The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 foot (4,268 m) peaks (

fourteeners In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...

) in the

Sangre de Cristo Range , country= United States , subdivision1= Colorado , subdivision2_type= Counties , subdivision2= , parent= Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Rocky Mountains , borders_on= , geology= , age= , orogeny= Fault-block mountains , area_mi2= ...

above Crestone, central southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, comprising: #

Crestone Peak Crestone Peak is the seventh-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener is the highest summit of the Crestones and the second-highest summit in the Sangre de Cristo Range ...

(14,294 ft, 4,357 m) #

Crestone Needle Crestone Needle is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located east-southeast ( bearing 108°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, ...

(14,197 ft, 4,327 m) # Kit Carson Mountain (14,165 ft, 4,317 m) # 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 A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

in late July and August.

Climbing

and

are rock

scrambles ''Scrambles'' is the fifth studio album by Bomb the Music Industry!, released digitally and physically on February 15th, 2009. The album was released a year and a half after Get Warmer, making it the longest gap between the release of two chrono ...

(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 Challenger Point is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, Un ...

(14,081 ft, 4,292 m) and

Columbia Point Columbia Point is a high mountain summit of the Crestones in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The thirteener is located east by south ( bearing 102°) of the Town of Crestone in Saguache County, Colorado, ...

() 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, , southeast of Crestone Needle, is included within the official name "Crestone Peaks". Mount Adams (13,931 ft, 4246 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.

References

External links

The Crestones on TopoQuest
*
Well illustrated trip report of climbs of Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak via Broken Hand Pass
{{Colorado, state=collapsed Fourteeners of Colorado Mountains of Colorado Sangre de Cristo Mountains Mountains of Custer County, Colorado Mountains of Saguache County, Colorado

Climbing

See also

References

External links