Crestone Peak

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Crestone Peak
Crestone Peak seen from Kit Carson
Elevation	14,294 ft (4,357 m)
Location	Colorado, United States
Range	Sangre de Cristo Range
Prominence	4,557 ft (1,389 m)
Coordinates	37°58′00″N, 105°35′07″W
Topo map	USGS Crestone Peak
First ascent	1916 by Eleanor Davis and party
Easiest route	scramble (([Grade (climbing)

Crestone Peak is the seventh highest peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is the second highest peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range after Blanca Peak. It rises in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness above the east side of the San Luis Valley along the boundary between Saguache and Custer counties, approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of the town of Crestone. It shares its name with the nearby Crestone Needle, another fourteener of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The high peaks of Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, Kit Carson Mountain, and Humboldt Peak are often referred to collectively as the Crestones.

[edit] Climbing

Generally climbs of Crestone Peak Needle start from a base camp at South Colony Lakes, east of the peak, accessed from the Wet Mountain Valley on the northeast side of the range. The route ascends from the lake, northward to a large relatively flat area called "The Pool Table" (a few large rocks lie on the tundra) or the "Bears' Playground." Then it ascends a long gully on the northwest side of Crestone Peak, which involves some rockfall danger (hence a climbing helmet is suggested). Crestone Peak is one of the more dangerous fourteener climbs in Colorado; accidents occur often in the Crestones, some caused by falls or lightning (a daily summer occurrence in the Sangre de Cristos).

From Crestone Peak, it is a mildly technical (Class 4--rope recommended) ridge scramble to the summit of Crestone Needle; similarly in the other direction. However Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle are more commonly climbed separately.