Thunderbolt Peak (California)

Thunderbolt Peak
Thunderbolt Peak, Starlight Peak , North Palisade, and Polemonium Peak
height	4270  m
location	California , United States
Mountains	Palisades , Sierra Nevada
Dominance	0.33 km →  Starlight Peak
Notch height	62 m
Coordinates	37 ° 5 ′ 51 ″  N , 118 ° 31 ′ 2 ″  W Coordinates: 37 ° 5 ′ 51 ″  N , 118 ° 31 ′ 2 ″  W
First ascent	August 1931
Normal way	Class 5.8-5.9

The Thunderbolt Peak is a 4,270  m high mountain in the Palisade range in the Sierra Nevada in the State of California of the United States . It is on the border of Inyo County and Fresno County .

history

The mountain was first climbed on August 13, 1931 by Bestor Robinson , Lewis F. Clark , Glen Dawson , Jules Eichorn , Francis Farquhar , Robert LM Underhill and Norman Clyde . This makes him the last Californian Fourteener to be climbed , a mountain over 14,000 feet ( 4,267.2  m ) high. However, due to an approaching thunderstorm during the first ascent, not all members were able to climb the final monolith that forms the summit. While Jules Eichhorn was climbing the monolith, lightning is said to have struck right next to him. Hence the name Thunderbolt Peak ( English Thunderbolt  =  German  lightning ).

geography

The summit lies in the Palisade Range of the Sierra Nevada, on the border between Kings Canyon National Park in the west and the John Muir Wilderness in the east. With a notch height of only about 62  m , it forms a secondary peak of the higher North Palisade . The rock monolith on the summit makes Thunderbolt Peak one of the most difficult peaks to climb in the Sierra Nevada.

Surroundings

There are several glaciers on the northeast flank. The Palisade Glacier on the east side, along with the Middle Palisade Glacier, is considered the longest glacier in the Sierra Nevada and the southernmost in the United States. In the area there are several more or less large peaks, surrounded by mountain lakes, which are quite typical for the Sierra Nevada. To the east of the mountain, after a few less high mountain ranges, the Owens Valley begins with Big Pine about 22 km east-northeast.

Peaks in the area are Mount Robinson in the north, Mount Gayley and Mount Sill in the east, Starlight Peak , North Palisade and Polemonium Peak in the Palisade Range in the south, Columbine Peak in the west and Mount Winchell and Mount Agassiz in the northwest. The dominance is only about 0.33 km, so the mountain is the highest elevation within a 0.33 km radius. It is dominated by Starlight Peak to the southeast, another minor summit of the North Palisade.

Web links

Commons : Palisades (California Sierra)  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Thunderbolt Peak in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
• Data on the mountain

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} summitpost.org : Thunderbolt Peak . Accessed March 8, 2019
2. ↑ ^{a b} peakbagger.com : Thunderbolt Peak, California . Accessed March 8, 2019
3. ↑ mountainproject.com : Thunderbolt Peak Rock Climbing . Accessed March 8, 2019