Mount Ouray is a

high High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

and prominent

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

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

in the far southern

Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...

of the

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 ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The

thirteener In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener (abbreviated 13er) is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed . In most instances, "thirteeners" refers only to those peaks betwe ...

is located in

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 Col ...

, west ( bearing 270°) of Poncha Pass,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, on the boundary between Chaffee and Saguache counties. The mountain was named in honor of

Ute Ute or UTE may refer to: * Ute people, a Native American people of the Great Basin * Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah * Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah * Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern ...

Chief Ouray Ouray (, c. 1833 – August 20, 1880) was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Tribal chief, chief of the Ute people#Northern Ute Tribe (Uinta Utes), Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) band of the Ute Tribe, Ute tribe, then located in we ...

Mountain

Mount Ouray makes up the southern tip of Sawatch Mountains, rising 7,000 feet above the Arkansas River Valley. Monarch Pass is four miles northwest of the peak. The mountain is named after the

. Nearby Chipeta Mountain, just over a mile to the northwest of Mount Ouray, is named after Chief Ouray's wife.

Routes

The standard route is the west ridge. Starting at Marshall Pass, the route heads north along 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 ...

until the west ridge of Mount Ouray is reached. From there, one can hike east along this ridge up to the summit.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Mount Ouray is located in an alpine

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental 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 ...

zone with long, 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.

Gallery

File:Mount Ouray on skyline.jpg, Mt. Ouray centered on skyline File:Marshall Pass, Colorado, 1899.jpg, Mount Ouray above Marshall Pass in 1899. File:Mount Ouray Colorado 2020.jpg, Aerial photo of Mount Ouray in 2020

Historical names

*Hump Mountain *Mount Ouray – 1962 *Ouray Mountain *Ouray Peak – 1906 (there is a different Ouray Peak in northern Chaffee County)

References

External links

{{Authority control Ouray Ouray San Isabel National Forest Colorado placenames of Native American origin Ouray