Minarets (California)

The Minarets are a series of jagged peaks located in the Ritter Range, a sub-range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the state of California. They are easily viewed from Minaret Summit, which is accessible by auto. Collectively, they form an arête, and are a prominent feature in the Ansel Adams Wilderness which was known as the Minaret Wilderness until it was renamed in honor of Ansel Adams in 1984.

For other uses, see Minarets (disambiguation).
Clyde Minaret
The Minarets from Minaret Lake
Highest point
Elevation12,270 ft (3,740 m)  NAVD 88[1]
Prominence1,152 ft (351 m) [1]
Parent peakMount Ritter[2]
ListingSPS Mountaineers peak[3]
Coordinates37°39′43″N 119°10′41″W [4]
Geography
LocationMadera County, California, U.S.
Parent rangeRitter Range, Sierra Nevada
Topo mapUSGS Mount Ritter
Geology
Age of rockMid-cretaceous
Mountain typeMetamorphic rock
Climbing
First ascent1928 by Norman Clyde[5]
Easiest routeRock climb class 4[3]
Labeled photo of individual Minarets

The peaks were named in 1868 by the California Geographical Survey, which reported: "To the south of Mount Ritter are some grand pinnacles of granite, very lofty and apparently inaccessible, to which we gave the name of 'the Minarets.'"[6] Seventeen of the Minarets have been given unofficial names, including Michael Minaret, Adams Minaret, Leonard Minaret, and Clyde Minaret. Clyde Minaret, named after Norman Clyde, is the tallest of the spires. The Southeast Face Route of Clyde Minaret is a technical rock climb featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.[7]

The area is notable for two fatalities:

  • Walter A. Starr, Jr., author of Starr’s Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region, fell to his death while solo-climbing the northwest face of Michael Minaret in 1933.[8][9]
  • Steve Fossett, an American aviator and adventurer, died in a plane crash near the Minarets in 2007.[10]

References
  1. "Clyde Minaret, California". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  2. "Clyde Minaret". ListsOfJohn.com. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  3. "Sierra Peaks Section List" (PDF). Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  4. "Minarets". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
  5. Roper, Steve (1976). The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. p. 337. ISBN 9780871561473.
  6. Browning, Peter (1986). Place Names of the Sierra Nevada. Berkeley: Wilderness Press. ISBN 0-89997-047-8.
  7. Roper, Steve; Steck, Allen (1979). Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0-87156-292-8.
  8. "The search for Peter Starr". Traditional Mountaineering.
  9. Alsup, William (2001). Missing in the Minarets: The Search for Walter A. Starr, Jr. El Portal California: The Yosemite Association. pp. 105-107+116. ISBN 978-1-930238-18-3.
  10. Fagan, Kevin (October 3, 2008). "Plane wreckage Fossett's - bone fragment found". San Francisco Chronicle.
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