Mt. Starr King 1931-1982 The Peak Registers Original Pages with Transcriptions and Comments 1 Table of Contents Note: The page numbers below for any particular year may not be as accurate as one might wish. People put entries out of order now and then. Mt. Starr King ......................................................................................... 1 Preface .................................................................................................... 5 How to Read This Book......................................................................... 11 Statistical Tables and Graphs ............................................................... 12 The First Ascent .................................................................................... 14 Are Sierra Club Peak Registers Managed? .......................................... 15 Recorded History - the Registers .......................................................... 16 The Loose Leaf Register........................................................................ 18 1931....................................................................................................... 20 1932....................................................................................................... 48 1933....................................................................................................... 54 1934....................................................................................................... 64 1935....................................................................................................... 66 1936....................................................................................................... 70 1937....................................................................................................... 70 The First Book Register ........................................................................ 74 1937....................................................................................................... 78 1938....................................................................................................... 84 1939....................................................................................................... 94 1940..................................................................................................... 102 1941..................................................................................................... 112 1942..................................................................................................... 116 1943..................................................................................................... 118 1944..................................................................................................... 124 1945..................................................................................................... 128 2 1946..................................................................................................... 128 1947..................................................................................................... 130 1948..................................................................................................... 132 1949..................................................................................................... 132 1950..................................................................................................... 134 1951..................................................................................................... 134 1952..................................................................................................... 138 1953..................................................................................................... 144 1954..................................................................................................... 152 1955..................................................................................................... 154 1956..................................................................................................... 160 1957..................................................................................................... 164 1958..................................................................................................... 168 1959..................................................................................................... 172 1960..................................................................................................... 178 1961..................................................................................................... 186 1962..................................................................................................... 190 1963..................................................................................................... 198 1964..................................................................................................... 200 1965..................................................................................................... 212 1966..................................................................................................... 222 1967..................................................................................................... 230 1968..................................................................................................... 240 1969..................................................................................................... 250 1970..................................................................................................... 260 1971..................................................................................................... 280 1972..................................................................................................... 298 1973..................................................................................................... 314 1974..................................................................................................... 322 1975..................................................................................................... 342 1976..................................................................................................... 358 1977..................................................................................................... 412 3 1978..................................................................................................... 434 1979..................................................................................................... 440 1980..................................................................................................... 452 1981..................................................................................................... 462 1982..................................................................................................... 470 1990..................................................................................................... 474 Appendices .......................................................................................... 475 Permissions ......................................................................................... 475 Mark Spencer’s Photographs ............................................................. 476 Index .................................................................................................... 511 4 Preface What is a peak register? It’s like a guest book at a wedding. Visitors to the summit sign their names and perhaps make a comment or two. Why would one want to waste time on a book of signatures? We have reasons: Some guests wrote interesting things, additional information on some of the ascenders has been added in this book, and one sees facts which may have a general interest. The reader familiar with California rock climbing will see names that have a place in the history of Yosemite rock climbing and elsewhere in the Starr King registers. The skeptic may also ask, with so many peaks is there anything special about Mt. Starr King and its place in climbing history? Starr King is located near Yosemite Valley and, being a relatively inaccessible summit, was a target of early climbers. The appeal of the peak has endured through the years and generation after generation has climbed it. As techniques improved, new and more difficult routes were put up. The approach distance is such that the climbs are remote and not overrun. Finally, the climbs result in a true mountain summit, something which many Yosemite Valley rock climbs do not realize. Roped climbing was used for about 95 percent of the ascents in the register books. The Sierra Club placed a loose leaf sign in register on Mt. Starr King in 1931. It was replaced in 1937 with a bound book. Of those who climbed the peak, about 1364 entries were made in the registers from 1931 through 1981. The registers were removed by Mark Spencer1 around 1992 and given to Robin Ingraham2 who sent the originals to the Bancroft Library in Berkeley. I understand that two newer registers are now on the peak and cover the period 1981 to the present (2011). In September 1970 the Sierra Club Board of Directors designated The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley as the official depository for 1 Author of Southern Yosemite Rock Climbs with Shirley Spencer. 2 Robin Ingraham, mountaineer, graphic designer, photographic artist, and peak register preservationist had an article in the National