Hilliard Peak is a mountain

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

Pitkin County Pitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,358. The county seat and largest city is Aspen. The county is named for Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. Pitkin County has the sev ...

, Colorado, United States.

Description

Hilliard Peak is located west of the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

in the Elk Mountains which are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. It ranks as the 306th-highest peak in Colorado. The mountain is situated south-southwest of the community of Aspen and west-northwest of Castle Peak. The peak is set in the

Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness The Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the Elk Mountains (Colorado), Elk Mountains of central Colorado. The wilderness was established in 1980 in the Gunnison National Forest, Gunnison and White River Nationa ...

on land managed by White River National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into tributaries of the Roaring Fork River which is a tributary of the Colorado River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above Conundrum Creek in and above East Maroon Creek in .

Etymology

The mountain's toponym was officially adopted on December 9, 1975, by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

to commemorate Edward H. Hilliard, Jr. (1922–1970), conservationist and environmentalist. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 16, 1922. He served as an Infantry Lieutenant in France during World War II, then completed his college education at Yale University in 1948, then moved to Colorado in 1949. Hilliard died on August 15, 1970, when he and a climbing companion were killed by a rockfall near the summit of

North Maroon Peak North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

.Andrews D. Black (1971), ''Edward H. Hilliard, Jr., 1922-1970'', americanalpineclub.org
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Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Hilliard Peak is located in an alpine

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.

References

External links

* Hilliard Peak
weather forecast
* Edward H. Hilliard in memoriam
Americanalpineclub.org
{{Mountains of Colorado Mountains of Colorado Mountains of Pitkin County, Colorado White River National Forest North American 4000 m summits

Description

Etymology

Climate

See also

References

External links