FRANCIS FARQUHAR

Posthumous

Farquhar (1887-1974) was a Bay Area conservationist, mountaineer, scholar and writer.

He hiked the length and breadth of the Sierra from Fredonia Pass to Mt. Langley and climbed every mountain of 14,000 feet or more on the West Coast. He made the first ascent of the Middle Palisade in 1921, the last 14,000-foot peak in California to be climbed. He was the climber most responsible for introducing the techniques of modern rope climbing to the Sierra.

The technique is used throughout the world today.

He served as a director of the Sierra Club for 27 years, from 1924 to 1951, and twice as president from 1933-35 and 1948-49. A pioneer conservationist, he was instrumental in the club's efforts to get the entire Kern River country added to Sequoia National Park in 1926.