San Gorgonio Peak is the highest mountain in Southern California. It stands at 11,500 feet. Snow lingers on the peak well into summer. Patches of 2-5 foot drifts can sometimes be seen all year long... even though this mountain is less than 30 miles from Palm Springs, where summer temps climb well into the 3 digits for weeks at a time.

These 6 shots are from a 3 day trip to bag the summit. The first day was to a glacier formed, alpine lake at 9300 feet. There we set up a day camp. The following day was a 5.5 mile climb to the 11,500 summit. The weather changed rapidly from a 75 degree start (9:00 am) to 40 degrees and thunderstorms by noon on the peak.

Click on the image for a larger view.

copyright © Barry Kolsky 2009