Pyramid Peak, just shy of 10k feet, is a great day hike and can serve as a good training hike to stay fit for bigger hikes / climbs. Named after its rather obvious shape, it is one of Tahoe’s most prominent landmarks. The standard summer trail gains ~4k feet of elevation, which can become a strenuous hike at some spots and overall a little exhausting, if not in good shape.
In mid-May there was still a lot of snow above the treeline and snowshoes and gaiters were pretty much unquestionable. The scree and boulder section leading to the summit is constantly swept by strong gusts, which is also why all the snow was blown off the slope in this portion during our hike. At times we were holding on to boulders to stabilize ourselves in the wind – I genuinely felt I could have tipped over on certain occasions!
We reached the top in about four hours, with only few real breaks in between. After munching down the much needed calories, we headed back down.
Ardent Rambler 