Colorado peaks

5,427 peaks

Highest peak

Mount Elbert

14,440 ft / 4,401 m

Most summited peak

Mount Elbert

346 summits

Most prominent peak

Mount Elbert

9,093 ft / 2,771 m prom

Colorado summits

13,914 summits

First Ascent Awards

1922 of 5,427 peaks 35%

Top climbing months

July 20%

August 18%

September 13%

Colorado mountains highlights

  • The Rocky Mountains reach their zenith in the heart of Colorado, with over 50 peaks reaching above 14,000 ft high.
  • The highest peak in Colorado, Mount Elbert 14,440 ft, is the highest in the Rocky Mountains and 2nd highest in the contiguous United States
  • One of the most famous and popular peak challenges in the world, the Colorado 14ers Peak Challenge, permeates every aspect of Colorado culture
  • Numerous mountain ranges, such as the Sawatch, Elk, San Juan, Sangre de Cristo, Mosquito, Ten Mile, and Front, contain a diverse collection of mountains worthy of exploration.
  • In summer months beware of near-daily afternoon thunderstorms up high. Best to start really early and plan to be off the top usually by 12-1pm at the latest.
"It was a beautiful day to climb. I climbed with my friend, Craig. We started from the Brainard Lake campground charting our own course cross-country. We climbed over Niwot Ridge, past the Green Lakes, then up the west ridge. This was before the Green Lakes area became off-limits to protect Boulder's water supply. It is a great source of water because it starts from the Arikaree Glacier. The route we took was about 10 miles roundtrip. " — tj-burr • Nov 24, 2022
"10/29/22: Berthoud Pass to Hoosier Pass (Seg 1). To Stanley Mtn and all points between. Perfect day above 12K with barely a whisper of wind. Snowshoes on the approach and Trax for the climb and beyond. With Tim Howard. (7.9/1200/1900)" — LoneWolf • Oct 29, 2022
"10/29/22: Final (#5) summit of Berthoud Pass to Hoosier Pass (Seg #1-Berthoud to Stanley). Started with snowshoes on mostly well broken trail soon after first significant high country snow event of the season. Switched to Trax for the short, steep climb up to Russel Peak. Followed a friendly lady’s fresh broken trail to the approach saddle of Peak 12507 but pretty easy fresh tracks over open country to Stanley. Beautiful sunny day with huge non-stop views and the rare perfectly calm day. (7.9/1200/1900)" — LoneWolf • Oct 29, 2022
"10/15/22: Day 2 of Payne Creek BB. Starting from Craig Meadows camp to the CT, easy bushwhack from high point of the trail to the Windy Peak plateau. Short, easy scramble to Point 11414 first and then up the south slopes between two large boulder fields. A flat but large talus field leads to the true summit boulder where a 3-move scramble to the top awaits. Unfortunately there was not enough daylight left to tackle Windy’s true summit which would have had an easier approach from the East side instead of the West which contained many huge boulder fields in and above the tree line. We finished the steep bushwhack back to the CT as the last bit of dusk was vanquished. (13.8/3300/3900)" — LoneWolf • Oct 15, 2022
"10/15/22: Short easy scramble to awesome views into the Heart of Lost Creek from Craig Meadows camp via the CT high point on Day 2 of the Payne Creek backpack with Paul Williams. Quick easy bushwhack to the Windy Plateau and then on to Windy Point 11893. (13.8/2700/3900)" — LoneWolf • Oct 15, 2022

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