The Crestones are a group of four peaks (fourteeners) in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:

  1. Crestone Peak ( )
  2. Crestone Needle ( )
  3. Kit Carson Mountain ( )
  4. Humboldt Peak ( )

Snow is usually mostly melted by early July. Climbers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.

Climbing

  • Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle are rock scrambles (Class 3) with some exposure.
  • Kit Carson Mountain is a walk-up (Class 2), but only if the correct route is carefully followed; it has claimed more lives than Crestone Peak or Crestone Needle. Challenger Point ( ) and Columbia Point () are sub-peaks of Kit Carson Mountain.
  • Humboldt Peak is the easiest of the four, with a straightforward walk-up route. Sometimes Humboldt is not included in the term "The Crestones."

Broken Hand Peak, , southeast of Crestone Needle, is included within the official name "Crestone Peaks".

See also

  • Rocky Mountains
  • Southern Rocky Mountains
  • Sangre de Cristo Mountains
  • Sangre de Cristo Range
  • Geography of Colorado
  • Mountain ranges of Colorado
  • Mountain peaks of Colorado
  • Mountain passes of Colorado
  • Outline of Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles

References

  • The Crestones on TopoQuest
  • Well illustrated trip report of climbs of Crestone Needle and Crestone Peak via Broken Hand Pass