| Mount Massive | |
|---|---|
Mt. Massive |
|
| Elevation | 14,428 ft (4,398 m) [1] |
| Prominence | 1,941 ft (592 m) [2] |
| Listing | Colorado Fourteener |
| Location | |
|
Mount Massive
|
|
| Location | Lake County, Colorado, USA |
| Range | Sawatch Range |
| Coordinates | [3] |
| Topo map | USGS Mount Massive |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1873 by Henry Gannett |
| Easiest route | Hike, class 2 |
Mount Massive (14,428 feet) is a fourteener in the Sawatch Range of the US State of Colorado. It is the second tallest peak in Colorado, edging out the third highest, Mount Harvard, by seven feet, and lower than Mount Elbert by 19 feet (5.8 m). 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.[4] 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, resulting in more area above 14,000 feet (4,300 m) than any other mountain in the 48 contiguous states, narrowly edging Mount Rainier in that category. Mount Elbert (14,440 feet) is Mount Massive's nearest neighbor among the fourteeners; it lies about 5 mi (8 km) south-southeast of the peak.
A class 2 hiking path leads to the peak from the eastern face. The path is 13.6 mi (22 km) round trip, with a 4,377 ft (1,334 m) cumulative elevation gain.[4]
Among the mountain's fauna are the American pika, the mountain goat, and the yellow-bellied marmot.