Sierra Peaks List

ADDITIONS, UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED!
To report errors, or to add more peaks to the list, please contact Steve Eckert.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Sierra Peaks Map displays regions graphically

list of SPS regions (each with links to GPS waypoints, region maps, etc)

sorted list of all Sierra peaks (with links into the per-region pages)

Desert Peaks are in a database similar to this one

Highest Peaks in AZ, CA, CO, NV, OR, UT, WA, and WY (2000 peaks per state)

UTM and LAT/LON coordinate explanation

summit register conditions, from SPS Mountain Records Chair

revision history and contributor credits

Waypoint data is shown in Waypoint+ format - copy and paste into a local text file, then read it into Waypoint+ or TOPO!. Even if you don't have a GPS receiver, use the waypoints in the regional peak listings to jump to box locations in TOPO!. Each region is shown as an outline, and bookmarks help you find them before or after you overlay the regions with GPS coordinates to locate the peaks. NEW IN 2007: From each regional or box detail page, you can view that region overlaid with roads and trails on satellite images or maps using Google Maps (web application) or Google Earth (must download and install).

If you follow the links below down to the peak details, you will find links to photos for many of the peaks, or you can jump to Karpel's Peak Pictures. Also with the peak details, there are links to TopoZone where you can view scalable online topo maps showing the peak location.

Richard Carey has lots of data on these and other peaks, and his SPS and DPS sections are good places to start browsing. These pages are distinct from the SPS website.

The Vulgarian Ramblers maintain a list of all CA 13ers, based on the best available USGS field survey and DEM data. For more details on DEM data, see the "Some Notes on Data Accuracy", "Column Descriptions and Color Usage", and "Even More Technical Information" sections of their web page.

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

This list was prepared as a convenient reference to many of the major peaks of the Sierra Nevada, by combining the official SPS Peaks List Sierra Peaks Section, Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club) and the Major Sierra Peaks list (as published in the "Scree" newsletter of the Peak Climbing Section, Loma Prieta Chapter, Sierra Club) plus a bunch that I added because I've been there or someone asked me to add them. It is hoped that this list will aid people both in choosing a peak to climb and in planning the trip. This version includes peaks not on the SPS list, which are labeled with 'XX' so they can be found and deleted to recover the official SPS Peaks List, as with "The Sphinx 11.xx".

IN GENERAL, "EMBLEM" peaks dominate the area by their bulk or the amount of terrain that can be seen from the summit, and "MOUNTAINEERS" peaks represent high quality alpine climbing. Obviously, there are worthy climbs not on this list - and there are also peaks on this list that have trails to the top! The peaks are grouped into 24 geographical areas that are listed in a south to north direction. The names of the 15 emblem peaks are capitalized and marked with 'E' and the 35 mountaineers peaks are marked with 'M' between the region number and the peak name in the regional listings.

The climbing class (difficulty rating) indicates the difficulty of the easiest route on the peak, but this is not necessarily the most commonly climbed route. The classes are summarized here, but a detailed description of ratings is online:

class 1: Hands-in-pockets hiking on trails or easy cross country.
class 2: Rough cross-country travel, boulder hopping and use of hands for balance.
class 3: Handholds are necessary for climbing. Some may want belays.
class 4: More difficult climbing with considerable exposure. Ropes are used.
class 5: Technical rock climbing

Some of the peaks have a summit block classification that is higher than the principal part of the climb. These are shown with the letter 's' followed by the number, as in '2s4' for a second class peak with a fourth class summit block. The SPS keeps raising the difficulty of various peaks when they update their version of their peaks list, and in some cases THIS database will disagree with the official SPS List... which is probably OK since this list contains dozens more peaks and is intended to be a superset of the 'official' SPS Peaks List.

The cartographer of the new 7.5 min maps seems to have shifted the summit location of Mt Powell and Mt Emerson but the SPS (and the USGS's GNIS database) continues to recognize the nearby older and higher location. The 7.5 min Mount Whitney map has the spelling "Mt Chamberlain" but the correct name is "Chamberlin", which is used on the older 15 min map, since the mountain was named by the Sierra Club for geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin.

UTM AND LAT/LON COORDINATE EXPLANATION

The information previously here has been added to a more complete document. See this UTM and LAT/LON coordinate explanation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

	Sierra Peaks Map displays regions graphically
	list of SPS regions (each with links to GPS waypoints, region maps, etc)
	sorted list of all Sierra peaks (with links into the per-region pages)
	Desert Peaks are in a database similar to this one
	Highest Peaks in AZ, CA, CO, NV, OR, UT, WA, and WY (2000 peaks per state)
	UTM and LAT/LON coordinate explanation
	summit register conditions, from SPS Mountain Records Chair
	revision history and contributor credits