{convert\|13704\|ft}}
Mount Ritter	{{convert\|13143\|ft}}
Mount Lyell	{{convert\|13114\|ft}}
Matterhorn Peak	{{convert\|12279\|ft}}

=Mountaineers Peaks=

File:Red Slate Mtn from Lake Dorothy.jpg

File:Mount Morrison.jpg

Peak	Elevation
class="wikitable sortable"
Mount LeConte	{{convert\|13930\|ft}}
Mount McAdie	{{convert\|13799\|ft}}
Mount Russell	{{convert\|14088\|ft}}
Black Kaweah	{{convert\|13720\|ft}}
Triple Divide Peak	{{convert\|12634\|ft}}
Milestone Mountain	{{convert\|13638\|ft}}
Table Mountain	{{convert\|13632\|ft}}
Thunder Mountain	{{convert\|13517\|ft}}
Mount Ericsson	{{convert\|13583\|ft}}
Deerhorn Mountain	{{convert\|13281\|ft}}
East Vidette	{{convert\|12356\|ft}}
Junction Peak	{{convert\|13845\|ft}}
University Peak	{{convert\|13589\|ft}}
Mount Gardiner	{{convert\|12907\|ft}}
Arrow Peak	{{convert\|12959\|ft}}
Mount Ruskin	{{convert\|12920\|ft}}
Tehipite Dome	{{convert\|7708\|ft}}
Middle Palisade	{{convert\|14012\|ft}}
Norman Clyde Peak	{{convert\|13855\|ft}}
Devil’s Crag #1	{{convert\|12400\|ft}}
Mount McDuffie	{{convert\|13282\|ft}}
Mount Sill	{{convert\|14153\|ft}}
Thunderbolt Peak	{{convert\|14003\|ft}}
The Hermit	{{convert\|12328\|ft}}
Seven Gables	{{convert\|13080\|ft}}
Bear Creek Spire	{{convert\|13720\|ft}}
Red Slate Mountain	{{convert\|13123\|ft}}
Mount Morrison	{{convert\|12277\|ft}}
Clyde Minaret	{{convert\|12264\|ft}}
Mount Clark	{{convert\|11522\|ft}}
Mount Starr King	{{convert\|9092\|ft}}
Cathedral Peak	{{convert\|10911\|ft}}
Whorl Mountain	{{convert\|12033\|ft}}
Tower Peak	{{convert\|11755\|ft}}

=Full list=

==Area 1: Southern Sierra==

==Area 2: Mineral King and Kern River==

==Area 3: Olancha to Langley and west==

==Area 4: Corcoran to Whitney==

==Area 5: Whitney to Williamson==

==Area 6: Kaweahs and west==

==Area 7: Great Western Divide==

==Area 8: Kings–Kern divide==

==Area 9: Kearsarge Pass vicinity==

==Area 10: Baxter Pass to Taboose Pass==

==Area 11: Western mid-Sierra==

==Area 12: South Palisades==

==Area 13: Mt. Goddard vicinity==

==Area 14: North Palisades==

==Area 15: Evolution area==

==Area 16: Humphreys Basin and west==

==Area 17: Bear Creek Spire area==

==Area 18: Mono Creek to Mammoth==

==Area 19: Ritter Range and vicinity==

==Area 20: Clark Range and vicinity==

==Area 21: Mt. Lyell and north==

==Area 22: Tioga Pass to Bond Pass==

==Area 23: Bond Pass to Lake Tahoe==

==Area 24: Northern Sierra==

References

Bibliography

{{Cite book | last1 = Secor | first1 = R. J. | title = The High Sierra : peaks, passes, trail | date = 2009 | publisher = Mountaineers Books | location = Seattle, WA | isbn = 978-0-89886-971-2 }}

External links

[http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/ Official web site]

Category:Peak bagging in the United States

Category:Sierra Club