The Crestones are a group of four peaks (
fourteeners) in the
Sangre de Cristo Range above
Crestone, central southern
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, comprising:
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Crestone Peak ( )
#
Crestone Needle ( )
#
Kit Carson Mountain
Kit Carson Peak, Officially known as the Kit Carson Mountain, 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 ESE ( bearing 102°) of the Town ...
( )
#
Humboldt Peak ( )
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 Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
in late July and August.
Climbing
*
Crestone Peak and
Crestone Needle are rock
scrambles (Class 3) with some exposure.
*
Kit Carson Mountain
Kit Carson Peak, Officially known as the Kit Carson Mountain, 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 ESE ( bearing 102°) of the Town ...
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 Elevation, 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 (Absolute bearing, bearing 102°) of the Crestone, Colorado, ...
( ) 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, Colora ...
() 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 ( ) 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.]
See also
**Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
***Southern Rocky Mountains
The Southern Rocky Mountains are a major subregion of the Rocky Mountains of North America located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, the central and western portions of Colorado, the northern portion of New Mexico, and ext ...
****Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...
***** Sangre de Cristo Range
*Geography of Colorado
The geography of the U.S. State of Colorado is diverse, encompassing rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas. Colorado is a landlocked U.S. state. In 1861, the United States Congress defined the boun ...
**Mountain ranges of Colorado
All the major mountain ranges in the state of Colorado, United States, are considered subranges of the Southern Rocky Mountains.
As given in the table, topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical mod ...
*** Mountain peaks of Colorado
*** Mountain passes of Colorado
*Outline of Colorado
The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Colorado:
Colorado – List of U.S. states and territories by population#State and territory rankings, 22nd most populous, the Lis ...
*Index of Colorado-related articles
This is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. State of Colorado.
0–9
* .co.us – Internet second-level domain for the State of Colorado
* 4 Corners
** 4 Corners Monument
* 6th Principal Meridian
* 10-mile Range
* 10 ...
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
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Mountains of Custer County, Colorado
Mountains of Saguache County, Colorado