Mount Haeckel

Mount Haeckel is a 13,424-foot (4,092 m) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in northern California, United States.^[3] It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park with John Muir Wilderness, and along the common border of Fresno County with Inyo County. It is 21.5 miles (34.6 km) west of the community of Big Pine, 1.27 miles (2.04 km) south-southeast of Mount Darwin, and one mile north-northeast of Mount Fiske, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Mount Haeckel ranks as the 71st highest summit in California.^[2]

Mount Haeckel
North face
Highest point
Elevation	13,424 ft (4,092 m)[1]
Prominence	498 ft (152 m)[1]
Parent peak	Mount Fiske[1]
Isolation	1.07 mi (1.72 km)[2]
Listing	Sierra Peaks Section Western States Climbers Star Peak Vagmarken Sierra Crest List
Coordinates	37°09′04″N 118°39′40″W[3]
Naming
Etymology	Ernst Haeckel
Geography
Mount Haeckel Show map of California Mount Haeckel Show map of the United States
Location	Kings Canyon National Park  Fresno / Inyo counties, California, U.S.
Parent range	Sierra Nevada[1]
Topo map	USGS Mount Darwin
Geology
Rock type	granite
Climbing
First ascent	July 14, 1920
Easiest route	class 3[2]

History

In 1895, Sierra Club explorer Theodore S. Solomons named a group of mountains in the Sierra Nevada after exponents of Darwin's theory of evolution.^[4][5] These six peaks are now known collectively as the Evolution Group. This mountain is named for Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), a German zoologist.^[6] The other five peaks were named after Charles Darwin, John Fiske, Alfred Russel Wallace, Herbert Spencer, and Thomas Henry Huxley.

On July 14, 1920, Walter L. Huber led a Sierra Club party of nine climbers to the first ascent of the summit via the West Shoulder.^[7] A few minutes later, Edward O. Allen, Francis E. Crofts, and Olcott Haskell arrived via the South Ridge.^[8] This second Sierra Club party was surprised that they were not on Mount Darwin, their intended destination.^[9]

Climbing

Established climbing routes on Mount Haeckel:^[10]

• West Shoulder – class 3 – First Ascent 1920
• South Ridge – class 3 – FA 1920
• North Face – class 3 – FA 1933 by Jack Riegelhuth
• Northeast Ridge – class 4 – FA 1935

The Northwest Arête is considered one of the classic climbing routes in the Sierra Nevada.^[11]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Haeckel is located in an alpine climate zone.^[12] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains northeast into Bishop Creek, and west into Evolution Creek, which is a San Joaquin River tributary.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 
  Mt. Haeckel centered
• 
  Heackel centered, from Highway 168, (the road to Lake Sabrina)
• 
  Haeckel left of center, from Lake Sabrina
• 
  Haeckel in upper right corner in back.
  Picture Peak centered, from Sailor Lake
• 
  Southeast aspect of Haeckel from Mt. Wallace. Mt. Darwin behind, right
• 
  circa early 1920s

See also

• Mountains portal
• List of the major 4000-meter summits of California
• Mount Wallace

References

1. "Mount Haeckel, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
2. "Haeckel, Mount". ListsOfJohn.com. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
3. "Mount Haeckel". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
4. Francis Peloubet Farquhar, Exploration of the Sierra Nevada, 1925, California Historical Society, page 47.
5. Browning, Peter (1986). Place Names of the Sierra Nevada. Berkeley: Wilderness Press. p. 67. ISBN 0-89997-119-9.
6. Peter Browning, Place Names of the Sierra Nevada From Abbot to Zumwalt, 1986, Wilderness Press, ISBN 9780899970479, page 89.
7. Walter L. Huber, First Ascent of Mount Haeckel, Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. XI, 1923, page 145.
8. Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)
9. Alan M. Hedden and David R. Brower, A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra (1954)
10. Alan M. Hedden and David R. Brower, A Climber's Guide to the High Sierra (1954)
11. John Moynier, Claude Fiddler, 1993, Sierra Classics 100 Best Climbs in the High Sierra, Chockstone Press, ISBN 9780934641609.
12. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN 1027-5606.

External links

• Weather forecast: Mount Haeckel
• Account of first ascent: Sierra Club Bulletin
• Mt. Haeckel Rock Climbing: Mountainproject.com