Picture Puzzle

Picture Puzzle, also known as Picture Puzzle Peak, is a 13,297-foot-elevation (4,053-meter) mountain summit located one mile east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County of northern California, United States.^[3][6] It is situated in the Palisades area of the John Muir Wilderness, on land managed by Inyo National Forest. It is approximately 14.5 miles (23.3 km) west of the community of Big Pine, one mile north of Bishop Pass, 0.8 miles (1.3 km) northwest of Aperture Peak, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) north-northwest of Mount Agassiz, and 1.1 miles (1.8 km) south-southwest of parent Cloudripper. Picture Puzzle ranks as the 90th-highest summit in California,^[2] and the third-highest peak of the Inconsolable Range.^[1]

Picture Puzzle
South aspect, from Bishop Pass
Highest point
Elevation	13,286+ ft (4050+ m)[1]
Prominence	600 ft (183 m)[1]
Parent peak	Cloudripper (13,525 ft)[2]
Isolation	1.12 mi (1.80 km)[2]
Coordinates	37°07′40″N 118°32′20″W[3]
Geography
Picture Puzzle Location in California Show map of California Picture Puzzle Picture Puzzle (the United States) Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Inyo
Protected area	John Muir Wilderness
Parent range	Sierra Nevada Inconsolable Range[1]
Topo map	USGS Mount Thompson
Geology
Rock age	Cretaceous
Rock type	Inconsolable Quartz Monzodiorite[4]
Climbing
First ascent	1937 by Norman Clyde[5]
Easiest route	Exposed scramble, class 3[5]

Climbing

Established climbing routes on Picture Puzzle:^[5]

• Northeast Couloir – class 3
• North Slope – class 3
• West Face – class 4

The first ascent of the summit was made June 15, 1937, by Norman Clyde, who is credited with 130 first ascents, most of which were in the Sierra Nevada.^[7][5]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Picture Puzzle is located in an alpine climate zone.^[8] Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains east into headwaters of North Fork Big Pine Creek, and west into headwaters of South Fork Bishop Creek.

Gallery

• 
  South aspect
• 
• 
  Picture Puzzle by Ansel Adams ca. 1936
• 
  Picture Puzzle (left) and Aperture Peak (right)
• 
  Picture Puzzle from northwest
• 

See also

• Mountains portal
• List of the major 4000-meter summits of California