Pattie Gonia’s Rainbow Glacier Hike: Real Climate Campaign or Fabricated Stunt? A viral video claiming drag queen environmentalist Pattie Gonia led a "Rainbow Glacier Hike" on Mount Whitney to raise awareness for melting ice caps has sparked intense online debate, with some calling it a breathtaking act of activism and others insisting the footage is digitally altered. Fact-checkers confirm the event is real: Pattie Gonia, a prominent LGBTQ+ and climate activist, indeed organized a small, permitted hike on the John Muir Trail (not Mount Whitney) in July 2024, but the viral "rainbow glacier" effect was actually created by participants wearing colorful, eco-friendly fabric sashes, not by naturally colored ice. A manipulated image circulating on social media claiming the glacier itself turned rainbow is false, but the core hike and message are authentic.