Mount Elbert

Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America. With an elevation of 14,440 ft (4,400 m), it is also the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney, which is slightly taller. The ultra-prominent fourteener is the highest peak in the Sawatch Range, as well as the highest point in the entire Mississippi River drainage basin. Mount Elbert is located in San Isabel National Forest, 12.1 mi (19.4 km) southwest (bearing 223°) of the city of Leadville in Lake County, Colorado. The mountain was named in honor of a Colorado statesman, Samuel Hitt Elbert, who was active in the formative period of the state, and governor of the Territory of Colorado in 1873-1874. Henry W. Stuckle of the Hayden Survey was the first to record an ascent of the peak, in 1874. The easiest and most popular climbing routes are categorized as Class 1 to 2 or A+ in mountaineering parlance. Mount Elbert is therefore often referred to as the "gentle giant" that tops all others in the Rocky Mountains.