andrealawrenceolderWhile legislators in Washington, D.C. seem to agree and almost nothing, they did manage to vote unanimously on an act designed to honor the late Andrea Lawrence of Mammoth Lakes.

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer’s office notified the media that the Senate unanimously passed the Mt. Andrea Lawrence Designation Act of 2011.       That act will name a mountain peak in Mono County “Mt. Andrea Lawrence”.  Boxer described Lawrence as a “conservationist, three-time Olympian and former member of the Mono County Supervisors who passed away in 2009.”

The measure now goes to The House of Representatives where Congressman Buck McKeon has introduced an identical bill.  Senator Boxer’s press release says that Andrea Mead Lawrence was a three-time Olympian who remains the only American double Olympic gold medalist in alpine skiing and that she was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1958 at the age of 25.  Boxer also said that sports writer and documentary filmmaker Bud Greenspan called Lawrence “the greatest Winter Olympian of all time.”

Lawrence is also well-known for her conservation work to protect Mammoth Lakes, Mono Lake, Bodie and other natural and cultural resources in the Eastern Sierra.  She founded the Andrea Lawrence Institute for Mountains and Rivers to promote environmental protection and economic vitality in our region.

The peak that will carry Lawrence’s name is now only identified by its elevation – Peak 12,240.  It is located in Mono County near the Tuolumne County border.  The peak also borders the Ansel Adams Wilderness, east of Yosemite.  The John Muir trail passes close to the peak.

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