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Mount Gould (Montana)
Encyclopedia
Mount Gould is a peak on the Continental Divide
in Glacier National Park, Montana
, United States
. It is the highest point of the Garden Wall
, a distinctive ridge of the Lewis Range
. It is most notable for its huge, steep east face, which drops 4000 feet (1220 m) in only one-half mile (0.8 km). This face provides a backdrop to Grinnell Lake
, and is often photographed.
The first recorded ascent of Mount Gould was in 1920, by Frank B. Wynn, Harry R. Horn, Henry H. Goddard, and party. They used the West Face route, which is the easiest and most commonly used route today. It starts from the Highline Trail
, which skirts the west side of the peak, and involves some rock scrambling
but no technical climbing.
Climbing the sheer East Face of Mount Gould is theoretically possible; however the brittle, loose nature of the rock in Glacier National Park makes highly technical ascents like this one particularly unpleasant and dangerous.
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
in Glacier National Park, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the highest point of the Garden Wall
Garden Wall
The Garden Wall is a steep alpine area within Glacier National Park well known during the summer months to be heavily covered in dozens of species of flowering plants and shrubs...
, a distinctive ridge of the Lewis Range
Lewis Range
The Lewis Range is a mountain range located in the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana, U.S. and extreme southern Alberta, Canada. Formed by the Lewis Overthrust beginning 170 million years ago, an enormous slab of Precambrian rocks 3 miles thick, wide and long faulted and slid over newer...
. It is most notable for its huge, steep east face, which drops 4000 feet (1220 m) in only one-half mile (0.8 km). This face provides a backdrop to Grinnell Lake
Grinnell Lake
Grinnell Lake is located in Glacier National Park, in the U. S. state of Montana. Named after George Bird Grinnell, the lake has a opaque turquoise appearance from the rock flour which is transported to the lake from Grinnell Glacier. Grinnell Lake is accessible via the Grinnell Glacier Trail and...
, and is often photographed.
The first recorded ascent of Mount Gould was in 1920, by Frank B. Wynn, Harry R. Horn, Henry H. Goddard, and party. They used the West Face route, which is the easiest and most commonly used route today. It starts from the Highline Trail
Highline Trail
The Highline Trail in Glacier National Park is a scenic hiking trail stretching from Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet, and continuing another from there to Fifty Mountain Campground. The trail follows the Garden Wall ridge and the continental divide for most of its length. The trail offers...
, which skirts the west side of the peak, and involves some rock scrambling
Scrambling
Scrambling is a method of ascending rocky faces and ridges. It is an ambiguous term that lies somewhere between hillwalking and rock climbing. It is often distinguished from hillwalking by defining a scramble as a route where hands must be used in the ascent...
but no technical climbing.
Climbing the sheer East Face of Mount Gould is theoretically possible; however the brittle, loose nature of the rock in Glacier National Park makes highly technical ascents like this one particularly unpleasant and dangerous.
Source
- J. Gordon Edwards and Josephine Gould, A Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park, Falcon Press, 1991. ISBN 0-87842-177-7.