Thu, Aug 10, 2017
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Etymology Mt. Gould |
Story | Photos / Slideshow | Map | GPX | Profile |
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Mt. Gould previously climbed Sat, Aug 7, 2004 |
Mt. Gould lies just north of Kearsarge Pass and is almost a freebie on the way
to Falcor, so with the exception of JD and Robert we all headed up that way. I
was feeling particularly refreshed since I was coming off a rest day, and was
off in front of the others leading the way up to Gould. There are various
threads of a use trail that lead up to just below the class 2 rocks and the
class 3 summit blocks, taking me about 45min to reach. The others would arrive
over the next 20min, each taking their turn on the airy summit before we
gathered for a group photo just below it. An ammo box contained a very
busy register attesting to the popularity of the summit. Most of us had been up
here previously, and though it was my third time I didn't hold the record among
our summit group. In perusing the register pages I spotted our faded entry from
the
2004 Challenge as well as the
2013 memorial hike for Pat
Hadley who had died the previous day in a tragic accident. We added a new entry
for 2017 that included a nod to Gordon MacLeod with the large dots
before each name, characteristic of his entries that spanned more than 40yrs of
Sierra register history.
Ken decided to call it a day here while the rest of us continued on. Less than
a mile WNW is Falcor, the first major summit on the 10mi subsidiary
ridge running west from the Sierra Crest that eventually drops into Kings
Canyon at the junction of Bubbs and Woods Creeks. We dropped NW and west from
Gould's summit, avoiding a flattish point on the crest where the subsidiary
ridge joins the Sierra Crest. The going here was rather easy and remained so
until reaching the saddle with Falcor. Once again I was out in front like a
puppy with excessive energy. Upon gaining the dark, volcanic ridge, we followed
it roughly
along its spine though there was one major deviation to
avoid difficulties. I moved left on the west side of the ridge to climb a class
3 gully past the difficulties, others reported finding alternate bypass routes
on the east side. Just before the summit we moved east around another difficulty
before climbing to the summit
from that side. It took about 45min for
me to reach the top and another 15min to collect all of us for a
group photo. Barbara and Gordon had left a register here
in 1982, conveniently allowing me to demonstrate what I
had referred to as the "Gordon Dot" back on Gould. This little gem had some
35 pages of entries in a notebook torn in half (also a Gordon-ism). The last
three entries were all from Challenge participants including
the last day of the 2016 Challenge when Sean O, Scott B and Robert W
had traversed it from Glacier Spike near Glenn Pass. Sean Reedy and Eric Su
went one better this year
in July, by traversing some 8-9mi of the
ridge starting from Glacier Monument - now that is badass.
There was no consensus on what the best descent route would be once it was time
to head down, and before waiting for some sort of plan to evolve, I decided to
head down the Southwest Face for the most direct return to the
Kearsarge Pass Trail. I had thought that some of others had started to follow me
but in those first few minutes I found myself alone on the chossy slopes found
on that side. It was probably a good thing as the slopes were somewhat loose in
the chutes I was descending and the solo effort would allow me to have less
concern for knocking rocks down. It wasn't the greatest of routes as I found
myself in some tedious boulder fields
lower down, but at least there
were no cliffs or other technical difficulties to present problems. Further
downslope in the cirque between Falcor and Rixford I found some delightful
displays of
shooting stars in a fine, late-season bloom.
Kearsarge Pinnacles came into view with Snow Crown to the far left,
just below University Peak. About 45min after leaving the summit I came upon
the trail I had been looking for but followed it only a short distance
before striking off cross-country again, this time heading more or less directly
for
Snow Crown across the Kearsarge Lakes Basin below. From where I
crossed the trail, Snow Crown is a little more than a mile across the basin,
with easy hiking through lovely meadow areas, delightful
little streams under a
blue sky with nary a cloud to be seen. I would periodically look back to scan
the terrain for signs of the others but it was as if they had all decided to
head off in another direction for parts unknown. As I climbed out of the basin
and up towards Snow Crown's West Ridge, I found more talus and boulders to slow
things down, but not terribly. The last bit to the summit is class 3 with
careful route-finding and by 12:40p I found myself atop Snow Crown.
There were two register books here, the oldest dating to 1952, a rare
find, especially for a peak so easily accessible. There were 18 pages of entries
up
to 1992, after which a newer register took over with plenty more
action. The very
last party was less than a month earlier when Matthew
Holliman paid a visit on a solo climb. Lying atop the Sierra Crest, there are
good views from Snow Crown's summit with the higher peaks of
Mt. Gould
and
University Peak to the north and south, respectively. To
the west is probably the best view
of Kearsarge Pinnacles I've seen yet, and to the east one can look down the
drainage to Onion Valley with half a dozen lakes lining the two main canyons
divided by Snow Crown's East Ridge. With no reason to rush down, I hung out at
the summit for well over an hour, with some 30min elapsing before I finally
spied the others and then another 20min before they all arrived at the summit.
Tom G was the notable exception, having opted to head for Nameless Pyramid
first. We spied him as he
was scrambling the class 3 just below the impressive 40-foot, 5.7X blade of
granite that comprises the summit block. I've been wanting to climb this for
years now but didn't want to carry the rope and gear today, much to my regret.
We all watched and photographed Tom as he made an impressive solo ascent of
rock blade on its north side. It was a little nerve-wracking to watch him, but
he was very cool with the exposure and difficulty, slowly but smoothly making
his way up and then back down. He later reported wishing I'd brought
the rope because a rappel would have made the descent considerably less
worrisome. This performance was followed up by a bit of
summit yoga
by Iris, after which we all began the descent off the east side. This seemed to
be the easiest way back, though not without a little more
class 3 climbing at the very top.
Sand and scree helped with
a quick 30min descent to
Bench Lake. Iris and Matt opted to
pause here for a swim while Michael and I continued, Mason slowing up
to watch the water antics before continuing himself.
Michael and I spent the next 45min making good progress, down past several more
lakes and a few
friendly deer before getting hung up above
Little Pothole Lake.
Brush and cliffs conspired to slow us down before we got split up by each
taking different routes around the lake. Going around the west and north sides,
I found the brush annoying and thick and figured Michael had gotten the best
of me on this one. He was nowhere in sight when I finally reached the trail.
I took a few shortcuts on the last mile and half of trail, but still caught no
sight of him. It wasn't until I had returned to the TH that I turned to find
him only a minute behind me, jogging down the trail in his usual fashion and
returning in time to share the stage win. We'd finished easily before 4p which
would give us plenty of time to relax back in Independence.
Relax we did. Ken had returned after reaching Gould because he wanted to have enough time to prepare the Korean BBQ dinner he was making for us. I don't think I've eaten and enjoyed so much beef in one sitting ever before. Mmmmmm - thanks Ken! Jersey Strategy: Tom Grundy was the only one at this point to have reached all seven of this year's Challenge peaks, putting him in first place for the Yellow Jersey. The Green Jersey reverted to Michael following my rest day, while Scott maintained the lock on the Polka Dot Jersey even though he took a rest day. In fact he would take two more rest days as well but no one could seriously challenge his commanding lead. The only real question was if he was going to be able to break his 38 peak record from the previous year...
Continued...
For more information see these SummitPost pages: Mt. Gould
This page last updated: Thu Jan 16 08:30:30 2020
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