What’s in a peak’s name?

Re “His name’s not set in stone,” Column One, Nov. 13

I’ve been a member of the Sierra Club for some 40 years. I’ve also spent some time hiking and climbing in the Palisade Range.

I think David Brower would not want his name on North Palisade. Although many High Sierra peaks are named for geologists, explorers and mountaineers, some retain their descriptive and evocative names: Seven Gables, the Minarets and Glacier Divide, among others.

Remember Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska: It is now, as it should be, Denali, “The Great One.” Brower would not need or want this. Let North Palisade alone.

Tim Palmer

Brea

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As a mountain climber and longtime resident of the Eastern Sierra, I would usually be reluctant to have an iconic peak such as North Palisade renamed. However, when I climb it for the fourth time, I hope it will be known as Brower Palisade. Brower’s work in preserving such treasures as the Grand Canyon justifies this to me.

Mt. Clark in Yosemite National Park used to be called “The Obelisk.” It was renamed after Galen Clark, the dedicated first guardian of the park who, like Brower, helped preserve the wilderness for all of us.

Jonathan Bourne

Mammoth Lakes