Description
Ruth Mendenhall was a mountaineer who was involved in a number of first ascents and succeeded in climbing all of California’s
14,000-foot peaks. The bulk of the collection consists of carbon copy letters written by Mendenhall detailing her mountain
climbing explorations. Also included are typescript writings and published articles by and about Mendenhall, a scrapbook documenting
the Mendenhall family mountain climbing trips, a small number of writings by and about Mendenhall’s husband, John Mendenhall,
and small amount of ephemera related to mountaineering.
Background
Ruth Dyar Mendenhall was born on August 16, 1912 in Kiesling, Washington and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University
of Washington with a major in Journalism. She relocated to California and in 1937, she joined the Sierra Club; she first encountered
rock climbing in the spring of 1938. She climbed all six routes of the Tahquitz Rock. She married follow climber, John Dale
Mendenhall in 1939. She succeeded in climbing all of the 14,000-foot peaks in California and as a pioneer mountaineer, she
was involved in a number of first ascents in California including the Swiss Arête on Mount Sill (1938), Mount Whitney Third
Needle (1939), Temple Crag North Peak (1940) and Mount Whitney’s southeast buttress (1941), among others. Together with John
Mendenhall, she completed the first ascent of Mount Confederation in the Canadian Rockies (1947).
Extent
1.0 linear ft.
(2 boxes and 1 flat box)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Availability
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.