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DESERT PEAKS GUIDE (Part 1) AVAILABLE jwr Part 1 of the Desert Peaks Guide, covering the Mono, White, Inyo, Coso, and Argus Ranges lying east of Owens Valley, has been completed. This valuable little volume, a must for all interested Desert Peakers, gives climbing routes on all of the named peaks in these great Sierra-facing ranges. Also included are chapters by Edmund Jaeger (What is a Desert Peak?) Randall Henderson (Why Desert Peaks?), and Walt Wheelock (Desert Climbing), Our own Parker Severson has written an informative article on the history of the DPS. Maps and pictures round out this well-written volume. To obtain the guide, send one dollar to Walt Wheelock, La Siesta Press. Box 406, Glendale, California. Copies may also be obtained at Angeles Chapter Headquarters. CONTROVERSY OVER ADDITION OF PINNACTE PEAK TO QUALIFYING LIST RAGES (Ed. note: Pinnacate Peak was voted onto the DPS qualifying peak list at the May, 1962 business meeting. Immediately this addition became a subject of controversy. Some members feel the peak does not live up to DPS standards, while others consider it a worthy addition to our list. Both viewpoints are given below: Andy Smatko presents the negative position while Harry Melts defends the peak in question. It is hoped that all interested Desert Peakers carefully read both viewpoints, form their own positions, and attend the October 18th meeting to air them. Involved is not merely the relative merits of Pinnacate, but the whole question of qualifying peak standards.) "It is not often that I feel a compulsion to air my views on a subject, but in the instance of placing Pinnacate Peak on the DPS list, I want to voice my strong objection. I would have done so verbally if I could have attended the meeting at which this peak (?) was added to the list. There are several valid reasons for not placing any further peaks in Mexico on our list. First, motor vehicle travel in Mexico by Americans is a distinct hazard. If an accident occurs or an injury is inflicted on a human or domesticated animal, there is hell to pay, besides a large sum of money (mostly graft). A sojorn in jail is almost certain and Mexican jails are notorious. Even with so-called "insurance" there is enough trouble and delay to make such an experience a nasty one, and all occasioned by the presence of a Mexican peak on the list. Secondly - the back roads in Mexico are little more than jeep trails, places where an ordinary car has no business venturing. A mechanical failure can leave one stranded for not mere hours, but days, and if one leaves on loot for help, one cannot be sure if the vehicle will have tires, seats, wheels, or anything left when he returns. From the slides shown of Pinnacate Peak and from statements made by those who were there, this "peak" appears as a low mound on the horizon hardly to be called a peak. The distance traveled, plus the miserable roads and the primitiveness of the area, leave one in an uncomfortable frame of mind. |
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