title: Mount Thompson (California)
text: # Mount Thompson (California)
  
  Mount Thompson is a 13,494-foot-elevation (4,113 meter) mountain summit located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, United States. It is situated on the shared boundary of Kings Canyon National Park with John Muir Wilderness, and along the common border of Fresno County with Inyo County. It is also 18 miles (29 km) west of the community of Big Pine, one mile northwest of Mount Gilbert, and three miles east of Mount Fiske, which is the nearest higher neighbor. Mount Thompson ranks as the 62nd-highest summit in California. This mountain's name commemorates Almon Harris Thompson (1839–1906). The first ascent of the peak was made by Clarence H. Rhudy and H. F. Katzenbach in the summer of 1909.
  
  ## Climbing
  
  Established climbing routes on Mount Thompson:
  
  * Northwest Face – class 3 – First Ascent June 30, 1931, by Norman Clyde
  * Southwest Face – class 2 – FA August 14, 1939, by Jack Sturgeon
  * Thompson Ridge – class 3 – FA 1959
  * Knudtson Couloir – class AI3 – FA 1984
  * Moynier Couloir – class 5.6 – FA 1986
  * Smrz Couloir – class 5.6 – FA 1990
  * Harrington Couloir – class AI2
  * Southeast Face – class 3–4
  * West Ridge – class 3
  
  ## Climate
  
  According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Thompson is located in an alpine climate zone. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range (orographic lift). Precipitation runoff from this mountain drains south into the Middle Fork Kings River, and north into Bishop Creek.
  
  