The prominent 12,945-foot (3,946 m) peak is located 5.6 miles (9.0 km) northwest by west (bearing 308°) of Milner Pass, Colorado, United States, on the Continental Divide separating the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness in Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand County from Routt National Forest and Jackson County.

[1][2][3] The mountain was named in honor of pioneering German geologist Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, apparently by Clarence King's 1870 survey team.

[4] Needles and Grenadiers explorer William S. Cooper climbed Mount Richthofen by himself in 1908 in what is presumed to be the first ascent in historic times by Americans of European descent.

[5] Today, the mountain is typically climbed from Lake Agnes to the north, easily reachable from Cameron Pass.

[6] Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.