eli.boardman - Jun 30, 2023 4:47 pm - Hasn't voted
True High Point: West vs. East Summit?
On the question of whether the true high point is the eastern or western summit:
Upon reaching the apparent top of this peak, where the LoJ and Peakbagger markers are located and where the map marks the summit, there is a small cairn of white rocks. Across a ~50 ft. gap to the west, there is a second summit of almost identical height. The eastern summit is class 4 via the route described on Summitpost, but traversing to the western summit requires down-climbing and re-ascending through the notch, which is low 5th-class on both sides and rather sketchy given the very loose breccia and significant exposure.
I climbed both summits on 6/30/23 and sight-leveled with a SitePro 2.5x hand level from both summits. The results were indeterminate, but I can confidently say that the east and west summits are within 1 ft. of each other vertically. The eastern summit has a cairn that is about 6-8 inches tall, and neglecting the artificial arrangement of these rocks, I am pretty sure that the highest rock on the western summit wins out by a couple inches. If you count the cairn rock as the high point, then the eastern summit might be a couple inches higher.
This peak is situated exactly in a tiny gap between existing USGS 3DEP LiDAR surveys, so LiDAR data are not yet available.
Personally, I'd want to climb both the eastern and western summits to claim a definitive ascent, at least until someone drags survey equipment up there haha.
Thanks for sharing this, Eli. It was 14 years ago that I climbed this peak, and I don't remember having any doubts that I was on the highpoint, but then again, it was 14 years ago.
I'll be back out there in about a week and plan to reclimb the peak after all these years, and I'll go with your observations in mind and will probably tag both summits.
eli.boardman - Jun 30, 2023 4:47 pm - Hasn't voted
True High Point: West vs. East Summit?On the question of whether the true high point is the eastern or western summit:
Upon reaching the apparent top of this peak, where the LoJ and Peakbagger markers are located and where the map marks the summit, there is a small cairn of white rocks. Across a ~50 ft. gap to the west, there is a second summit of almost identical height. The eastern summit is class 4 via the route described on Summitpost, but traversing to the western summit requires down-climbing and re-ascending through the notch, which is low 5th-class on both sides and rather sketchy given the very loose breccia and significant exposure.
I climbed both summits on 6/30/23 and sight-leveled with a SitePro 2.5x hand level from both summits. The results were indeterminate, but I can confidently say that the east and west summits are within 1 ft. of each other vertically. The eastern summit has a cairn that is about 6-8 inches tall, and neglecting the artificial arrangement of these rocks, I am pretty sure that the highest rock on the western summit wins out by a couple inches. If you count the cairn rock as the high point, then the eastern summit might be a couple inches higher.
This peak is situated exactly in a tiny gap between existing USGS 3DEP LiDAR surveys, so LiDAR data are not yet available.
Personally, I'd want to climb both the eastern and western summits to claim a definitive ascent, at least until someone drags survey equipment up there haha.
Bob Sihler - Jun 30, 2023 5:53 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: True High Point: West vs. East Summit?Thanks for sharing this, Eli. It was 14 years ago that I climbed this peak, and I don't remember having any doubts that I was on the highpoint, but then again, it was 14 years ago.
I'll be back out there in about a week and plan to reclimb the peak after all these years, and I'll go with your observations in mind and will probably tag both summits.