I believe that this is en route to the first winter ascent of Mt Lyell in 1936. If anyone can help me to confirm this, I'll post the remaining photos with a good group shot. Ongoing thanks to all.
Mike

Are you asking whether the peak on the center left is Lyell? I don't really recognize it as such, but I may be wrong. If it is Lyell taken from the N/NE it implies the one to the right is Maclure and Maclure would have a major ridgeline coming down (NE ridge), which we don't see on the photo. I also don't know what the "cathedral"-like feature in front of the tallest peak would be. So I doubt that it is the Lyell massif.

Wonderful photo, by the way - wherever it is!

I can confirm it. I have a video of the first ascent and that viewpoint is in the video as they were returning from the peak.

That's Mt. Clark and the "cathedral" thing is probably Quartzite peak. Here's a summertime photo taken from Vogelsang Pass (not my photo).

Post up the photos!

Thanks guys. Here's what I have and all that I know. I only dug into this envelope this week after being asked to donate some appropriate prints to the Sierra Avalanche Center's holiday party auction. Have a look. Video??

Very nice, thank you for sharing those.

I would guess those were David Brower's words. He was on that trip and looked like he was about twenty years old at the time. I wonder if the video I have is still available to buy or borrow? It's quite fun to watch and contains several trips in addition to that one.

Another trip from the following year with three from the previous cast of characters: L to R, Einar Nilsson, Lewis Clark, and Bestor Robinson. Resting at Eagle Meadow, en route from Echo Summit to Sonora Pass.

Are they at a Sierra Club hut ? Were there any south of Desolation Valley . The first time I saw the name Sierra Club on a building was in 1948 on a cabin at Lake -Of-The-Woods in Desolation Valley.

My guess is that this is a herder's cabin. Not aware of any club huts in this area. Wish I had more info on this trip but the box with the negatives is it. And, my mistake, this is spring of 1937.

Striking how the guy in the middle was already compulsively checking his smartphone as early as 1937. Apparently it's not a recent disease.

bearflag wrote:My guess is that this is a herder's cabin. Not aware of any club huts in this area. Wish I had more info on this trip but the box with the negatives is it. And, my mistake, this is spring of 1937.

Merced Lake ranger hut. They spent their first night there; they had special permission to use it. Their second night was camping with primitive looking tents somewhere en route to the peak. On the third day they summited and returned to Yosemite Valley. The video made it look like a fun trip.

Romain wrote:Striking how the guy in the middle was already compulsively checking his smartphone as early as 1937. Apparently it's not a recent disease.

Hilarious!

I wonder what he was really doing there.

What caught my attention first was the serious farmer tans they were sporting, but the iPhone pose really is classic.

I'm pretty sure Lewis is operating the infrared remote for his camera. Attaches to the cable seen in this illustration

bearflag wrote:And, my mistake, this is spring of 1937.

The text states they started on February 29, 1936. The High Sierra (R.J. Secor) puts the summit day on March 2, 1936. That fits with what the video portrayed, that they reached the top on their third day. In some countries 1 March is considered the start of spring but in the U.S. it's the equinox. In any case there was plenty of snow for those guys, even on the way up to Vernal Fall.

If only our recent winters were half as snowy.

The cabin front trio is from a different trip in '37. I threw it in just to confuse the issue and because I just like it.

Doh!

Cool picture though.
Thanks again.