Mount Massive
Highest point
Elevation	14,421 ft (4,396 m)[1] NAPGD2022
Prominence	1,961 ft (598 m)[2]
Isolation	5.06 mi (8.14 km)[2]
Listing	North America highest peaks 28th US highest major peaks 15th Colorado highest major peaks 2nd Colorado fourteeners 2nd
Coordinates	39°11′15″N106°28′33″W / 39.1874645°N 106.4756995°W /39.1874645; -106.4756995[3]
Geography
Mount Massive Colorado
Location	Lake County,Colorado,U.S.[4]
Parent range	Sawatch Range,Highest summit of theMassive Massif[2]
Topo map(s)	USGS 7.5' topographic map Mount Massive, Colorado[3]
Climbing
First ascent	1873 byHenry Gannett
Easiest route	East Slopes: Hike,class 2[5]

Mount Massive (Arapaho:Hiwoxuu hookuhu'ee) is thesecond-highest summit of theRocky Mountains ofNorth America and theU.S. state ofColorado. It is located in theMount Massive Wilderness ofSan Isabel National Forest, 10.6 mi (17.1 km) west-southwest (bearing 247°) of theCity of Leadville inLake County,Colorado,United States. It ranks as the third-highest peak in thecontiguous United States afterMount Whitney and Mount Elbert.^{[a][2][4][3][6]}

Mount Massive was first surveyed and climbed in 1873 during theHayden Survey of the American West. Survey memberHenry Gannett is credited with the first ascent.^[7] Its name comes from its elongated shape: it has five summits, all above 14,000 ft (4,300 m), and a summit ridge over 3 mi (4.8 km) long, resulting in more area above 14,000 ft (4,300 m) than any other mountain in the 48 contiguous states, narrowly edgingMount Rainier in that category. Mount Elbert (14,440 ft (4,400 m)) is Mount Massive's nearest neighbor among the fourteeners; it lies about 5 mi (8.0 km) south-southeast of the peak.^[8]

A matter of some contention after theGreat Depression arose over the heights of Massive and its neighbor, Mount Elbert, which have a height difference of only 12 ft (3.7 m). This led to an ongoing dispute which came to a head with the Mount Massive supporters taking it upon themselves to build large piles of stones on the summit to boost its height, only to have the Mount Elbert proponents demolish them.^[9][10][11]

Aclass 2hiking path leads to the peak from the eastern face. The path is 13.6 mi (21.9 km) round trip, with a 4,500 ft (1,400 m) elevation gain.^[7] There is also a class 2 route along the southwest slopes.^[12]

There are several glacial lakes in the wilderness area. The lower slopes of the mountain are covered in lodgepole pine forests, which gradually yield to Engelmann Spruce and Fir.Treeline is just below 12,000 ft (3,700 m). Among the mountain's fauna are theAmerican pika, themountain goat,elk,mule deer,moose,Canada jay,martin, and theyellow-bellied marmot.

In the Arapaho Language theCollegiate Range and Mount Massive are calledHiwoxuu hookuhu'ee or Elk's Head.^[6]

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

• "Mount Massive". 14ers.com.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMount Massive.

• Mountains of Lake County, Colorado
• San Isabel National Forest
• Fourteeners of Colorado
• Four-thousanders of the United States

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