Ebersbacher Ledges Discovery
Dale Ebersbacher discovered a new and easier route up the North Fork Lone Pine Creek in 1953, while leading a Sierra Club trip. Wayne Pyle passed along a link to his pictures:
Dale EbersbacherHere is one of the pictures, and Wayne's caption:
Sierra Club group below Iceberg Lake. Girl Scout Lake is on the far right in the upper third of the photo. Thanks to Dale discovering the ledge-route that now bears his name, the entire group was able to ascend the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek without having to bushwack through the willows down below. Dale discovered the ledge-route about three to four hours before this photo was taken, apparently on July 4, 1953. Based on the shadows, it appears this photo was taken about 11:00 am. So, Dale probably discovered the ledges around 7:00-8:00 am that morning on July 4, 1953.
Wayne Pyle, Dale Ebersbacher and Frances Ebersbacher--in the Ebersbacher's RV when they passed through Charlotte, North Carolina on the night of October 16, 2007. Frances was climbing with Dale when he discovered what would be commonly known as the Ebersbacher Ledges on Mount Whitney's Mountaineer's Route.
They probably didn't realize it at the time, but it appears that the area of
the E-Ledges is visible in this picture (the trees on the steep granite):
More on the discovery here:
Ebersbacher Ledges- Origin of Name?Edit: Sad news: Frances Ebersbacher passed away, May 27, 2012, at the age of 85.
See this thread:
Ebersbacher LedgesEdit: Sad news #2: Wayne Pyle passed away on August 24, 2012.
Edit: And #3: Dale Ebersbacher passed away on March 31, 2019, as reported by his daughter, Dianna Ebersbacher,
here. His fame will live on, probably for centuries.
