After the March meeting, a ballot is mailed with the February/March edition of the Sage. The Sage editor will print arguments he has received pro and con about the proposed change. A simple majority of the DPS members voting is enough to approve the change. The vote can go either way, depending on the interaction of various complex factors having nothing to do with the peak, such as the respective popularities of the peak's Champion and Anti-Champion (who always exists and hates the peak) and the feelings of people who have finished the list and don't want to drive out into the desert to do yet another peak. Adding a Peak. The peak must first be climbed as a sponsored DPS outing, led either by the champion or someone else. This trip can be scheduled at any time, provided it is completed prior to November 30th of the year it is proposed for addition. Unless the folks on the scheduled trip are totally bummed by the climb it is likely that the peak will be submitted to the section for a vote, after that the Champion submits a request to the committee. Deleting A Peak. The procedure is the same as for adding a peak, except the peak does not have to be scheduled as a DPS trip. Factors to Consider. A number of factors should be considered regarding the peaks:

It should be a named peak, at least to the extent of having a named benchmark on the top. It helps if the peak dominates it's surroundings. Panamint Butte was recently added and is not the high point of it's area, but it is named on the USGS topo. Other high points in the area might be better peaks but they are not named on the current topo. How long is the drive? The shorter the better. Many of our members object to 600 mile drives, no matter how great the peak. Does it pair nicely with another peak so that a hike can be scheduled for a weekend with something to do on each day? Isolated peaks are not led as often. Are there problems with access? This can take various forms. For some peaks Indians object to people driving across their land, on others they don't seem to mind. One of the arguments for the successful retaining of Navaho was a "Welcome White Man" sign on the road to the peak. The road head may cross a proposed wilderness area, which Sierra Club policy forbids us from entering in a vehicle. There may be private landowners involved in access, although this happens more often on Hundred Peaks than on Desert Peaks. Enough people in the section seem to have 4 Wheel Drive vehicles that long drives up rough roads aren't likely to be much of an impediment to inclusion on the list.

All of these issues and others that people will think of will appear in the pros and cons about the peak in the SAGE. I feel like there are a sizable number of people in the section (including myself) who are in favor of adding just about any peak that shows at least some merit and doesn't have dreadful drawbacks, like a 700 mile drive. The obstacles to adding a peak are thus fairly easily overcome, the main one being the need for someone to take up the cause and making sure that it gets led and then onto the ballot. John McCully, Outings Chairperson

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