Mount Gould (California)

This article is about Mount Gould in California. For other uses, see Mount Gould.

Mount Gould
Mount Gould's summit from its south ridge, May 2009.
Elevation	13,011 ft (3,966 m) [1][2]
Prominence	997 ft (304 m) [2]
Parent peak	Black Mountain[3]
Listing	SPS peak[4]
Location
Mount Gould Location in California
Location	Fresno and Inyo Counties California, USA
Range	Sierra Nevada
Coordinates	36°46′47″N 118°22′41″W / 36.77972°N 118.37806°W / 36.77972; -118.37806Coordinates: 36°46′47″N 118°22′41″W / 36.77972°N 118.37806°W / 36.77972; -118.37806[5]
Topo map	USGS Mount Clarence King
Climbing
First ascent	July 20, 1890, by J. N. Le Conte, Hubert Dyer, Fred Pheby, and C. B. Lakeman[6]
Easiest route	Scramble, class 3 from Kearsarge Pass[7]

Mount Gould is a thirteener on the Sierra crest, just north of Kearsarge Pass.

Geography

Mount Gould's north-south ridge straddles the boundary between Fresno County and Kings Canyon National Park to the west, and Inyo County and the John Muir Wilderness to the east. Its west slopes drain to the Kings River, and its east slopes feed the Owens River.^[2] Its nearest neighboring peaks are Dragon Peak to the north across Gould Pass, and Nameless Pyramid to the south across Kearsarge Pass.^[7]

Climbing

The first recorded ascent was in 1890 by Joseph N. Le Conte, Hubert P. Dyer, Fred S. Pheby, and C. B. Lakeman. They called it University Peak. They scrambled the talus of Gould's south ridge, and climbed the more solid rock of its summit block. This route, by way of the Kearsarge Pass Trail from the Onion Valley trailhead, remains the easiest and most accessible approach.^[7] In 1896, LeConte and a party climbed a higher peak, 2.4 miles (3.9 km) to the south, to which he transferred the name, University Peak. The next day he led a second climb of Mount Gould and named it for his companion, Wilson S. Gould.^[8]

See also

• Thirteener

References

1. ^ The NGVD 29 elevation of 13,011 feet was converted using VERTCON to the NAVD 88 elevation of 13,005 feet.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Mount Gould, California". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=2767. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
3. ^ "Gould, Mount". LoJ.com. http://listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/Climbers.php?Id=32408. Retrieved 2011-0501. 
4. ^ "Sierra Peaks Section List". Angeles Chapter, Sierra Club. http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/spslist.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
5. ^ "Mount Gould". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:260724. Retrieved 2009-06-21. 
6. ^ Farquhar, Francis P. (1926). Place Names of the High Sierra. San Francisco: Sierra Club. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/g.html. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Secor, R. J. (1999). The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes and Trails (2nd ed.). Seattle: The Mountaineers Books. pp. 127, 166. ISBN 0-89886-625-1. 
8. ^ Gudde, Erwin G. (2004). California Place Names (4th ed.). Berkley: University of California Press. p. 149. ISBN 0520242173. 

External links

• "Mount Gould". SummitPost.org. http://www.summitpost.org/page/151259. Retrieved 2011-05-31.