Diversion, sorry

Every once in a while, some old thought comes rushing back in.  Jim Collins is one of the foremost management consultants and authors around, and he often gives his mountain climbing zest credit for his 'leadership bent'.  And I am usually amused, but not altogether.  Envy, what?

Anyway, while cleaning up our table tonight after a wonderful late-season Dungeness Crab dinner, I got to thinking about some Sierra climbs when I was (much) younger.  Turns out our new ranch, in Elderwood, CA, is about thirty-five air miles from Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain peak in the lower 48 states.  And I'd been playing with a map of the area all day, trying to learn the sizes and spatial layout of some 55 incorporated towns and 127 unincorpaoted areas in Tulare County, which is one of California's smaller counties with less than 500,000 people.

And my old climbs of Mount Irvine, Mallory, and McAdie on the Pacific Crest trail came back as great memories.  I Google'd 'em, and here's what I found re Mount Irvine:

Mount Irvine (13,770 feet)

West Face: Class 2-3.  First ascent 1957 by Charles House.  Ascend the fourth chute south of Consultation Lake.  Be forewarned: As a descent route, this chute is impossible to find from the summit of Mount Irvine.

found at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=u0sc6cgA1IUC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=mount+irvine+sierra&source=bl&ots=nR6XsbX6pG&sig=CPo3NBY7prfIyMeywM92x2SwYW4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0A2TUeSmLeXDigKV-YDYBQ&ved=0CHYQ6AEwCw#v=onepage&q=mount%20irvine%20sierra&f=false