Pyramid Peak (Colorado)
Encyclopedia
Pyramid Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain
in the US state of Colorado
. It is the 47th highest mountain peak in Colorado
, and 78th highest peak in the United States
. It is located in the Elk Mountains
in southeastern Pitkin County
, approximately 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Aspen
. The summit somewhat resembles a ragged square pyramid
and is visible from the Roaring Fork River
valley north of Aspen along the canyon of Maroon Creek.
Like many of the peaks in the Elks, Pyramid Peak is quite steep, especially compared to more gentle fourteeners such as Mount Elbert
. For example, the peak's summit rises 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) above Crater Lake
to the northwest in only 1.2 miles (1.9 km), and 4400 feet (1,341.1 m) above East Maroon Creek to the east of the peak in the same horizontal distance.
The northeast ridge was descended on skis by Fritz Stammberger then editor of Climbing magazine in the mid-1970s.
Fourteener
In mountaineering terminology in the United States, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above mean sea level. There are 547 fourteeners in the world. The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America...
in the US state of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It is the 47th highest mountain peak in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, and 78th highest peak in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located in the Elk Mountains
Elk Mountains (Colorado)
The Elk Mountains are a high, rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of west-central Colorado in the United States. The mountains sit on the western side of the Continental Divide, largely in southern Pitkin and northern Gunnison counties, in the area southwest of Aspen, south of the Roaring...
in southeastern Pitkin County
Pitkin County, Colorado
Pitkin County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is named in honor of the late Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. The county population was 14,872 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Aspen...
, approximately 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
. The summit somewhat resembles a ragged square pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
and is visible from the Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort...
valley north of Aspen along the canyon of Maroon Creek.
Like many of the peaks in the Elks, Pyramid Peak is quite steep, especially compared to more gentle fourteeners such as Mount Elbert
Mount Elbert
Mount Elbert is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains of North America, at , the highest of the fourteeners in Colorado, and the high point of the Sawatch Range. It is located in Lake County, approximately southwest of Leadville...
. For example, the peak's summit rises 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) above Crater Lake
Crater Lake (Colorado)
Crater Lake is a mountain lake in the Elk Mountains, Pitkin County of the US State of Colorado. It lies just northeast of the Maroon Bells and just northwest of Pyramid Peak. The view of the striated Maroon Bells from Crater Lake and the view from nearby Maroon Lake are two of the most photographed...
to the northwest in only 1.2 miles (1.9 km), and 4400 feet (1,341.1 m) above East Maroon Creek to the east of the peak in the same horizontal distance.
Climbing
The standard climbing routes on Pyramid Peak are the northeast and northwest ridges (the latter is also known as the "Keyhole Route"). These routes involve difficult route finding (very difficult, in the case of the northwest ridge), high exposure, and a great deal of loose rock. Hence they are two of the most difficult and dangerous of all of the standard routes on the Colorado fourteeners.The northeast ridge was descended on skis by Fritz Stammberger then editor of Climbing magazine in the mid-1970s.
See also
- List of Colorado fourteeners
- Mountain peaks of ColoradoMountain peaks of ColoradoThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Mountain ranges of ColoradoMountain ranges of ColoradoThe following table lists the major mountain ranges of the U.S. State of Colorado.-Mountain Ranges:-See also:*4000 meter peaks of Colorado*Colorado mountain passes*Geography of Colorado*Lists of mountains*Mountain peaks of Colorado...