La Plata Peak is the fifth-highest summit of the

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and the U.S. state of

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 ...

. The prominent

fourteener 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 ...

is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of

San Isabel National Forest San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Colo ...

, northwest by west ( bearing 308°) of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County,

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.The elevation of La Plata Peak includes an adjustment of +1.983 m (+6.51 ft) from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88. "La Plata" is Spanish for "The Silver", a reference to the many silver deposits in the area. The nearby ghost towns of

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and

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were prominent silver mining towns in the early part of the 20th century. A Hayden Survey team first climbed the peak on July 26, 1873. The elevation of 14,361 feet marked on the

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Mount Elbert Quadrangle is incorrect, and should read 14,336 feet (in the NGVD 29 vertical datum).

Climbing Routes

Northwest Ridge: This is the standard route used to climb the mountain. like most Sawatch range 14ers it is non-technical, but incredibly steep. The trail is 9.5 miles round trip, with 4,500 feet of elevation gain and class 2 hiking along the ridge. Ellingwood Ridge: Ellingwood Ridge is one of the most technically difficult alternate routes in the Sawatch range. it was first climbed by Albert Ellingwood in the 1930s. It is rated as class 3, but the extremely difficult route finding and length of the climb make this a very challenging endeavor. Much of the climbing is off trail. The climb is 9.5 miles round trip, with 5,900 feet of elevation gain.

References

External links

* * * {{Colorado Mountains of Colorado Mountains of Chaffee County, Colorado Fourteeners of Colorado San Isabel National Forest North American 4000 m summits

Climbing Routes

See also

References

External links