The Citadel is an 11,738-foot summit in the Sierra Nevada of central California, in a remote part of Kings Canyon National Park reached by way of the John Muir Trail. Rising about 3,400 feet above Le Conte Canyon in roughly a mile, it has a strikingly steep profile. Weather from the Pacific is forced upward over the range, bringing rain or snow, and the mountain’s runoff ultimately drains to the Middle Fork Kings River. It is also an important climbing destination, with first ascents on non-technical and moderate routes in 1951 and later technical routes, including the classic Edge of Time Arête, established in 1991.