Polemonium Reptans

by | Apr 16, 2018 | Polemonium Reptans

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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:

  1. Crestone Peak (14,294 ft; 4,357 m )
  2. Crestone Needle (14,197 ft; 4,327 m )
  3. Kit Carson Mountain (14,165 ft; 4,317 m )
  4. 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

  • 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

References

  1. ^ "Topographic map of Crestone Peak". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2023-01-02.
  2. ^ "Crestone Peak". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Crestone Peaks". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Haag, Matthew (August 3, 2010). "Plano mountaineers fall to their deaths in Colorado". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 16, 2018.

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