Mount Thompson (California)

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Thompson

| other_name =

| photo = Sunset on Mt Thompson.jpg

| photo_caption = North aspect, centered

| elevation_ft = 13494

| elevation_ref = {{cite peakbagger |pid=2695|name=Mount Thompson, California|accessdate=2021-04-10}}

| prominence_ft = 1054

| prominence_ref =

| isolation_mi = 3.02

| isolation_ref = {{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/32301|title=Thompson, Mount - 13,494' CA|website=listsofjohn.com|accessdate=2021-04-10}}

| parent_peak = Mount Fiske (13,503 ft)

| listing = Sierra Peaks Section

| etymology = Almon Harris Thompson

| map = California#USA

| map_caption = Location in California

| map_size = 250

| label_position = left

| location = Kings Canyon National Park
Fresno County / Inyo County
California, U.S.

| range = Sierra Nevada

| coordinates = {{coord|37.1428824|N|118.6136118|W|type:mountain_region:US-CA_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref = {{cite gnis|id=1659993|name=Mount Thompson|accessdate=2021-04-10}}

| topo = USGS Mount Thompson

| rock = granite

| age =

| first_ascent = 1909

| easiest_route = {{YDS|2}}

}}

Mount Thompson is a {{convert|13,494|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} 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 {{convert|18|mi}} 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).[http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/place_names_of_the_high_sierra/t.html Francis P. Farquhar, Place Names of the High Sierra (1926)] The first ascent of the peak was made by Clarence H. Rhudy and H. F. Katzenbach in the summer of 1909.Sierra Club Bulletin, 1919, page 440.

Climbing

Established climbing routes on Mount Thompson:R. J. Secor, The High Sierra Peaks, Passes, Trails, 2009, Third Edition, Mountaineers Books, {{ISBN|9780898869712}}, page 287.

Northwest Face – {{YDS|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.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}} 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.

Gallery

File:Mount Thompson from Ski Mountaineers Peak.jpg|Mount Thompson viewed from Ski Mountaineers Peak

File:Mt Thompson under a fall dusting of snow.jpg|Mt. Thompson with an autumn dusting of snow.
13,280+ ft "Ski Mountaineers Peak" (left) is the highpoint of Thompson Ridge

File:Mt Thompson.jpg|North aspect