High Sierra Topix

North Peak register is missing. It was there last fall, but missing in in June of this year.
Mt Warren register is also missing.

The issue of summit registers comes up periodically on various climbing threads.

Is it trash? No, clearly not. Trash is something that is discarded, thrown away, that would otherwise be intentionally placed in a garbage can.

It should be noted that humans have placed "things" on the top of mountains they have climbed for at least centuries, probably millennium.

The wilderness nazis would say that anything related to human should not be in wilderness. However, that takes the position that human stands outside of nature, which I believe is not only wrong, but very dangerous. We are part of nature, and we have a history of being part of nature.

If I prepare a meal in wilderness, and leave a pile of fish bones (which I don't recommend), that is trash. However, an Indian who did EXACTLY the same thing 100 years ago created an archaeological site. Should all of those be removed? All Indian burial sites?

A summit register is creating a historical document, and is very valuable in that regard.
It has been critical in numerous SAR operations.

And, if it is more than 50 years old, removal is a felony under the antiquities act, except for official preservation.

Ken M wrote:The issue of summit registers comes up periodically on various climbing threads.

Is it trash? No, clearly not. Trash is something that is discarded, thrown away, that would otherwise be intentionally placed in a garbage can.

It should be noted that humans have placed "things" on the top of mountains they have climbed for at least centuries, probably millennium.

The wilderness nazis would say that anything related to human should not be in wilderness. However, that takes the position that human stands outside of nature, which I believe is not only wrong, but very dangerous. We are part of nature, and we have a history of being part of nature.

If I prepare a meal in wilderness, and leave a pile of fish bones (which I don't recommend), that is trash. However, an Indian who did EXACTLY the same thing 100 years ago created an archaeological site. Should all of those be removed? All Indian burial sites?

A summit register is creating a historical document, and is very valuable in that regard.
It has been critical in numerous SAR operations.

And, if it is more than 50 years old, removal is a felony under the antiquities act, except for official preservation.

Very well put, Ken.

Just a note: On Mt Morgan out of Rock Creek last weekend the register was brand new in a new Nalgene bottle, replaced by the SPS. No sign of the old one. Admittedly that is a popular peak and I am sure registers fill quickly but sometimes it is nice to look back through the old entries and there was planty of room in the bottle so I am not sure why it was removed unless it had already gone missing and they were replacing it for that reason

BrianF wrote:Just a note: On Mt Morgan out of Rock Creek last weekend the register was brand new in a new Nalgene bottle, replaced by the SPS. No sign of the old one. Admittedly that is a popular peak and I am sure registers fill quickly but sometimes it is nice to look back through the old entries and there was planty of room in the bottle so I am not sure why it was removed unless it had already gone missing and they were replacing it for that reason

BrianF
If referring to Morgan (S), then the new register is a welcome addition. I climbed it on 3 August and scoured the entire summit, looking into every nook and cranny. There was no sign of a register anywhere. Sierra Challenge participants noted the same thing a few weeks later. It seems like this major peak was record-less for quite a while. Good to hear it's been taken care of now.

So let me recall here:

Mt. Shinn (glass jar with a few pieces of paper)
Mt. Fleming (no register)
Mt Hutton (no register)
Blue Canyon Peak (has a proper book but is located in a beat up band aid can. Needs something better.
Mt. Solomon (has a book but is inside a strange can. Works but needs something all together better.
Mt. Shakespere (glass jar, needs a better container. The jar leaks without a zip lock that is put inside the lid.
Red Point (small glass bottle which papers are very hard to get out of it)
Mt. Sill (has book but inside a water bottle)
Kaweah Queen (glass jar with a single piece of paper in it)
Mt. Kaweah (has a book but is inside a large crappy coffee can that leaks if left upward)

I think that is it unless I missed something.

I hate how we cannot always talk about stuff because of theft so once this is up for a day or two and has been read your free to delete.

Mt. Shakespere is a bit of a sad case. The register contains all the original ascent papers but because the glass jar it's in leaks they are all unreadable. the only one I could even slightly see was a piece of a paper that said - st ascent P. Farquhar. As I looked at it the paper broke in half across Farquhar's name. There was a note in there from a few years ago saying the bottle was full of water. So it badly needs to be replaced. The only really legible entry was 7th ascent by R. J. Secor.

I placed a register on Hutton a couple weeks ago. Sorry to hear about Shakspeare, I meant to climb that this year - but put it off till next.

Another addition to the sad list of missing registers: Trail Peak.
Was up there 19 October and found only the empty ammo box. No trace of pads, no writing utensils, paper scraps, plastic bags or anything else.
I tell myself to carry at least one empty notebook for situations like this, but always forget. Doh.

Considering the number of peaks that suffer from this problem i'd say the last great registers will all be gone before too long.

This comment can also be deleted after a few around here see it.

Considering how Black , Red, Kaweah and Kaweah Queen all have their books stolen I wonder how long Lawson Peak will last. It still has Norman Clyde's paper from 1934 in it. See it while you can!

Picket Guard Peak went back to 1962 but not nearly as cool as Lawson.

RoguePhotonic wrote:Picket Guard Peak went back to 1962 but not nearly as cool as Lawson.

How long ago were you on Picket Guard? I looked all over for the register there in 2002 and couldn't find it. I figured some klutz had fumbled it over the north face, given the slightly north-sloping nature of the summit block. My two all time favorite original registers have long since filled up: Williamson (went back to 1919 when I was there in 1978) and Barnard (went back to 1936 when I was there in 1996)