, or '''Shiprock Peak''' (, near the northern
New Mexico town of
Shiprock . The name derives from its resemblance to an enormous 19th-century
Clipper Ship .
Shiprock is composed of fractured
Volcanic Breccia , and is the remnant of a solidified lava core which probably was originally formed 2,500-3000 feet (750-1,000 meters) below the earth's surface, but was revealed by millions of years of erosion. Wall-like sheets of lava, known as dikes, radiate away from the central formation.
Shiprock's sheer walls make it tempting for serious mountain climbers. After years of standing as one of the continent's great unsolved climbing problems, it was first scaled in 1939, by a
Sierra Club party including
David R. Brower . Since then at least seven routes have been climbed on the peak, all of them of great technical difficulty.
However, questions of legality, ownership, and religious significance have always made access to Shiprock dubious. In particular, the Navajo have a number of legends associated with Shiprock, and consider it sacred, so climbing it is currently illegal.
Tony Hillerman 's mystery novel ''The Fallen Man'' centers on the discovery of a long-dead climber found atop Shiprock.
Audrey Selkeld, editor, ''World Mountaineering'', Bulfinch, 1998.
