Humboldt Peak (Colorado)

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Humboldt Peak
Humboldt Peak as seen from Kit Carson peak
Elevation	14,064 feet (4,287 m)
Location	Colorado, USA
Range	Sangre de Cristo Range
Prominence	1,204 ft (367 m)
Coordinates	37°58′34″N, 105°33′19″W
Topo map	USGS Crestone Peak Quadrangle
Easiest route	hike/scramble

Humboldt Peak is a high peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado. It is the least challenging climb of the Crestone group of fourteeners, which include Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Kit Carson Peak. (Challenger Point, a subpeak of Kit Carson Peak, is sometimes included in this list.)

Despite the rather impressive north face of Humboldt Peak, the standard route on the peak is not much more than a hike along a decent trail with some minor rock scrambling (Class 2) near the summit. It is considered an easy climb and is recommended for those just beginning to climb the fourteeners. The trail climbs the peak from the South Colony Lakes basin, accessed from the east side of the range. This basin is a popular site that is also the base for most climbs of Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle. A very rugged four-wheel drive road follows the South Colony drainage to near the Lakes; however this road is subject to possible closure in the near future. There is a lower parking lot for two-wheel drive access at the San Isabel National Forest boundary. The climb involves 4,464 feet of elevation gain in a 14 mile round trip when done from the two-wheel drive access point, but only 3,100 feet of gain in a 6 mile round trip from the current high-clearance four-wheel drive access point.