Have fun and remember why you started. – Gerry Roach
Peak Lists of Colorado’s Thirteeners
– Sorted by Elevation
Choose an Elevation or Range:
Notes by Gerry Roach
- Colorado has 825 summits over 13,000 feet,
of which 637 are hard ranked and 45 are soft ranked.
Colorado has 752 summits between 13,000 and 13,999 feet,
of which 584 are hard ranked and 44 are soft ranked.
- This online list supersceeds the lists in our published books. For the differences between the two sources, see
Thirteeners List Fixes.
- List History:
Many people contributed to the evolution of this list. Bill Graves started
work on the list in the late 1960s, and Bill first proposed the 300-foot criterion.
Bill’s list focused on Colorado’s 100 highest summits. In the late 1970s, Evans
and Ellen Winner added their eyes and efforts. They used different criterion,
but did increase the list’s scope to 13,123 feet (4,000 meters). Jim Hoerlein
beefed up the list by adding named summits that did not meet the 300-foot
criterion and extended the list’s scope to 13,000 feet. Mike Garratt and Bob
Martin made additions and corrections to Jim’s list, then published the complete
list in their guide Colorado’s High Thirteeners. We made additions and corrections
to their list. Notably, we discovered and noted summits that have a “soft rank.”
For an explanation of soft rank, see the introduction to this section. We added
mile and rise numbers for all peaks, added the range information and also
added additional minor summits with unofficial names. We published our version
of the list in our book
Colorado’s Thirteeners – 13,800 to 13,999 feet,
and also in our
Thirteeners List Pack.
The finishers of the list of 637 hard rannked peaks in Colorado over 13,000 feet are:
| #
| Name |
First Peak > 13K -
Date |
Last Peak > 13K -
Date |
Total Time -
Finish Age |
| 1 |
Mike Garratt |
Mt Evans - 9/71 |
Mt Garfield - 7/31/87 |
15.9 yrs - 37 |
| 2 |
Bob Martin |
Ypsilon Mtn - 8/20/65 |
Lizard Head - 9/14/89 |
24.1 yrs - 68 |
| 3 |
Ken Nolan |
Longs Pk - 9/2/78 |
PT 13,010 - 9/11/92 |
14.0 yrs - 44 |
| 4 |
Jean Aschenbrenner |
Mt Bierstadt - 5/20/77 |
Paiute Pk - 9/18/93 |
16.3 yrs - 45 |
| 5 |
Susan Schwartz |
|
“N Gold Dust” - 8/6/95 |
|
| 6 |
Jack Dais |
Mt Lincoln - 8/80 |
Lizard Head - 9/98 |
18.1 yrs - 58 |
| 7 |
Debby Reed |
Mt Elbert - 1979 |
W Elk Pk - 9/9/00 |
21.1 yrs- 48 |
| 8 |
Jennifer Roach |
Grays Pk - 8/80 |
“Pk N” - 9/22/01 |
21.1 yrs - 47 |
| 9 |
Jack Eggleston |
Grays Pk - 1950 |
Lizard Head - 6/17/02 |
52 yrs - 62 |
| 10 |
Dan Bereck |
Longs Pk - 9/10/83 |
Whale Pk - 7/14/04 |
20.8 yrs - 49 |
| 11 |
Dave Goldwater |
Mt Audubon - 6/17/81 |
PT 13,302 - 7/25/05 |
24.1 yrs - 58 |
| 12 |
Chris Ruppert |
Quandary Pk - 5/87 |
“Pk Q” - 8/20/05 |
18.2 yrs |
| 13 |
Teresa Gergen |
Mt Audubon - 8/10/96 |
PT 13,001 - 9/11/05 |
9.1 yrs - 41 |
| |
Averages |
|
|
21.2 yrs - 51 |
Peak Notes:
- PT 13,477 aka “T 10” on the Ironton Quad. The map shows two summits, 0.2 mile apart,
both with the elevation of 13,477 feet. Gerry handleveled from both summits, and determined that
the northern summit is three feet higher than the southen summit.
- PT 13,253 has two summits, which the Winfield Quad shows with equal elevations. Gerry’s handleveling
from both summits did not determine which is higher. Since the northern summit is on the culminating point of
three ridges, it is given status as the ranked peak. Gerry has named the southern summit
“PT 13,253 South” and lists it as a separate, but unranked summit.
- The summit of mighty “Peak G” in the Gore Range is not where the map indicates it to be.
The true summit is 200 yards northwest of the map point that extrpolates to 13,260 feet.
The difference is only a few feet, but multiple parties have verified the result with hand levels.
The true summit is at the map point that extrapolates to 13,220 feet.
Either Point 13,220 is missing a contour or Point 13,260 has an extra contour.
It is more likely that Point 13,220 is missing a contour, and we have seen this type of
map error elsewhere. If Point 13,220 is missing a contour, then it would extrapolate to
13,260 feet, so we continue to use this elevation for “Peak G.”
The traverse between the two summits is rough and requires some Class 3 scrambling.
- The Mount Champion Quadrangle shows two closed, 13,200-foot contours near the summit of Point 13,212.
The northern summit has the given evelation of 13,212 feet, and the southern summit has no given
elevation, so extrapolates to 13,220 feet. With only the map to go by, one would have to assume
that the southern summit is higher. However, for this peak, we have definitive field measurments
that show the northern summit to be higher by a whopping 30 feet. Clearly there is a map error
in this case. Either the northern summit is missing a contour or the top contour on the southern
summit is spurious. Since the northern summit has a definitive, given elevation, we assume that
it is the lower, southern summit that has the map error. In any case, the northern summit is higher,
and we list this peak as Point 13,212.
- The summit of Gold Dust Peak has two closed contours of 13,360 feet, the centers of which are
160 yards apart. It appears that the eastern summit carries the given elevation of 13,165 feet,
but there is no x in either closed contour. It is well known that the highpoint of the mountain
is the western contour. Assuming that it is the eastern summit that carries the given elevation
of 13,365 feet, then the true elevation of Gold Dust Peak is somewhere between 13,365 feet and
13,400 feet. Interpolating between these two numbers gives 13,382 feet, and this is the elevation
we use for Gold Dust Peak. Since there is no x to go with the given elevation of 13,165 feet,
then there is some chance that the above approach is incorrect. If the given elevation applies
to the western contour, then the elevation of the peak should be 13,165 feet. Perhaps the USGS
inadvertantly left the x off and the human-positioned given elevation is misleading.
Further investigation is needed on this situation.
- The summit of “Hancock Peak” is 280 yards northwest of the point with the numbered
elevation of 13,102 feet. Multiple parties have verified this result in the field.
Thus, we know that the elevation of “Hancock Peak” is somewhere between 13,102 feet
and 13,120 feet. In this case, we interpolate between these two numbers to arrive at an elevation
of 13,111 feet for “Hancock Peak.”
- The summit of Cereso Ridge on the Climax Quad is 13,780-foot McNamee Peak. The summit of a named
ridge may or may not coincide with a named peak. In this case it does.
- The summit of Point 13,130 on the Maroon Bells Quad is not where the map indicates it to be.
The true summit is a bump 0.2 mile northeast of the marked point.
