Round Top
Carson Pass, S of Tahoe · near South Lake Tahoe / Markleeville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- scramble
- Elevation
- 10381
- Best season
- April–June for spring snow; July–Sept as a scramble
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Carson Pass / Woods Lake trailheads · No permit for a day hike · Classic Tahoe-area spring ski peak · Wildflower basins in summer
- Best for
- A classic Carson Pass spring snow climb
- Features
- High point of Carson Pass · Superb spring snow couloirs · Wildflower basins below · Summer scramble or spring snow climb
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Steep spring couloirs — self-arrest and avalanche awareness · Exposed, narrow summit block scramble · Cornices on the ridge in spring · Afternoon storms in summer
- Beginner friendly
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- No
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- snow-ice · scrambling
- Style
- snow-route
- Altitude
- 1
- Route notes
- The high point of the Carson Pass country — a class-2 scramble in summer, but best known as a superb spring snow-climb and backcountry-ski objective, with steep couloirs dropping from the summit ridge into the Winnemucca Lake basin
- Beta note
- ~10,381 ft; Class 2 summer / steep spring snow couloirs; axe & crampons in season
- Intl tip
- The dark volcanic high point of the Carson Pass country south of Tahoe, ringed by wildflower basins. A class-2 scramble with a short exposed summit block in summer; in spring, one of the region's most popular snow-climb and ski objectives, with steep couloirs off the summit ridge that demand axe, crampons, self-arrest, and avalanche judgment. Easy road access and moderate scale make it a favorite training peak — but the spring couloirs are steep enough to respect. Gorgeous in both seasons.
- Directions note
- Park at the Carson Pass information station lot (fee)
The guide
Round Top is the dark volcanic high point of the Carson Pass country south of Tahoe, ringed by the wildflower basins of Winnemu…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Round Top — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.6647, -120.0011