Coxcomb Peak (Colorado)

Last updated
Coxcomb Peak
Redcliff and Coxcomb.jpg
North aspect centered
(Redcliff to the left)
Highest point
Elevation 13,656 ft (4,162 m) [1]
Prominence 776 ft (237 m) [1]
Parent peak Wetterhorn Peak (14,021 ft) [2]
Isolation 1.82 mi (2.93 km) [2]
Coordinates 38°04′48″N107°32′02″W / 38.0799543°N 107.5337897°W / 38.0799543; -107.5337897 [3]
Naming
Etymology Cockscomb
Geography
USA Colorado relief location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Coxcomb Peak
Location in Colorado
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Coxcomb Peak
Coxcomb Peak (the United States)
Location Hinsdale County / Ouray County
Colorado, US
Parent range Rocky Mountains
San Juan Mountains
Topo map USGS Wetterhorn Peak
Climbing
First ascent 1929, Henry Buchtel
Easiest route class 5.3 climbing [2] SW Chimney

Coxcomb Peak is a 13,656-foot-elevation (4,162-meter) mountain summit located on the common boundary of Hinsdale County and Ouray County, in Colorado, United States. [3] It is situated nine miles northeast of the community of Ouray, in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is situated west of the Continental Divide. Coxcomb ranks as the 171st-highest peak in Colorado, [2] and topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 2,000 feet (610 meters) above Wetterhorn Basin in approximately one mile, and 4,400 feet (1,300 meters) above Cow Creek in three miles. Neighbors include Precipice Peak 2.7 miles to the north, Redcliff one-half mile north, Matterhorn Peak 2.3 miles to the east-southeast, and nearest higher neighbor Wetterhorn Peak 1.8 mile to the southeast. The mountain's descriptive name, which has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, was in use since at least 1906 when Henry Gannett published it in the Gazetteer of Colorado. [4]

Contents

Climbing

The first ascent of the summit was made August 16, 1929, by Henry Buchtel and party via the Southwest Chimney. [5] There is also an established climbing route on the North Face that was first climbed in August 1965 by Dick Yeatts, Mike Stults, Dick Guadagno, and Martin Etter. [6] [7] The best approach is via the valley of West Fork Cimarron River. [8]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Coxcomb Peak is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. [9] 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. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's north aspect drains into tributaries of the Cimarron River, and from the south slope into tributaries of the Uncompahgre River.

Redcliff (left) and Coxcomb Peak (centered) Redcliff and Coxcomb Peak.jpg
Redcliff (left) and Coxcomb Peak (centered)

See also

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Redcliff is a 13,642-foot-elevation (4,158-meter) mountain summit located in Hinsdale County, in southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated nine miles northeast of the town of Ouray, in the Uncompahgre Wilderness, on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is situated west of the Continental Divide. Redcliff ranks as the 175th-highest peak in Colorado, and topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 2,300 feet above the West Fork Cimarron River valley in approximately one mile. Neighbors include Precipice Peak and Dunsinane Mountain along the west-middle Cimarron divide three miles to the north, and nearest higher neighbor Coxcomb Peak one-half mile to the south. An ascent of Redcliff involves 3,300 feet of elevation gain and 10 miles of hiking, round-trip. The mountain's name was proposed by the Colorado Mountain Club, and was officially adopted in 1966 by the United States Board on Geographic Names. It is so named because of a large reddish-colored cliff on the mountain's east face.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Peak</span> Mountain in the state of Colorado

Hurricane Peak is a 13,447-foot-elevation (4,099-meter) mountain summit located in San Juan County of southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated equidistant between the historic towns of Ouray and Silverton, and is approximately nine miles west of the Continental Divide. It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as the north aspect rises 1,200 feet above Lake Como in one-half mile. Neighbors include Abrams Mountain 3.4 miles to the north, Red Mountain 2.2 miles to the west, and Tuttle Mountain 1.4 mile to the north. The Mountain Queen Mine, which is located on the east slope of Hurricane Peak at the head of California Gulch, is one of the oldest workings in the area and was most active from 1878 to 1880. The mountain's name, which has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, was in use in 1906 when Henry Gannett published it in the Gazetteer of Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lookout Peak (Colorado)</span> Mountain in the state of Colorado

Lookout Peak is a 13,661-foot-elevation (4,164-meter) mountain summit located on the shared boundary of San Juan County with San Miguel County, in southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated three miles east of the community of Ophir, and one mile immediately north of Ophir Pass, on land managed by San Juan National Forest and Uncompahgre National Forest. Lookout Peak is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is west of the Continental Divide. It ranks as the 166th-highest peak in Colorado, and topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 3,000 feet in approximately one mile. Neighbors include Silver Mountain three miles to the west-northwest, Wasatch Mountain two miles north-northwest, and Golden Horn five miles south-southwest. The mountain's name, which has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, was in use in 1899 when Henry Gannett published it in A Dictionary of Altitudes in the United States, and in 1906 when he published it in A Gazetteer of Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilot Knob (Colorado)</span> Mountain summit in southwest Colorado

Pilot Knob is a 13,738-foot-elevation (4,187-meter) mountain summit located on the shared boundary of San Juan County with San Miguel County, in southwest Colorado, United States. It is situated nine miles west of the community of Silverton, on land managed by San Juan National Forest and Uncompahgre National Forest. Pilot Knob is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains, and is west of the Continental Divide. It ranks as the 132nd-highest peak in Colorado, and topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 4,000 feet above Trout Lake in three miles. Neighbors include Ulysses S Grant Peak 1.5 mile to the northeast, and Golden Horn one-half mile to the southeast. The mountain's name, which has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names, was listed by Henry Gannett when he published A Gazetteer of Colorado in 1906. The peak is considered one of the most difficult to climb in Colorado because of its poor quality volcanic rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engineer Mountain (Hinsdale and Ouray counties, Colorado)</span> Mountain in the state of Colorado

Engineer Mountain is a 13,225-foot-elevation (4,031 meter) summit located on the boundary shared by Hinsdale County with Ouray County, in Colorado, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood Mountain (Colorado)</span> Mountain in the state of Colorado

Wood Mountain is a 13,682-foot-elevation (4,170 meter) summit located on the boundary shared by Hinsdale County with San Juan County, in Colorado, United States.

References

Coxcomb Peak from southwest Coxcomb Peak sw.jpg
Coxcomb Peak from southwest
  1. 1 2 "Coxcomb Peak, Colorado". Peakbagger.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Coxcomb Peak - 13,656' CO". listsofjohn.com. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  3. 1 2 "Coxcomb Peak". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  4. Henry Gannett, Gazetteer of Colorado, 1906, US Government Printing Office, page 50.
  5. Jeff Rennicke, 1986, Colorado Mountain Ranges, Falcon Press, ISBN   9780934318662.
  6. Robert F. Rosebrough, The San Juan Mountains: A Climbing & Hiking Guide, Cordillera Press, 1986, page 213.
  7. Randy Jacobs, 2000, Guide to the Colorado Mountains, Colorado Mountain Club Press, ISBN   9780967146607, page 261.
  8. Mike Garratt, Bob Martin, 1992, Colorado's High Thirteeners: A Climbing and Hiking Guide, Johnson Books, ISBN   9780917895395, page 108.
  9. Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11. ISSN   1027-5606.