His wife's death appears to have profoundly affected him, as he moved to the Eastern Sierra to spend much of his latter life alone in the mountains.

The episode marked the end of his career as a schoolteacher and principal, as he resigned in exchange for an agreement by the District Attorney not to press charges.

That year, he also spent 36 days in Glacier National Park, Montana, where he climbed 36 mountains, including 11 first ascents, one of which bears his name (Clyde Peak).

In 1928, he was a leader of the High Trip to the Canadian Rockies organized by the Sierra Club, the Mazamas of Oregon, and The Mountaineers of the State of Washington.

In 1930, he wrote an article describing his trip from the summit of Mount Whitney to the lowest point in Death Valley between sunrise and sunset.

Clyde's first published works appeared as a series of articles entitled "Close Ups of the High Sierra" in 1928, in the Automobile Club of Southern California's magazine, Touring Topics, and were later republished as a perfect-bound edition in 1962 by La Siesta Press (Glendale, California), edited by Walt Wheelock.

After some young climbers were instructed in the techniques, a group including Clyde, Jules Eichorn, Lewis Clark, Bestor Robinson and Glen Dawson traveled south to the Palisades, the most rugged and alpine part of the Sierra Nevada.

There, on August 13, 1931, the party completed the first ascent of the last unclimbed 14,000+ foot peak in California, which remained unnamed due to its remote location above the Palisade Glaciers.

After a challenging ascent to the summit, the climbers were caught in an intense lightning storm, and Eichorn barely escaped electrocution when "a thunderbolt whizzed right by my ear".

Three days later on August 16, Eichorn, Clyde, Underhill and Dawson completed the first ascent of the East Face of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

"[5] Porcella & Burns wrote that "the climb heralded a new standard of technical competence in Californian rock climbing…"[6] These events led to a lifelong friendship between Clyde and Jules Eichorn.

He served as climbing leader on many High Trips sponsored by the Sierra Club and became known as "the pack that walks like a man" because of the huge backpacks he carried.

In addition to as many as five cameras, he carried a hammer and cobbler's anvil in order to make field repairs to client's boots.

Norman Clyde received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from his alma mater, Geneva College, in 1939.

There are many seasoned climbers who can look back on their early days as novices in the mountains and remember with gratitude what they learned from Clyde.

The Eastern California Museum in Independence has an extensive collection of memorabilia, documents and photos pertaining to Clyde's life on display.

[13] Norman Clyde's life and mountaineering achievements were documented in the book, Close Ups of the High Sierra, published by La Siesta Press (Glendale, California) in 1962.