Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board One-Hundred Peaks to See From Mt. Whitney

Since I brought up the subject of line-of-sight records, here is a list of peaks that can be seen from Mt. Whitney:

Mt. Whitney's 100 Peaks to See!

Compiled by Wayne Pyle

Seq	Name	Elev.	Miles	TN	MN	Eye Level
1	White Mountain Peak	14,246	73.0	1.6	348	-0.57
2	Mt. Russell	14,086	0.8	5.9	352	-5.57
3	Tunnabora Peak	13,565	1.9	16.8	3	-5.26
4	Waucoba Mtn.	11,123	34.4	27.1	13	-1.31
5	Mt. Carillon	13,552	1.2	39.7	26	-8.20
6	Mt. Inyo	11,107	20.1	57.4	44	-1.97
7	Keynot Peak	11,101	20.3	63.9	50	-1.96
8	New York Butte	10,668	20.5	76.4	63	-2.17
9	Thor Peak	12,307	1.5	94.8	81	-15.61
10	Cerro Gordo Peak	9,188	28.2	95.6	82	-2.25
11	Charleston Peak	11,918	145.9	97.6	84	-1.25
12	Lone Pine Peak	12,944	3.9	107.3	94	-4.38
13	Candlelight Peak	12,240	3.9	107.3	94	-9.96
14	Telescope Peak	11,048	72.7	112.5	99	-1.04
15	Wonoga Peak	10,371	11.7	124.3	111	-3.90
16	Owens Point	11,372	9.2	125.2	111	-3.75
17	Mt. Irvine	13,770	2.2	134.6	121	-3.54
18	Mt. LeConte	13,960	3.4	138.7	125	-1.74
19	Wotans Throne	12,726	1.1	139.6	126	-17.35
20	Mt. Corcoran	13,760	3.6	140.0	126	-2.24
21	Mt. Mallory	13,845	2.6	140.6	127	-2.69
22	Mt. Langley	14,042	4.8	142.4	129	-1.06
23	San Gorgonio	11,490	190.0	153.8	140	-1.55
24	Mt. McAdie	13,796	2.1	154.3	141	-3.71
25	Mt. Marsh	13,510	1.8	155.4	142	-5.69
26	Olancha Peak	12,123	23.7	155.9	142	-1.26
27	Cirque Peak	12,900	7.7	156.3	143	-2.31
28	Crooks (Day) Needle	14,080	0.3	162.0	148	-15.05
29	Owens Peak	8,453	60.3	164.1	150	-1.52
30	Mt. Baldy (Mt. San Antonio)	10,064	162.3	166.9	153	-1.47
31	Keeler Needle	14,240	0.2	168.0	154	-13.03
32	Mt. Muir	14,012	1.0	176.4	163	-5.49
33	Mt. Pickering	13,485	3.5	178.8	165	-3.12
34	Kern Peak	11,510	18.7	179.3	166	-1.87
35	Mt. Newcomb	13,410	2.7	181.2	167	-4.45
36	Joe Devel Peak	13,325	4.4	183.1	169	-2.94
37	Johnson Peak	11,371	11.2	191.8	178	-3.10
38	Hockett Peak	9,551	25.3	192.0	178	-2.73
39	Overlook Mountain	10,240	17.5	194.8	181	-2.77
40	Mt. Chamberlin	13,169	3.3	198.3	185	-4.42
41	Mt. Pinos (Las Padres Mtns.)	8,831	131.2	201.7	188	-1.42
42	Mt. Anna Mills	12,064	7.9	204.1	190	-3.41
43	Mt. Hitchc0ck	13,184	2.0	213.5	200	-7.23
44	Mt. Guyot	12,300	6.2	219.2	206	-3.88
45	Florence Peak	12,432	18.7	230.4	217	-1.34
46	Needham Mountain	12,647	16.1	237.9	224	-1.36
47	Mineral Peak	11,550	17.7	239.1	225	-1.94
48	Sawtooth Peak	12,343	16.9	239.9	226	-1.50
49	Empire Mountain	11,509	17.6	244.2	230	-1.97
50	Peak 3894 (S Red Spur)	12,776	8.4	245.9	232	-2.29
51	Mt. Eisen	12,160	16.3	250.2	237	-1.67
52	Mt. Kaweah	13,802	11.0	250.8	237	-0.77
53	Peak 4019 (N Red Spur)	13,186	8.9	252.9	239	-1.66
54	Second Kaweah	13,460	11.6	254.3	241	-1.05
55	Red Kaweah	13,720	12.1	257.4	244	-0.78
56	Black Kaweah	13,765	12.6	259.6	246	-0.72
57	Kaweah Queen	13,382	12.1	262.3	249	-1.09
58	Lawson Peak	13,140	12.4	264.2	251	-1.28
59	Mt. Stewart	12,205	14.5	267.7	254	-1.81
60	Picket Guard Peak	12,302	10.0	269.3	256	-2.44
61	Lion Rock	12,292	13.9	271.2	257	-3.54
62	Triple Divide Peak	12,634	13.3	274.4	261	-1.62
63	Mt. Young	13,188	2.0	275.4	262	-7.20
64	Kern Point	12,789	8.6	278.5	265	-2.23
65	Mt. Silliman	11,188	22.9	281.4	268	-1.73
66	Centennial Peak	13,228	11.5	287.2	274	-1.28
67	Milestone Mountain	13,641	11.3	290.0	276	-0.90
68	Midway Mountain	13,666	11.5	292.9	279	-0.87
69	Mt. Hale	13,491	1.4	298.2	285	-7.73
70	Table Mountain	13,630	11.6	299.4	286	-0.90
71	Thunder Mountain	13,586	12.0	301.6	288	-0.91
72	Tawny Point	12,332	5.8	306.3	293	-4.10
73	South Guard	13,224	13.3	306.8	293	-1.14
74	Mt. Jordan	13,344	11.3	309.4	296	-1.19
75	Mt. Brewer	13,570	14.0	310.1	296	-0.82
76	North Guard	13,327	14.5	311.1	297	-0.98
77	Mt. Farquhar	12,893	15.4	312.3	299	-1.24
78	Mt. Genevra	13,055	10.7	312.7	299	-1.54
79	Cross Mountain	12,185	16.0	313.1	299	-1.68
80	Mt. Ericsson	13,608	10.6	320.3	307	-0.99
81	Caltech Peak	13,832	9.4	324.5	311	-0.84
82	Gregorys Monument	13,907	10.3	326.1	312	-0.70
83	Mt. Stanford	13,969	10.4	326.5	313	-0.63
84	Junction Peak	13,888	8.8	332.2	318	-0.81
85	Mt. Barnard	13,990	3.8	334.7	321	-1.47
86	Mt. Tyndall	14,019	5.9	334.9	321	-0.92
87	Peak 13,920+	13,920	1.0	335.0	321	-6.27
88	Mt. Humphreys	13,986	52.2	336.4	323	-0.48
89	Mt. Rixford	12,890	15.4	337.5	324	-1.24
90	Mt. Versteeg	13,448	5.1	338.9	325	-2.26
91	Mt. Tom	13,652	56.2	339.1	325	-0.57
92	Mt. Agassiz	13,891	39.1	340.4	327	-0.45
93	North Palisade	14,242	37.7	341.0	327	-0.35
94	Mt. Keith	13,977	8.9	341.3	328	-0.70
95	Trojan Peak	13,950	4.6	343.8	330	-1.33
96	Middle Palisade	14,012	35.4	344.0	330	-0.40
97	Mt. Bradley	13,289	10.6	345.9	332	-1.31
98	Split Mountain	14,058	31.4	346.8	333	-0.38
99	Mt. Williamson	14,370	5.5	348.9	335	-0.29
100	Mt. Carl Heller	13,235	2.3	351.4	338	-5.97

All you need is a compass! Have fun! Please note that seeing San Gorgonio is rare, but the current line-of-sight record for a photograph in the lower 48 States is held for a photograph from Mt. Whitney to San Gorgonio, set by John Samson on August 7, 2003.

I found a site with a computer generated view from the top of Whitney:   Viewfinder Mountaintop Horizon Maps

From the panoramas page:
Mount Whitney, California   North   South   Photograph showing 190 mile view to San Gorgonio

Steve,

Thanks for the links to the Digital Elevation Models.

You connect to the one for the view from Whitney to San Gorgonio. Six years ago, Dr. John Samson, a physics professor from Scotland, captured the current line-of-sight photographic record in the 48-states, by photographing San Gorgonio, 190 miles away from Mount Whitney.

The record can theoretically be broken if some photographer could capture Troy Peak in Nevada, which is 195 miles northeast of Mount Whitney.

I’ve taken the liberty of annotating the following DEM map with Troy Peak’s location, as well as Troy Mountain, which is 180 miles away:



As mentioned in my table above, Troy Peak is 51 degrees true north, or 37 degrees magnetic north, from the top of Mt. Whitney.

Wayne

Would Whitney present a more recognizable view from Troy Peak? Would any of the needles be visible from there?

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com

Just for fun, I found Troy Peak, NV in Google Maps. It even will give you directions from Lone Pine: 287 mi – about 6 hours 46 mins

The directions take you north on Hwy 6 out of Bishop, through Tonopah to Warm Springs. There, you take Hwy 375, which on Google Maps is named "Extraterrestrial Hwy". Once you leave that, there are another 40 miles, which I wouldn't be surprised if it was all unpaved.

I wonder if Nevada would have the clearest skies the same time of year as California, which is just after a storm in the spring.

Wayne, do you know the date that John Samson took that 190 mile San Gorgonio picture?

Dale,

I think it is unlikely from that distance to separate the Needles. Maybe if the Needles were in shadow after the sun drops below the Sierra Crest, you might catch them with a telephoto lens.

I think all you would see from Troy Peak would be the shadow of the Sierra Crest. I do not think Mt. Whitney would be distinguishable on the skyline.

Steve,

The link to the Website you mention shows the date of August 7, 2003.

By the way, Dr. Samson personally messaged me about two years ago, because so many people were hitting his personal Website, or hitting on his name, after I mentioned his amazing photograph of San Gorgonio. I had mixed up the numbers in the date 7/8/03, thinking it was July 8, 2003. Dr. Samson let me know that the correct date was August 7, not July 8.

A perfectly clear day in August is amazing, since I lived most of my life in the smoggy Los Angeles basin. Dr. Samson really knows how to pick his days! Usually you can't even begin to see Mt. Baldy from Whitney at 162 miles away.

Wayne

When have you know me to be on top of a peak without a telephoto lens?

At 195 miles, the lens I normally use, at it's longest focal length, will produce a pixel every 25 feet horizontal and vetical. That is enough resolution to see the shape of the Whitney ridge. The usual problem is whether the air is clear enough.

Let me restate my question:
Are the needles in line of sight from Troy Peak?

Dale B. Dalrymple

Dale,

The Needles are in your line of sight from Troy Peak.

You will be putting your telephoto lens to the test.

Your field of view from Mt. Muir to Mt. Whitney is only 0.23 degrees, or 13.8 minutes of arc. You'll need every pixel your telephoto lenses can absorb.

But if anybody can do it, I'm sure you can!

....so, Dale... When are you going?  

I came by in mid-September on a 'west half of route 6' trip back from Ohio, but a low pressure system had the clouds down to 10,000' on Troy, so I didn't stop to hike. But Troy is still there...

Dale B. Dalrymple

That's about the distance between Castle and Conundrum Peaks at 24-25 degrees on the Handies panorama.

http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=12895

Dale B. Dalrymple

Wayne and Dayle, Jonathan de Ferranti is going to be surprised with this one...
(see this thread:  Quest for New Line-of-Sight Record for Mt. Whitney )
Edit:  Looking at de Ferranti's generated view from Whitney, I see that he has removed the Troy Peak and Troy Mtn labels from the view shown here (bottom panorama, left side).

Yesterday, I emailed Mike C in Las Vegas, who has written a program that uses USGS altitude/location survey data files and creates a simulated view from any location.  (He has spent hundreds of hours writing the program!)  I asked him if he could generate a view from Troy Peak toward Mt. Whitney, so people would know what to look for.

Mike replied that his program showed there was some peak in between blocking the view of Whitney.  So then he tried generating a view from Whitney toward Troy Peak as a check, and his program generated the view below.

With his generated view, he can pinpoint each pixel in the picture, and using the coordinates, determine the USGS data point responsible for that point in the picture.  Doing that, he determined that Troy Peak is NOT visible from Mt. Whitney.  The mountain identified by John Samson is actually only 135 miles away in the Kawich range.

Here is Mike's email:
And here is the image he sent (click on it for the full-size version)


By the way, Mike has helped me identify the peaks in view in a photo into Yosemite from the Central Valley (which I'll post sometime soon).  His help has been invaluable, and his program is simply amazing.  And he's a friend of Rick Kent -- they climbed Aconcagua in Mexico together.  And finally, he has recently been laid off -- I think USGS or Google could use his talents.

Wow, is White Mountain Peak really 73 miles from Whitney?

The one in New Hampshire is further.

Well, Steve C, I input the coordinates of those unnamed peaks into my database, and sure enough, Mike C is spot on. The unnamed peaks do indeed block Troy Peak.

Dale, it looks like Steve and Mike have saved you a trip to Troy Peak.

I really like Mike C's program. This situation proves to me that it works.

I will remove Troy Peak from my list of peaks to see. It looks like San Gorgonio will stand as our national line-of-sight record for the 48 States, until we find another one we as yet do not know about.

Thanks, Steve, for your good detective work.

Well, since I mislabeled the Digital Elevation Model shown above, here is a corrected version:



I hate it when that happens.

On to the next peak! I hope no more unknowns or unnamed peaks slip in the way!