Crestones

Crestones
Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle seen from the south
Highest point
Peak	Crestone Peak
Elevation	14,300 feet (4,359 m)1
Listing	Mountain ranges of Colorado
Coordinates	37°58′00″N 105°35′07″W / 37.9666665°N 105.5852865°W / 37.9666665; -105.58528652
Geography
Crestones
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Range coordinates	37°58′01″N 105°35′07″W / 37.9668400°N 105.5853471°W / 37.9668400; -105.58534713
Parent range	Sangre de Cristo Range

The Crestones are a group of four 14,000-foot (4,300 m) peaks (fourteeners) in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:

1. Crestone Peak (14,294 ft; 4,357 m )
2. Crestone Needle (14,197 ft; 4,327 m )
3. Kit Carson Mountain (14,165 ft; 4,317 m )
4. Humboldt Peak (14,064 ft; 4,287 m )

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.

• 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 (14,081 ft; 4,292 m ) and Columbia Point (13,980-foot (4,261 m)) 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, 13,573 ft (4,137 m), southeast of Crestone Needle, is included within the official name "Crestone Peaks".³ Mount Adams (13,931 ft; 4,246 m ) is a notable peak just to the north of the Crestones, and is quite rugged.

Note that Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle are somewhat more technical climbs than many Colorado fourteeners; caution is advised. About one person per year is killed on the Crestones; occasionally they are skilled mountaineers.⁴