Last year's splitboarding trip on Mt. Shasta was an eye opening introduction to what could be done in the winter/spring backcountry for me. It sparked a desire to begin developing my "at best" mediocre SoCal snowboard skills into something that wouldn't get me killed riding in the Eastern Sierra. Enter Ben & Darryl. Two fine friends that are versed in the snowy seasons more than I, helping to teach & encourage. Earlier this year Ben & I rode an interesting area near Wright Mt (8,505ft) in the San Gabriel Moutains.
On this weekend we are heading out of Onion Valley towards Mt. Gould (13,012ft). Ben has done this peak before from other approaches & winter solo. Needless to say, he's in tune with this area of the range. Hiking just before dawn we are on snow within twenty minutes. Since I'm still the rookie, I have to snowshoe, while carrying my board. Those other dudes broke out their splitboards & began skinning switchbacks up the first grade.
As anyone who has hiked the Sierra before, there are always shelves/benches of glacial drainage's that step up & up until higher in the alpine basin cirques. At times the snow covering made for easier travel & other times "sun cups" of death would wear us out.
Dropping our overnight gear just before heading up towards Golden Trout Lakes helped the travel greatly. Still well before 9am, grabbing days packs, we were headed towards Mt. Gould proper. The sun became warmer than could be imagined & a mid mountain run brought us back to camp at a descent time. Expansive wide open terrain that I had only hiked an hour before flashed passed with easy on the snow. My first dumpy rookie run in the Sierra felt great.
That afternoon the heat only increased. Minimal layers & comfortable shade was the only way to pass the afternoon. Shadows finally touched both sides of the canyon walls & the stoves flamed to life. Our bivy above 10,000ft looking down to the Owens Valley was really something special. Almost didn't stay awake long enough to see the stars.
Alarms at 5am meant another shot at Mt. Gould. Ben & Darryl set off up through the first section to the lake. I made another rookie mistake, leaving my hat & sunglasses at the base camp during the morning light. Opting for a different part of the mountain to ride while those two got after the summit was the next best plan.
Back in the alpine cirque now, scrambling on rocks above Golden Trout Lake, I could snap photos of those guys climbing into the East Bowl. Once out of sight we stayed in touch on walkie talkie. I climbed up the East Face for quite a ways to a prominent outcropping. Took a good rest & rood some more amazing wide open slopes all the way to the basin's edge.
Re-positioning myself in the cirque, I caught a glimpse of Ben get his first turns, starting just beneath the summit block! After him, Darryl carved gorgeous sweeping arcs high on Gould's ridge. I had made a slog up to a large outcropping on the opposing granite wall. Strapping in, rode much better than the day before, down connection section after section until reaching the point where our two parties would cross. After slapping high fives, we three rode the last fifteen minutes to camp.
Cheers went around to their summit! We rallied all the gear & aimed to find the van before the heat got too extreme on the snow. I'll always remember this one visual moment riding back down the glacial shelves; the guys were ahead, outlined perfectly against the valley, high rock walls lining both sides of the chute & all was right with the world.
