FIRST ASCENT OF THE MIDDLE PALISADE 



By Francis P. Farquhar 



A FIRST ascent of a high mountain has a thrill all its own that 

 . can never be duplicated by any subsequent climb on that par- 

 ticular peak. There is an uncertainty about what is ahead and a 

 consequent satisfaction when the doubts have been dissolved. It is 

 a sort of game in which the climbers' resources are matched against 

 the resistance of the mountain, and, as in any game, victory is cause 

 for elation. 



During the Sierra Club outing of 1920 in the Middle Fork of 

 Kings River, the Middle Palisade was frequently in view, and there 

 were many inquisitive glances cast at its fluted sides in search of a 

 possible way up, for it was reputed to be still unclimbed. Closely 

 resembling its neighbor, the North Palisade, it is one of the promi- 

 nent landmarks of the Sierra Crest, attaining an altitude of 14,049 

 feet, ninth in order among the thirteen peaks in California over 

 fourteen thousand feet. I was eager to attempt the climb in 1920, 

 and examined it from directly across the canon of Palisade Creek 

 and again from the summit of North Palisade ; but the opportunity 

 did not then arise for making the attempt, and I reluctantly left the 

 Sierra that year without any definite expectation of returning to that 

 immediate vicinity in the near future. 



In August, 192 1, however, circumstances combined to bring me 

 back to the Palisades. A magnet seemed to draw me in that direction, 

 and I confess that I willingly submitted to its influence. With my 

 friend Ansel F. Hall, Park Naturalist of Yosemite National Park, 

 I left Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park on August 14th for a 

 knapsack tour through the Kings River region. On the 22nd of 

 August we reached Independence via Kearsarge Pass, and then for 

 the first time definitely decided to visit the Palisades and try our 

 luck at an ascent of the Middle Palisade. We took the stage from 

 Independence to Bishop and left early the following morning for 

 Andrews Camp, where we engaged horses to take us as far as the 

 summit of Bishop Pass, which we reached at two o'clock that after- 

 noon. There at twelve thousand feet we resumed our packs, and, 



