Brains
In the early 1900s, a wild idea to build a tram to the summit of Mt. Whitney was proposed. Located in California, Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, outside of Alaska and Hawaii. Mt. Whitney sits at an impressive elevation of 14,504 feet above sea level, and is immediately recognizable by its sheer granite cliff faces. Mt. Whitney also sits less than 90 miles as the crow flies from the lowest and hottest place in all of North America, Death Valley. These striking features make this a truly spectacular part of the country. Around this time period a couple of massive projects to dissect the Sierra Nevada were proposed, although never completed in the way they were initially planned.
In 1927, a Bishop, California, resident and engineer named Cooper Shapley had a bold vision for an aerial tramway to the summit of Mt. Whitney. As originally reported by the LA Times just under 100 years ago, Shapley was inspired by the cable cars and via ferrata’s of Europe. He aimed to make the summit accessible for all, from scientists, to hikers, to tourists. While an amazing idea, the idea unfortunately never came to fruition. One would speculate the sheer size of the project, as well as the unfavorable weather conditions of Mt. Whitney drove the idea into the dirt. The sheer remoteness of the peak could also have been the nail in there coffin for the tramway, as at that time the base of Mt. Whitney was inaccessible by road.
Instead, the Paved Whitney Portal Road seen today was built later, in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Prior to this, the base of the mountain was only accessible by foot and pack animal, making building a tram all but impossible. The closest thing to a “road” at that time would have been the wagon road to Whitney Portal, constructed in the early 1900s by early adventurers and park personnel. Even then, from the end of the wagon road, the rough trail gained over 6,100 feet (1,859 m) of elevation and was about 11 miles in length. While an aerial tramway would have been an amazing feat, even with today’s technology it would be a humongous undertaking.
While roads were beginning to carve up the mighty Sierra Nevada around that time, another ambitious project was proposed to tame the mountain range. in 1931, the Los Angeles Evening Express unveiled plans for the “Trans-Sierra Lone Pine Road Project.” The idea was a road connecting the remote town of Lone Pine to Sequoia National Park. The proposed route would have climbed from Lone Pine to Horseshoe Meadows, before crossing the Sierra crest near Cottonwood Pass, and then ultimately descending into Camp Nelson. The route would have connected with the Park-to-Park Highway into California’s Central Valley, saving motorists hours of driving time.
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Although these projects would have been amazing for both tourists and locals alike, the unpredictable nature of the area made them both overly expensive and unrealistic for the time. Advancements in surveying and environmental protections also played a role in these projects never coming to fruition. If you want to visit the Sierra Nevada, though, plenty of other options exist. Motorists can explore the stunning Highway 395 that winds its way all along the base of the Sierra Nevada, or take a trip up to the summit of one of the many ski resorts that dot the landscape like Mammoth Mountain. Regardless, imagining what could have been for the region nearly 100 years ago is still a fascinating prospect.
