Mount Gould is a
thirteener
In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener (abbreviated 13er) is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed . In most instances, "thirteeners" refers only to those peaks betwe ...
on the
Sierra crest, just north of the
Kearsarge Pass
Kearsarge Pass is a pass in the Sierra Nevada of California. The pass lies on the Sierra Crest at . The pass permits foot traffic between Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness.
The pass was named after the Kearsarge mine to the ...
.
Geography
Mount Gould's north-south ridge straddles the boundary between
Fresno County
Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...
and
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings ...
to the west, and
Inyo County
Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is o ...
and the
John Muir Wilderness
The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California for , in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it encompa ...
to the east. Its western slopes drain to the
Kings River, and its eastern slopes feed the
Owens River
The Owens River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 17, 2011, It drains into and through the ...
.
Its nearest neighboring peaks are
Dragon Peak
Dragon Peak is a mountain summit located in the Athabasca River valley of Jasper National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Situated southeast of Mount Christie and Brussels Peak, Dragon Peak can be seen from the Icefields Park ...
to the north across Gould Pass, and Nameless Pyramid to the south across Kearsarge Pass.
Climbing history
The first recorded ascent was in 1890 by
Joseph N. LeConte
Joseph Nisbet LeConte (February 7, 1870 – February 1, 1950) was a noted explorer of the Sierra Nevada. He was also a cartographer, a photographer and a professor of mechanical engineering.
Early life
Joseph Nisbet LeConte was born in Oakland, C ...
, 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.
In 1896, LeConte and a party climbed a higher peak, 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.
See also
*
Thirteener
In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener (abbreviated 13er) is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed . In most instances, "thirteeners" refers only to those peaks betwe ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, Mount
Mountains of Kings Canyon National Park
Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness
Mountains of Inyo County, California
Mountains of Fresno County, California
Mountains of Northern California