Crestone Peak

Crestone Peak
Crestone Peak seen from Kit Carson
Highest point
Elevation	14,300 ft (4359 m) NAVD88
Prominence	4554 ft (1388 m)
Isolation	27.4 mi (44.0 km)
Listing	North America highest peaks 36th U.S. highest major peaks 22nd Colorado highest major peaks 7th Colorado fourteeners 7th Colorado county high points 7th
Geography
Crestone Peak Colorado
Location	High point of Saguache County, Colorado, United States.
Parent range	Sangre de Cristo Range, Highest summit of the Crestones
Topo map(s)	USGS 7.5' topographic map Crestone Peak, Colorado
Climbing
First ascent	1916 by Eleanor Davis and party
Easiest route	Scramble (class 3)

Crestone East Peak
Highest point
Elevation	14,266 ft (4,348 m)
Prominence	80 ft (24 m)
Parent peak	Crestone Peak
Isolation	0.08 mi (0.13 km)
Listing	Colorado county high points
Coordinates	37°58′02″N 105°35′03″W
Geography
Location	Saguache County and high point of Custer County, Colorado, U.S.

Crestone Peak is the seventh-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 14,300-foot (4,359 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the Crestones and the second-highest summit in the Sangre de Cristo Range after Blanca Peak. The summit is located in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness of Rio Grande National Forest, 5.0 miles (8.1 km) east by south (bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, United States.

Crestone Peak rises 7,000 feet (2,100 m) above the east side of the San Luis Valley. It shares its name with the nearby Crestone Needle, another fourteener of the Crestones. The Crestones are a cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range, comprising Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, Humboldt Peak, and Columbia Point. They are usually accessed from common trailheads.

Climbing

Generally climbs of Crestone Peak or Crestone Needle start from a base camp at South Colony Lakes, east of the peak, accessed from the Wet Mountain Valley on the northeast side of the range. This route involves nearly 6,000 ft (1,800 m) of elevation gain, and ascends to a large relatively flat area called "The Pool Table" (a few large rocks lie on the tundra, as if billiard balls) or the "Bears' Playground." Then it ascends a long gully on the northwest side of Crestone Peak, which involves some rockfall danger (hence a climbing helmet is suggested). Crestone Peak is one of the more dangerous fourteener climbs in Colorado; accidents occur often in the Crestones, some caused by falls or lightning (a daily summer occurrence in the Sangre de Cristos).

Alternatively, the Cottonwood Creek route begins in the San Luis Valley and approaches the Crestones from the west. The route follows Cottonwood Creek to Cottonwood Lake. From there, the South Face route of Crestone Peak is accessible.

From Crestone Peak, it is a mildly technical (Class 4—rope recommended) ridge scramble to the summit of Crestone Needle, similarly in the other direction. However, Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle are more commonly climbed separately.

Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle, fall

See also

• List of mountain peaks of North America
  • List of mountain peaks of the United States
    • List of mountain peaks of Colorado
      • List of Colorado county high points
      • List of Colorado fourteeners

External links

• Crestone Peak statistics at 14ers.com