Peaks For Freaks: Fernandez Traverse

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October 18-19, 2014
On the northwestern side of the Ansel Adams Wilderness is a ~9.3-mile north-south-running ridge stretching from Madera peak to the south to Triple Divide Peak to the north. The ridge is basically a spur extending south from the Clark Range, a subrange of the Sierra Nevada located in Southern Yosemite. The 13 peaks which lay on this ridge looked to make up an interesting 2-day traverse which had no previously recorded ascents. We later dubbed it the "Fernandez Traverse" since many other areas surrounding the ridge seemed to contain the name (Fernandez Pass, Trailhead, Lakes, etc).

Mason and I planned to do this traverse over a weekend, starting from Norris Trailhead (7,500 ft) and traversing the ridge from south to north, starting with Madera Peak. After finishing up the ridge, we would descend to Slab Lakes and take a series of trails southward (see map for details) back to the trailhead.

Getting to the trailhead: From Bass Lake, travel 27 miles north on 5S07/Beasore Rd to a spot shortly after Bowler Group Campground. A sign marks the dirt road turnoff for Norris Trailhead, which branches off to the left. Travel 1.5 miles on this bumpy dirt road (2wd accessible) to Norris Trailhead.

Trailhead coordinates (lat/lon): 37.527476, -119.315415

The table below includes every peak (from south to north) on the Fernandez Traverse. Since most of the peaks are unnamed, I have dubbed names for them which are mostly derived from the names of nearby features (especially lakes). These dubbed names are in quotes. Peaks without quotes are either officially named by the USGS or were found named by previous parties who had written them in summit registers.

Peak	Elevation	Topographic Prominence	Summit Coordinates (lat/lon)
Madera Peak	10,509 ft	649 ft	37.537581, -119.374413
Sing Peak	10,540 ft	360 ft	37.553864, -119.387437
"South Gale"	10,448 ft	225 ft	37.561878, -119.390144
Gale Peak	10,700 ft	640 ft	37.567953, -119.387125
"Chittenden Peak"	10,550 ft	250 ft	37.571674, -119.383171
"Breeze Peak"	10,398 ft	300 ft	37.581912, -119.386175
"Ruth Peak"	10,492 ft	360 ft	37.587676, -119.388685
"Annie Peak"	10,422 ft	145 ft	37.594324, -119.384995
"Rutherford Point"	10,528 ft	90 ft	37.598286, -119.380102
"Rutherford Peak"	10,541 ft	235 ft	37.597589, -119.378085
Slagg Peak	10,720 ft	180 ft	37.604253, -119.377162
Frying Pan Peak	11,261 ft	481 ft	37.620469, -119.370983
Triple Divide Peak	11,611 ft	671 ft	37.631719, -119.370262

Trip report (click on day 1 to begin)

Day 1: Norris Trailhead to Ruth-Annie Saddle

Day 2: Ruth-Annie Saddle to Norris Trailhead

Total Stats
25.6 miles 9,600 ft gain/loss

Map (Since Blogger does not let me upload these files at full size, email me at eric.jsc@gmail.com for a full sized version of this map)