Mt. Gould is accessed through the beautiful Onion Valley trailhead above the town of Independence. It is located above Kearsarge Pass along the crest of the Sierra. This is a fun scramble above the Kearsarge Pass trail that ends at the final summit block where a couple 3rd class moves are encountered to reach the top.
Bruce Millar and Michael Tate are long time friends of SMI and it was a pleasure to see them return for a fall peak ascent. After a recent storm has left a few inches of fresh snow temperatures warmed up significantly causing most of the fresh snow to melt and give way to dry ground on sun exposed south facing slopes leaving behind only patches in between sections of dirt, rock, and scred. Warm weather prevailed on this day allowing us to wear short sleeved shirts all the way to the summit of this fun peak. The views from the summit are spectacular offering vistas deep into Sequoia / Kings Canyon National Park to the west, and Sardine Canyon directly below to the east.
A few highlights are below. The rest of the pictures can be found here: Mt. Gould from Kearsarge Pass November 2, 2010.
Left to right: Kurt Wedberg, Michael Tate, Bruce Millar
Heart Lake in Onion Valley.
Mt. Gould on the skyline with the Kearsarge Pass trail below.
Bruce Millar enjoying the climbing high above Kearsarge Pass with Gilbert and Flower Lakes far below.
Michael Tate above Kearsarge Pass with Pothole Lake below.
Two does and three fawns skirting the terrain near us as they cross the crest of the Sierra.
Bruce and Kurt on the summit block of Mt. Gould.
Mike Tate climbing the summit block of Mt. Gould.
Kurt on top of Mt. Gould's summit block.
Thanks for a great climb guys!!