It is set within the Desolation Wilderness, on land managed by Eldorado National Forest.

Topographic relief is significant as the east aspect rises 2,950 feet (900 meters) above the lake in 1.5 miles (2.4 km).

This mountain's name remembers ski patroller Jeffery James Smith (1954–1982), commonly known as "Jake", and in honor of the other six persons who also died in an avalanche at the Alpine Meadows Ski Area on March 31, 1982.

[6] 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.