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Hello Vitaliy, Seems like The Chief would be a likley source and you two are good buds too, so "pm" him. I hiked one day with a guy named Doug Mantle who has hiked The Sierra probably more than anybody (he didn't tell me this, he was rather humble). I have since read in a few books of his hiking/climbing prowess. I would try to get a hold of him. I tried to but could not find a website of his. Maybe some SPer has some info on contacting him. His number of ascents in The Sierra is quite staggering, and many technical climbs as well, not just "peakbagging" the easy routes.

I ask the guide book authors, they seem to know what has been climbed.

Confirming a whether or not a winter ascent has occurred will be difficult. Many people who do such things, not that there's a lot of winter ascentionists to begin with, don't report it. I'd say it has to be fairly remote to be a candidate. Think about access, stuff like the White Divide is a long walk in the summer, so in winter when all the approach roads are closed, then it's a really really long haul, thus the peaks are more likely to be winter virgins. However, if you are able to forgo named summits, then you've probably have quite a few to select from.

ExcitibleBoy wrote:I ask the guide book authors, they seem to know what has been climbed.

RJ Secor would know. He gave me a list one time, but I seem to have lost it.

Vitaliy M wrote:This is a very complex question with real truth that may be unknown

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious! -A.E.
The mysterious nature of the Sierra is what makes it so cool! You never can or will know whether or not something has been done before. But for you to do something you have never done, that is where the learning and enjoyment comes.

From Keizan Jokin in the Transmission of Light:
"The wind traverses the vast sky,
clouds emerge from the mountains;
Feelings of enlightenment and things of the world
are of no concern at all."

Vitaliy M wrote:Another thing is honesty. One could take a picture in severe fog on a summit looking plateau and claim a solo winter ascent of *insert peak here*.

See Denali first ascent scandal from way back in the early 1900s; the Waterman book High Alaska has a detailed account (not to mention a million awesome images to drive your enthusiasm past the moon!).

Does it really matter.... who cares!

Go do it, return home alive and rejoice in your achievement.

Contact John Moynier.... http://twitter.com/johnmoynier

Ten Bucks says he's got some good info as well as these two local climbers & historians....

James Wilson owner of Wilsons Eastside Sports

Last but not least, Claude Fiddler will have lots of beta as well.

Here is a better contact for John Moynier

I'm not sure that there was ever much concentrated effort to document 1st winter ascents ON PEAKS in the Sierra. The Sierra Club Buletin (published up to about mid 70s) had some write-ups on the major winter ascents of the big peaks in the range, but ever since The Roper Guide and later RJ Secor, there has not been much if anything documented. TECHNICAL ROUTES on the peaks are another story. These get published fairly frequently and there are people around who know. Some of the people in the know are already listed here, those who climb in the range often and for long time generaly know a bit. Ask people who are for example. named by RJ Secor as frequent visitors and pioneers in the range (in his 1st, 2nd, 3rd edition), ask those guys on the East Side and Bishop, those who wrote Guidebooks (some listed above) etc. I don't think it will be easy to find data on this. People have been pretty discreet years ago, when most of the winter ascents were likely done.

Another possibility is the Bancroft Library of UC Berkeley. I think they have very extensive Sierra Nevada climbing archives which might include first ascents. Not sure (at all) how extensive these are but it's worth checking. Anyone on SummitPost wants to start a registry of ascents (summer and winter) in the Sierra? I don't think there is anything like it available.

Vitaliy M wrote:

The Chief wrote:Here is a better contact for John Moynier

lol thanks Rick. I know you must be on his friend list ; )

That is a big negative. Don't do FB. Only have the FB page to maintain coms with my Kids.