Crestones
| Crestones | |
|---|---|
 Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle seen from the south | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Crestone Peak |
| Elevation | 14,300 feet (4,359 m)[1] |
| Listing | Mountain ranges of Colorado |
| Coordinates | 37°58′00″N 105°35′07″W / 37.9666665°N 105.5852865°W[2] |
| Geography | |
  | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| Range coordinates | 37°58′01″N 105°35′07″W / 37.9668400°N 105.5853471°W[3] |
| Parent range | Sangre de Cristo Range |
The Crestones are a group of four 14,000-foot (4,300 m) peaks (fourteeners) in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:
- Crestone Peak (14,294 ft; 4,357 m )
- Crestone Needle (14,197 ft; 4,327 m )
- Kit Carson Mountain (14,165 ft; 4,317 m )
- Humboldt Peak (14,064 ft; 4,287 m )
Snow is usually mostly melted by early July. Climbers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.
Climbing[edit]
- Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle are rock scrambles (Class 3) with some exposure.
- Kit Carson Mountain is a walk-up (Class 2), but only if the correct route is carefully followed; it has claimed more lives than Crestone Peak or Crestone Needle. Challenger Point (14,081 ft; 4,292 m ) and Columbia Point (13,980-foot (4,261 m)) are sub-peaks of Kit Carson Mountain.
- Humboldt Peak is the easiest of the four, with a straightforward walk-up route. Sometimes Humboldt is not included in the term "The Crestones."
Broken Hand Peak, 13,573 ft (4,137 m), southeast of Crestone Needle, is included within the official name "Crestone Peaks".[3] Mount Adams (13,931 ft; 4,246 m ) is a notable peak just to the north of the Crestones, and is quite rugged.
Note that Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle are somewhat more technical climbs than many Colorado fourteeners; caution is advised. About one person per year is killed on the Crestones; occasionally they are skilled mountaineers.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Topographic map of Crestone Peak". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
- ^ "Crestone Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
- ^ a b "Crestone Peaks". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ Haag, Matthew (August 3, 2010). "Plano mountaineers fall to their deaths in Colorado". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
External links[edit]
- The Crestones on TopoQuest
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Crestone Peaks or Crestone Group
- Well illustrated trip report of climbs of Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak via Broken Hand Pass
