Mount Gardiner / Mount Cotter / Mount Rixford / Mount Gould
Ascents of Mount Gardiner (East Chute, class 4), Mount Cotter (South Ridge, class 3), Mount Rixford (West Ridge, class 3) and Mount Gould (from Kearsarge Pass, class 3), with Ronald Kleber and Robert Zeithammer, September 15-18, 2025.
Timeline:
September 15, 2025. Approach over Gould Pass, to Rae Lakes. For the approach to the Gardiner Basin, we opted to get a Golden Trout Lakes trailhead permit rather than a Kearsarge Pass permit. The plan was to go over Gould Pass, then down to Dragon Lake to catch the trail to Rae Lakes and - beyond - to Sixty Lakes Basin. This would be a new approach for Ronald and me. While it involves some cross-country travel, it is shorter than going over both Kearsarge Pass and Glen Pass. On Monday, September 15, Ronald and I left Mammoth a bit after 8:00, and met Robert at Onion Valley. We started on the trail to Golden Trout Lakes at 10:22. The trail is steep, and we had heavy packs and little acclimatization. It was harder going than anticipated. We stopped for lunch at an established campsite near the location where the trail branches out toward Dragon Peak and Lilley Pass. We reached Gould Pass at 15:00. From there, it is a steep descent on loose terrain to some unnamed lakes, and then talus and ledges to Dragon Lake - this part seemed interminable even though it is mostly downhill. Robert was consistently ahead of Ronald and me. He reached Dragon Lake about 10 minutes before us, so he had time to go for a swim in the lake. We took a short break, and then continued on to Rae Lakes. This was downhill, on trail, and only a short distance away. We found a good campsite near the junction with the JMT, just west of the isthmus that separates the two largest lakes, and stopped there at 18:33. We had dinner and went to bed early, to get some rest ahead of the big day that would follow. (8:11 hours elapsed, 7:00 hours moving, 6.41 miles, 3,789 feet of elevation gain).
September 16, 2025. Ascents of Mount Gardiner and Mount Cotter. The goal for this day was to climb both Mount Gardiner and Mount Cotter, but since we had not reached Sixty Lakes Basin as intended the previous day, it was going to add some time and distance to an already ambitious plan. We left camp at 7:09, taking the good trail that leads up to Sixty Lakes Basin. At Lake 3,304, which we skirted on its north shore, we angled southwest up slabs toward Sixty Lakes Col. We reached the col at 9:35 and took a break there, taking in the outstanding view of Gardiner Basin (desolate in the late summer) and our route up the Northeast Chute of Mount Gardiner. We continued on across the basin, and climbed up the chute. We stayed left on slabs and more solid talus, as the right side of the chute consisted of scree and sand. We made steady progress, with Robert in front and Ronald and I following a short distance behind. It was 11:40 when we topped out on the south summit of Mount Gardiner and were in full view of the knife-edge to the north summit. We descended some steep class 3 to a notch and roped up to simulclimb the last bit (it was, in fact, too early to rope up, as the climb out of the notch consists of easy class 3 rock to the knife-edge proper). I led the first block, leading to just past an exposed traverse on the south side of the ridge. Then Robert took over on the other side of the ridge, leading us to the summit (that last part was class 4 with a bit of exposure in places). We were on the summit at 12:55. We could see all the way from the Palisades north of us, to the Kings-Kern Divide and Great Western Divide south of us. We then reversed our steps, with me leading the return to a point right above the notch. From there we unroped and continued on to the south summit, where we found a nice spot to have lunch. We then retraced our steps down the Northeast Chute. I had left my poles in camp, and generally dislike scree and sand descents, so I lagged behind. We regrouped at a tarn in Gardiner Basin where we refilled our water, and then proceeded up some class 2-3 terrain back up to the crest of the South Ridge of Mount Cotter. It was now 16:15 and so it looked increasingly like it would be a headlamp return. But we made good time on the enjoyable South Ridge, Robert reaching the summit at 17:30 and Ronald and I following about ten minutes later (there are a few class 3 moved to reach the summit area, but the South Ridge is otherwise class 2). The sun was low in the sky, and the resulting shadows on the surrounding mountains made for great summit photos - especially in the direction of North Cotter and Mount Clarence King. On the way up we had spotted a descent down the sandy Southeast Slope of Mount Cotter, which afforded an easy way back to the upper lakes of Sixty Lakes Basin (class 1). Beyond the sandy slopes, there were cairn-marked granite ledges that seemed unlikely to work out, but that took us without difficulty back to the lakes and the trail. It was about 19:30 when we reached the trail. We took a break for snacks, and then hiked the last two trail miles to camp by headlamp. We were back in camp at 20:39. (13:30 hours elapsed, 11:27 hours moving, 10.55 miles, 4,704 feet of elevation gain).
September 17, 2025. Ascent of Mount Rixford. Robert woke up early to pack, as he had to return to LA to tend to family and travel obligations. We got up around 6:30 and had breakfast, and Robert departed camp at 7:15 to go over Glen Pass and Kearsarge Pass. Ronald and I were left with two extra days to satisfy our lingering mountain fever. Ronald stepped away from camp for a short period, and I was left alone for a few minutes. Almost immediately upon his departure, a red-tailed hawk flew right over my head and settled on a dead tree stump not far away. As I would later discover, it was a juvenile bird, explaining its lack of fear of humans. I was able to get very close, to take pictures but also to interact with the hawk. It was as if it was allowing me into its personal space. I felt a strange sense of kinship. I was able to get within a few feet of the bird, as you can see from the pictures above. It was a remarkable moment.
Ronald soon came back and the hawk flew away. Our plan was to climb Fin Dome, then to try Mount Rixford and see how far we could go on the return toward Kearsarge Pass. We left camp at 7:49 and headed back up the trail to Sixty Lakes Basin. Soon, we came within sight of Fin Dome, which we approached from the east over its south shoulder. Soon we were on the West Face, but we weren't really sure where the route went. We played around a bit on some ledges and gullies, over class 3 terrain, to try to find a way up, but we did not feel very inspired. I suppose we could have taken out our short rope and harnesses and tried to push through. But as I said, we did not feel very inspired. So we descended to the lake at the base of the dome, where we took a short break, and then headed back to the trail and to camp (11:12). We packed up, had lunch, and headed up the trail to Glen Pass (12:41). There were a few people on the JMT, and we took our time, reaching Glen Pass at 14:25. There, we struck out along the southwestern flank of Glacier Spike to a small notch south of that peak, retracing the steps I had taken on my previous visit to Mount Rixford in June of 2018. Soon, we were on the West Ridge of Mount Rixford, making steady but slow progress on loose terrain toward its summit. We reached the top at 16:12 (15 minutes slower than my 2018 climb). The views were outstanding, as the peak stands away from the Sierra Crest in a central location - we could see from Mount Whitney to the Palisades and all points in between. We retraced our steps, reaching Glen Pass at 18:00. It was getting late, and we stared down at the lake at the base of the pass, hoping there would be good camping there. There was - we found a perfect campsite not far from the lake, sheltered by trees. Our last evening in the wilderness was spent eating, playing card, and resting. (10:32 hours elapsed, 7:57 hours moving, 7.35 miles, 4,142 feet of elevation gain).
September 18, 2025. Ascent of Mount Gould and return to Onion Valley. The forecast called for rain on this day, and we were hoping to climb Mount Gould before the worst of it. We set out on the JMT again at 8:19, heading down past glacial tarns, then by Charlotte Lake, and on to the upper trail that skirts above Bullfrog Lake toward Kearsarge Pass. We reached the pass at 10:38. We briefly debated whether or not to climb Mount Gould, as heavy clouds were gathering. While I had already climbed that peak in 2013 (though not its summit block), and could have done without a second ascent, Ronald was keen. So we set out north on a good use trail toward the summit of Mount Gould, reaching it at 11:52. This time, I climbed the summit block (class 3). A few snowflakes started to fall, and it was very clear a steady downpour was about to start. We signed the summit register and headed down the way we had come, reaching our packs at Kearsarge Pass at 12:38. A few people were coming up from the east, oblivious to the worsening weather. We headed down as quickly as we could, trying to reach the trees before the worst of the rain. By now it was steady rain, getting worse as we descended below the cloud that enveloped us. The two hours that followed saw us get very soaked by the constant rain. We wanted to stop for snacks and a break, but the rain did not let us. We were back at Onion Valley at 14:25, changed into dryer clothes, and went for barbecue in Big Pine. Then on to Mammoth for a shower and some rest. (6:06 hours elapsed, 5:54 hours moving, 10.34 miles, 2,569 feet of elevation gain).
Trip Totals: 38:19 hours elapsed, 32:18 hours moving, 34.65 miles, 15,204 feet of elevation gain.
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