Mount Champion


Mount Champion is a mountain summit in Lake County, Colorado, United States.

Description

Mount Champion is set east of the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The mountain is located east of the community of Aspen on land managed by San Isabel National Forest. Mount Champion can be seen from Colorado [State Highway 82|State Highway 82] at Independence Pass. It ranks as the 173rd-highest peak in Colorado. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into tributaries of the Arkansas River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above North Fork Lake Creek in. An ascent of the peak involves hiking with of elevation gain.

History

Tingley S. Wood discovered gold on Mount Champion in 1881. The Champion Mine extracted gold and silver-bearing quartz and an aerial tramway transported the ore from the mine to the Champion Mill. The crushed ore was then transported by wagon to Leadville. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on [Geographic Names], and has been featured in publications since at least 1898. The mine and summit are privately held land, owned by Gold Retrievers, LLC.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mt. Champion is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.