Mount Massive

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Mount Massive
Elevation 14,421 ft (4,395.4 m)
Location Colorado, United States
Range Rocky Mountains, Sawatch Range
Prominence 1,961 ft (598 m)[1]
Coordinates 39°11′14.87″N, 106°28′32.52″W[2]
Topo map USGS Mount Massive
First ascent 1873 by Henry Gannett
Easiest route hike (class 2)

Mount Massive (14,421 feet) is a fourteener in the Sawatch Range of the US State of Colorado. It is the second highest peak in Colorado, edging out the third highest, Mount Harvard, by one foot, and lower than Mount Elbert by 19 feet. It is the third highest peak in the contiguous United States. It is located in Lake County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) west-southwest of Leadville and 18 mi (28 km) east of Aspen. It lies in the Mount Massive Wilderness, part of the San Isabel National Forest.

Mount Massive was first surveyed and climbed in 1873 during the Hayden Survey of the American West; survey member Henry Gannett is credited with the first ascent.[3] Its name comes from its elongated shape: it has five summits, all above 14,000 ft (4,268 m), and a summit ridge over 3 mi (4.8 km) long. Mount Elbert is Mount Massive's nearest neighbor among the fourteeners; it lies about 5 mi (8 km) south-southeast of the peak.

Mount Massive is a long but relatively easy climb. The standard route climbs the peak from the east; it is 13.6 mi (22 km) round trip with a 4,370 ft (1,332 m) elevation gain, via a class 2 trail.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Colorado's most prominent peaks
  2. ^ From National Geodetic Survey datasheet
  3. ^ a b Mount Massive on Summitpost

[edit] External links