Mt. Gould 13,000′

Mt. Gould 13,000’

Location – Onion Valley Trailhead above Independence, CA

Elevation Change 3800’

I’m going to have to go back to this one soon. I’ve skied Mt. Gould a few times by myself. It’s a friendly east facing corn run to me that is skiable in late season. You don’t see the terrain from other peaks easily, so this one is off radar for most east side skiers. The top is steep, so the sun cups don’t get too bad. There is a great view of the surrounding peaks, you also need to ski from the same trailhead. Onion Valley Trailhead is described in my other posts: Kearsarge Peak and University Peak. Independence Peak is another amazing ski descent I’ll get on the website which you’ll want to try and add to your trip to this area. The summit of Mt. Gould also is right on the Sierra Crest, so you can see well to the West. You’ll see Deerhorn Peak and Mt. Brewer, which I have described in two separate overnight ski tours here on the MST blog. You can also see into the Rae Lakes Basin which I also describe peaks I loved skiing in an overnight trip from this trailhead.

From the Onion Valley Trailhead, skin up to Golden Trout Lake using your map. Climb to the top of the east bowl and walk to the summit. This tour is in the Paul Richins Guidebook, which is now out of print like the Moynier book. We have some at the shop, I bought the last few boxes. I’ve skied most of the tours described in both guidebooks. The purpose of my blog here is just to get you stoked and recommend worthy mountains to climb and ski. I’m providing less beta than these guidebooks offer, but there isn’t much said on those pages either. Skiing these bigger mountains almost always involves following the path of least resistance along creeks and lakes. Then you whip out your ski or boot crampons and finish the climb on the slopes you intend to ski down. I don’t play around with new storm snow or warm days. Choose good weather following a hard nightime freeze. Post your pics of this peak here in the reply feature and get us all stoked on your amazing adventure. These pics I just added to this ski tour are from May 2005.