| Mount Elbert | |
|---|---|
 Mount Elbert seen from Turquoise Lake | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 14440 feet (4401 m); 14437.6 feet (4401 m);[1][2] NAVD 88; NAPGD2022 (preliminary) |
| Prominence | 9,093 feet (2772 m)[3] |
| Isolation | 671 miles (1079 km)[3] |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 39°07′03.9″N106°26′43.2″W / 39.117750°N 106.445333°W /39.117750; -106.445333 (Mount Elbert)[4] |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | Samuel Hitt Elbert |
| Geography | |
  Mount Elbert | |
| Location | High point ofLake County and theState of Colorado,U.S.[3] |
| Parent range | Highest summit of the Rocky Mountains, Southern Rocky Mountains, Sawatch Range, andElbert Massif[3] |
| Topo map(s) | USGS 7.5' topographic map Mount Elbert, Colorado[5] |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1874 by Henry W. Stuckle |
| Easiest route | Northeast Ridge: Hike,class 1[6] |
Mount Elbert is thehighest summit of theRocky Mountains of North America. With anelevation of 14,440 ft (4,400 m), it is also the highest point in theU.S.state ofColorado and the second-highest summit in thecontiguous United States afterMount Whitney, which is slightly taller. Theultra-prominentfourteener is the highest peak in theSawatch Range, as well as the highest point in the entireMississippi River drainage basin. Mount Elbert is located inSan Isabel National Forest, 12.1 mi (19.4 km) southwest (bearing 223°) of the city ofLeadville inLake County, Colorado.[4][3][5][a]
The mountain was named in honor of a Colorado statesman,Samuel Hitt Elbert, who was active in the formative period of the state andGovernor of theTerritory of Colorado from 1873 to 1874. Henry W. Stuckle of theHayden Survey was the first to record an ascent of the peak, in 1874. The easiest and most popular climbing routes are categorized asClass 1 to 2 or A+ inmountaineering parlance. Mount Elbert is therefore often referred to as the "gentle giant" that tops all others in the Rocky Mountains.
Mount Elbert is visible to the southwest of Leadville, often snow-capped even in the summer.[7] Many otherfourteeners surround Elbert in all directions, and it is very close to central Colorado'sCollegiate Peaks. The neighboringMount Massive, to the north, is the second-highest peak in the Rocky Mountains and the third-highest in the contiguous United States, andLa Plata Peak, to the south, is the fifth-highest in the Rockies. The community ofTwin Lakes lies at the base of Mount Elbert,Denver is about 130 miles (209 km) to the east,Vail is 50 miles (80 km) to the north, andAspen is 40 miles (64 km) to the west.Leadville, about 16 miles (26 km) to the northeast, is the nearest large town.[8] Elbert'sparent peak isMount Whitney inCalifornia.[9] Including Alaska and Hawaii, Mount Elbert is thefourteenth-highest mountain in the United States.
Weather conditions often change rapidly, and afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summertime;hailstorms and snow are possible year-round. One thunderstorm on the mountain's summit was considered remarkable enough to be reported in the July 1894 issue ofScience.[10]
| Climate data for Mount Elbert 39.1170 N, 106.4402 W, Elevation: 14,019 ft (4,273 m) (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 19.5 (−6.9) | 18.7 (−7.4) | 23.7 (−4.6) | 29.3 (−1.5) | 38.1 (3.4) | 49.7 (9.8) | 55.9 (13.3) | 53.9 (12.2) | 47.4 (8.6) | 36.6 (2.6) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 19.7 (−6.8) | 34.9 (1.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 7.9 (−13.4) | 6.7 (−14.1) | 11.3 (−11.5) | 16.2 (−8.8) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 35.5 (1.9) | 41.7 (5.4) | 40.2 (4.6) | 33.9 (1.1) | 24.1 (−4.4) | 14.8 (−9.6) | 8.5 (−13.1) | 22.1 (−5.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | −3.6 (−19.8) | −5.2 (−20.7) | −1.2 (−18.4) | 3.1 (−16.1) | 11.8 (−11.2) | 21.3 (−5.9) | 27.5 (−2.5) | 26.6 (−3.0) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 11.7 (−11.3) | 3.8 (−15.7) | −2.7 (−19.3) | 9.5 (−12.5) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 4.26 (108) | 4.07 (103) | 4.39 (112) | 5.39 (137) | 3.89 (99) | 1.65 (42) | 2.18 (55) | 2.42 (61) | 2.65 (67) | 3.29 (84) | 4.08 (104) | 3.78 (96) | 42.05 (1,068) |
| Source: PRISM Climate Group[11] | |||||||||||||
Mount Elbert is part of theSawatch Range, an uplift of theLaramide Orogeny which separated from theMosquito Range to the east around 28 million years ago.[12] The tops of this range were heavily glaciated, leaving behind characteristic summit features and other such clues. For example, the base of Elbert on the eastern side exhibits expanses ofigneous andmetamorphic rocks exposed when the glaciers receded, leaving alateral moraine. Further up the eastern side there is a largecirque with a smalltarn.[13] There are also lakes to both the north and south,Turquoise andTwin Lakes respectively; the Twin Lakes are a result of the natural dam ofend moraines,[13] and Turquoise Lake was created by the manmadeSugar Loaf Dam.
Mount Elbert is composed largely ofquartzite.[14] However, the summit ridge consists ofmetamorphicbasement rock, which isPre-Cambrian in origin and about 1.7 billion years old.[13] There are various igneous intrusions includingpegmatite, as well as bands ofgneiss andschist.[13] Unlike mountains of similar altitude elsewhere, Elbert lacks both a permanent snowpack and a prominent north-facing cirque, which can be attributed to its position among other mountains of similar height, causing it to receive relatively small quantities of precipitation.[14]
Mount Elbert was named by miners in honor ofSamuel Hitt Elbert, the governor of the then-Territory of Colorado, because he brokered a treaty in September 1873 with theUte tribe that opened up more than 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km2) ofreservation land to mining and railroad activity.[15] The first recorded ascent of the peak was by H.W. Stuckle in 1874, who was surveying the mountain as part of theHayden Survey.[16]
Originally measured as 14,433 feet (4,399 m) in height, Mount Elbert's elevation was later adjusted to 14,440 feet (4,400 m) following a re-evaluation of mapped elevations, which sparked protests. The actual change was made in 1988 as a result of theNorth American Vertical Datum of 1988; it seems the original measurement resulted from the Sea Level Datum of 1929.[8][17][16] A matter of some contention arose after theGreat Depression over the heights of Elbert and its neighborMount Massive, which differ in elevation by only 12 feet (3.7 m). This led to an ongoing dispute that came to a head with the Mount Massive supporters building large piles of stones on the summit to boost its height, only to have the Mount Elbert proponents demolish them.[18] The effort was ultimately unsuccessful and Mount Elbert has remained the highest peak in Colorado.[8] The first motorized ascent of Elbert occurred in 1949, when aJeep was driven to the summit, apparently to judge suitability forskiing development.[18]
The summit of Mount Elbert is analpine environment, featuring plants such asPhacelia sericea (silky phacelia),Hymenoxys grandiflora (old-man-of-the-mountain), andGeum rossii (alpine avens).[16] Also noted areCarex atrata var.pullata,Salix desertorum,Platanthera hyperborea,Thalictrum fendleri,Aquilegia canadensis,Chenopodium album,Gentiana detonsa var.hallii, andBigelovia parryi.[19] Belowtreeline the mountain is heavily forested, with the lower slopes covered with a mixture oflodgepole pine,spruce,aspen, andfir.[20]
Some of the fauna reported on the climb to the summit includeblack bears,marmots,mule deer,pikas, andpocket gophers; there are also many species ofbirds.[21]Elk,grouse,turkey, andbighorn sheep are present in the area during the summer.[20] Grizzly bears are extirpated.[22]
There are three main routes to ascend the mountain, all of which gain over 4,100 feet (1,200 m) elevation. The standard route ascends the peak from the east, starting from theColorado Trail just north of Twin Lakes. The 4.6 miles (7.4 km) long North (Main) Elbert Trail begins close to the Elbert Creek Campground, and gains about 4,500 feet (1,400 m).[23][24] The trail is open to equestrians, mountain bikers and hunters during season.[25] An easier, but longer route, the South Elbert Trail, is 5.5 miles (8.9 km) long, climbing 4,600 feet (1,400 m) at a less-punishing gradient than the North Elbert Trail, approaching from the south and then climbing the eastern ridge.[23]
The most difficult of the main routes is the Black Cloud Trail, aClass 2 climb that takes ten to fourteen hours depending on pace, gains 5,300 feet (1,600 m) in elevation, and also involves an ascent of the sub-peak, South Elbert, at 14,134 feet (4,308 m).[26] Even healthy and experienced climbers report great difficulty on this route, and despite the fact that there is a trail, the route is extremely steep, unstable, and rocky in places. The elevation gain is not evenly distributed over the 5.5-mile ascent. There are also routes approaching from the western face, and southwestern ridge, from South Halfmoon Creek Trailhead and Echo Canyon Trailhead respectively.[26]
Although strenuous and requiring physical fitness, none of the conventional routes require specialist mountaineering skills or technicalrock climbing. The main dangers of the mountain are those common to all high mountains, particularlyaltitude sickness. This can affect anyone, even those who are acclimatized. In serious cases, it can lead tohigh-altitude pulmonary edema andcerebral edema, which can lead to difficulties with breathing, paralysis, and death. Climbers are advised to begin their ascent at or before 6 A.M. and to summit and descend before early afternoon to minimize exposure to possible afternoon thunderstorms while at high altitudes. Although the most conventional form of ascent is by hiking,Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, the orator, ascended the mountain on amule borrowed from the U.S. government.[27]
To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clickingCoordinates (underLocation); copyLatitude andLongitude figures from top of table; clickZoom to location; clickPrecipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click30-year normals, 1991-2020; click800m; clickRetrieve Time Series button.
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