Second recorded Sierra ascent

[LongLost]

I'm not sure what is considered to be the second recorded ascent in the Sierra (after Fremont's climb of Red Lake Peak in 1844)? Mt Hoffman in 1863?

[Jesus Malverde]

Longlost,
FWIW:
Roper's The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra (1976 edition) has this on page 124:"The first recorded climbing in the region was in 1860, when Tom Clark probably reached the summit of Mt. Tom.."

[Marmaduke]

Wikipedia page has Langley and Red Slate in 1864 as the next peaks after Red Lake, Secor is listed as the "source". No source given on the Hoffmann page for that 1863 ascent.

[LongLost]

Longlost,
FWIW:
Roper's The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra (1976 edition) has this on page 124:"The first recorded climbing in the region was in 1860, when Tom Clark probably reached the summit of Mt. Tom.."

That's interesting, because in the 2nd (1997) edition of "Sierra High Route" (p. 47) Roper says:

"In late June [1863] the three men [Whitney, Brewer, Hoffman] climbed northward out of the [Yosemite] valley toward little-known territory. On June 24 they ascended a prominent peak that was quickly named Mount Hoffman in honor of the group's cartographer. This straightforward climb marked the first verified ascent of a major High Sierra peak and symbolizeed [sic] the beginning of an era that present-day mountaineers can only envy. A few days later, from their camp near Tuolumne Meadows, Brewer and Hoffman climbed a massive peak on the main Sierra crest. So impressed were they with the view that Brewer persuaded Whitney to climb it with him the following day. According to Brewer's journal, Whitney 'thought the view the grandest he had ever beheld, although he has seen nearly the whole of Europe".

Secor (1st ed) confirms the 1863 date of Hoffman but wrongly gives 1864 for Dana. I'm interested in this because I think have indisputable evidence that the second recorded peak ascent was actually in 1855, and as far as I can tell, nobody is aware of it--I've been scouring the literature and have found no mention of it anywhere.

[Scott M.]

LongLost,
In his information about the ascent of Hoffmann Roper is citing text from "Up and Down California" a journal by William Brewer of his travels/exploration between 1860-1864 (page 407 for reference).

[Jesus Malverde]

LongLost,
For clarity I believe Steve Roper was referring to the Mono Recesses when he says "in the region..", not necessarily the whole Sierra Nevada Range.

" I'm interested in this because I think have indisputable evidence that the second recorded peak ascent was actually in 1855, and as far as I can tell, nobody is aware of it--I've been scouring the literature and have found no mention of it anywhere."
I'm curious, can you share with us the name of the peak (and its location)? You raise an interesting subject and I'd be curious to do a bit of research on it myself.

[LongLost]

ScottM: Thanks; yes I'm reading Up and Down right now; it's a great read.
Jesus: Just thought it curious that Roper made no mention of Tom Clark in Sierra High Route, but does discuss both Fremont and the CA Geological Survey members. In the 21 years between 1976 and 1997 maybe he decided that the Clark story wasn't credible?

Anyway, the peak is Mt Lewis, an obscure 12K+ peak just outside the E boundary of Yosemite NP, near Koip/Kuna peaks. There may have been a second one also, inside YNP-- I'm still reading the source material, which is slow going.

[Jesus Malverde]

LongLost,
If you have original/newly discovered documents - that is awesome!
Perhaps it's the basis for a thesis, but certainly worth a web page or publishing via a historical society /E Clampus Vitus, etc. Please keep us updated via Summitpost on your research.

[LongLost]

Yeah it's actually really interesting Jesus, several pretty cool little twists and turns to it. I'll write it up when I get some time. And I'm sure about it after looking over the material closely this afternoon--definitely Mt Lewis in early July, 1855. And never reported anywhere that I can tell, including by Brewer, Farquhar, Secor, or Roper. Completely overlooked I think.

[LongLost]

Hmmm, in reading Fremont's account of his crossing of the Sierra, and another interpretation of same, it appears that he probably climbed Elephant's Back some days before Red Lake Peak, giving him the first two Sierran ascents.