Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Onion Valley / Kearsarge Pass Conditions 4/22

I hiked up to Mount Gould yesterday with a couple friends. Onion Valley trailhead is open (campground may still be closed though). We had intended to do the north rib on University but the snow was too soft and unsupported (major postholing). It's an odd situation. South facing slopes are very melted out (June conditions) but there's still a significant amount of snow on north facing slopes. The trail to Kearsarge Pass has a lot of snow patches covering the trail above Gilbert Lake but is mostly clear (or at least not a problem) in the final stretch leading up to the pass. Mount Gould is largely free of snow. Gilbert Lake is still mostly frozen but water is easily available. Temps over the weekend were summer-like so snow was melting rapidly. Beyond Kearsarge Pass there's still a lot of snow. Kearsarge Peak and Independence Peak are also mostly free of snow. I'll put up some photos tonight.

Photos:

Kearsarge/Gould 4/22

The view from Mount Gould:

Nice trip report Rick, looks like some fun conditions, postholing sucks but hey sometimes that's what it takes to get to and from where we want to be

The pictures look great!

Great photos. Do you think an ice axe is needed or can one get to Kearsarge Pass with just poles and microspikes?

Nothing special needed to get to the pass but poles are helpful in places. Microspikes might be handy if you're starting pre-dawn.

I did the hike this weekend and it was beautiful. The trail below Gilbert Lake is dry (maybe a few small spots of snow). About halfway between Gilbert and Heart Lake is where snow patches on the trail became frequent and covered large sections of it. Nothing major, just annoying at times. We were fine with hiking poles... and didn't see anyone on the trail until we were below Little Pothole Lake on the hike out.

-Tiff

Yup: all clear on the southern face.

So, THAT'S the view from Uni. Always wonder what the Pass looks like from there. Thanks for the Pic Laura

Thank you for the information about Kearsarge Pass and Mount Gould. Thanks to you we were able to make it up there also.

Photos Here