[4] It is the third-highest peak in the Desolation Wilderness,[6] and is set on land managed by Eldorado National Forest.

Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises over 2,300 feet (700 meters) above Rockbound Valley in approximately one mile.

This mountain's name remembers Captain Dick Barter, known as the "Hermit of Emerald Bay".

[8] 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 (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall onto the range.