Ralston Peak is a mountain in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

mountain range to the west of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

within the

Desolation Wilderness The Desolation Wilderness is a federally protected wilderness area in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, in El Dorado County, California. The crest of the Sierra Nevada runs through it, just west of Lake Tahoe. H ...

El Dorado County, California El Dorado County (), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The County is part of the Sacramento- Roseville-A ...

. Ralston Peak is a very popular mountain to summit for the views of the wilderness area as it lies very near

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

. The closest trailhead to the summit can be found in Camp Sacramento a few miles west of

Echo Summit Echo Summit is a mountain pass over the Sierra Nevada in the western United States, located in eastern El Dorado County, California. At above sea level, it is the highest point on U.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it at postmile 66 ...

. Ralston Peak can also be accessed from the Pacific Crest Trail between Echo Lake and Lake Aloha. Starting at the nearest trailhead (Echo Lake), this route is significantly longer than the trail from Camp Sacramento. But the altitude gain on this route is much less, and the trail is much less steep.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Ralston Peak is located in an

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

zone. Most weather fronts originate in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks ( orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.

Gallery

File:170702-FS-LakeTahoeBasinMU-BH-001 (35769557531).jpg, Tamarack Lake with Ralston Peak in background File:Toward Lake Aloha from Ralston Peak summit.jpg, View of Lake Aloha from Ralston Peak

References

External links

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Alpine Ski Tours - Lake Tahoe: Southwest Topographic Map
Mountains of the Desolation Wilderness Mountains of El Dorado County, California North American 2000 m summits Mountains of Northern California Mountains of the Sierra Nevada (United States) {{ElDoradoCountyCA-geo-stub