Crestones
The Crestones are a group of four peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, central southern Colorado, comprising:
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 with some exposure.
- Kit Carson Mountain is a walk-up, 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."
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.