High Sierra Topix

Wandering Daisy wrote: Are we going to have a rule that you have to have climbed up onto the peak or ridge for it to qualify? After all, we cannot win the "lake" prize unless we have camped at it! I will vote for being more democratic only requiring camping below the feature.

Who is in charge of this rule book anyway - Where is it? Maybe we should have one...big prizes and all… would hate to lose on a technicality - but I digress.

Ridge lines? Some of the most dynamic ridge vistas ever experienced often appeared so, not only by virtue of their fine lines/shadows/faces but also because of brief, momentary, weather performances. Mother Nature often does her finest work right after an afternoon thunderstorm. Being in the right place at the right time – Sometimes you get special.

I offer the Cathedrals, captured by our own TehipiteTom, on just such an occasion, Lake Adair.

This is just about what is aesthetically pretty to the individual, it's not meant to be
about climbing routes or views from the summit.
This is not a contest, but just an inquiry about HST backpacker's favorite ridge-crest
or peak, and nothing more.

Maverick,
For ridgelines,I'm with you on the Kaweahs & Minarets. Just dazzling. The Palisades are right up there, too. For unique formations, Devil's Crags may top my list, too. I'm also pretty fond of Valhalla (Angel wings) on the approach to Hamilton Lake and the Whaleback as one heads South in Cloud Canyon. For stare-me-down peaks, Charybdis is very cool, and I get a huge kick out of Milestone's top hat. Come to think of it, the great Western Divide from Lake South America (or thereabouts) is pretty sensational. Hmmm. I'll cogitate some more.
cg

I guess my favorites are the Ritter Range, the Kaweahs, and the Palisades. I like these three ridgelines from both sides, but I actually like the Ritter Range and the Palisades from the west better. Come to think of it, I like the Kaweahs from the west, too, but that's because I can actually see them from Fresno. Of all of these, I think I like Ritter from Twin Island Lake the best.

I like anything tall and jagged, but Glacier Divide is one of my favorite.

A few of my favorites include the Glacier Divide, Minarets/Ritter Range from the west, The ridge between Triple Divide and Post Peak on Yosemite's southern border and the various ridgline/divides of Mono Canyon and the recesses....

While most of you have picked large ridgelines my personal favvorite is quite short. It is the little ridge
that separates the upper lakes in the west fork of Ferguson Creek from the lakes at the head of Box Canyon/E. Fork Sugarloaf Creek. It runs n. from the n. rim of the table lands. One of these days I will go through my old slide collection and get a couple of pics scanned.

Mike

Glacier divide is also high on my list. Here it is in the ski season

One ridgeline that I really love close-up: the east-west portion of the LeConte Divide. What's cool about it is that it's fairly gentle slabs on the south side with a vertical drop on the north side, so you can walk right along the ridgeline.

TehipiteTom wrote:One ridgeline that I really love close-up: the east-west portion of the LeConte Divide. What's cool about it is that it's fairly gentle slabs on the south side with a vertical drop on the north side, so you can walk right along the ridgeline.

So right. This will give you an idea:



And the views from up there are not bad. Looking east/southeast: