Mount Harvard

---

title: "Mount Harvard" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountains-of-chaffee-county,-colorado", "fourteeners-of-colorado", "four-thousanders-of-the-united-states"] description: "Mountain in Colorado, United States" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Harvard" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in Colorado, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Harvard
photo	File: Harvard from Boulder Field.jpg
photo_caption	Harvard as viewed from a boulder field in the Horn Fork Basin. The true summit is right above the snowfield seen roughly in the middle of the photo.
elevation_system	NAVD88
elevation	14,421 ft (4395.6 m)
elevation_ref
prominence	2360 ft (719 m)
prominence_ref
isolation	14.92 mi (24.0 km)
isolation_ref
listing	{{unbulleted list
range	Sawatch Range, Highest summit
of the Collegiate Peaks
location	High point of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States
map	Colorado
map_caption	Colorado
coordinates
coordinates_ref
topo	USGS 7.5' topographic map
Mount Harvard, Colorado
first_ascent	August 19, 1869 (first recorded)
easiest_route	South Slopes: Hike,
::

| name = Mount Harvard | photo = File: Harvard from Boulder Field.jpg | photo_caption = Harvard as viewed from a boulder field in the Horn Fork Basin. The true summit is right above the snowfield seen roughly in the middle of the photo. | elevation_system = NAVD88 | elevation = 14,421 ft (4395.6 m) | elevation_ref = | prominence = 2360 ft (719 m) | prominence_ref = | isolation = 14.92 mi (24.0 km) | isolation_ref = | listing = {{unbulleted list |North America highest peaks 29th |US highest major peaks 16th

|Colorado fourteeners 3rd |Colorado county high points 2nd | range = Sawatch Range, Highest summit of the Collegiate Peaks | location = High point of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States | map = Colorado | map_caption = Colorado | coordinates = | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = USGS 7.5' topographic map Mount Harvard, Colorado | first_ascent = August 19, 1869 (first recorded) | easiest_route = South Slopes: Hike,

Mount Harvard is the third highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent 4395.6 m fourteener is the highest summit of the Collegiate Peaks and the fourth highest summit in the contiguous United States. Mount Harvard is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 18.9 km northwest by west (bearing 304°) of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The summit of Mount Harvard is the highest point in Chaffee County and is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude. The mountain was named in honor of Harvard University. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Harvard_from_below_treeline.jpg" caption="Harvard viewed from lower in the Horn Fork Basin"] ::

History

Mount Harvard was named in 1869 by members of the first Harvard Mining School class, while on expedition with professor Josiah Dwight Whitney, the namesake of Mount Whitney. The same group named the peak next to Harvard Mount Yale, after Whitney's alma mater. The group climbed Yale first, and estimated that it was over 14,000 feet in height. On August 19, 1869, the first recorded ascent of Harvard was made by expedition members S. F. Sharpless and William M. Davis. Harvard and Yale were the first 14,000 foot mountains in the Sawatch range to be named after universities. Later, nearby mountains were named for Princeton, Columbia, and Oxford, leading to the name "Collegiate Peaks" for this part of the Sawatch Range.

The pole

In 1962, three Harvard men attempted to erect a fourteen-foot metal pole on the top of Harvard, with a sign that read "Mt. Harvard, 14,434. This sign erected at an altitude of 14,434 making it the second highest point in the contiguous United States." Before they could reach the top of the mountain darkness set in, and the group was forced to abandon the pole a few hundred yards short of the summit. The next year, two Harvard men (Tim Wirth, who later represented Colorado's Second Congressional District and then served a term in the U.S. Senate, and his brother John), along with a Cornell graduate carried the pole the extra distance, and completed the task. The pole sat on the mountain for roughly twenty years, until it disappeared at some time in the 1980s, most likely as part of an effort to clean up Colorado's fourteeners.

Climbing

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Mount_Harvard_(Colorado)_-_2006-07-16.jpg" caption="Mt. Harvard in 2006"] ::

The standard route on Mount Harvard is the South Slopes, which is a mostly class 1 hike, with class 2 scrambling sections near the summit. The hike is approximately 14 miles (22.5 km) round trip and 4,600 feet (1,402 m) of elevation gain. The trail begins at the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead, at the end of Road 365. The route is often completed in one day, but primitive backcountry campsites are available as well. The hike is noted for sweeping views of the surrounding region. Also near the route is Bear Lake, an alpine lake noted for ample fishing opportunities.

Some hikers choose to do a "traverse" from the summit of Mount Harvard to nearby Mount Columbia as well, which follows a Ridgeline. Once on Mount Columbia, the West Slopes Route would be descended back down into the basin. This traverse is noted to be a long, strenuous, tedious undertaking and there is no trail along the ridge.

Climate

|location = Mount Harvard (CO) 38.9270 N, 106.3170 W, Elevation: 13970 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|Jan high F = 21.2 |Feb high F = 20.5 |Mar high F = 25.3 |Apr high F = 30.4 |May high F = 39.2 |Jun high F = 50.9 |Jul high F = 56.2 |Aug high F = 54.2 |Sep high F = 48.2 |Oct high F = 38.2 |Nov high F = 27.7 |Dec high F = 21.5

|Jan mean F = 9.4 |Feb mean F = 8.4 |Mar mean F = 13.1 |Apr mean F = 17.4 |May mean F = 26.1 |Jun mean F = 36.6 |Jul mean F = 42.0 |Aug mean F = 40.6 |Sep mean F = 34.8 |Oct mean F = 25.4 |Nov mean F = 16.4 |Dec mean F = 10.0

|Jan low F = -2.4 |Feb low F = -3.7 |Mar low F = 0.1 |Apr low F = 4.4 |May low F = 13.0 |Jun low F = 22.2 |Jul low F = 27.9 |Aug low F = 27.1 |Sep low F = 21.3 |Oct low F = 12.7 |Nov low F = 5.0 |Dec low F = -1.4

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 3.17 |Feb precipitation inch = 3.32 |Mar precipitation inch = 3.81 |Apr precipitation inch = 4.36 |May precipitation inch = 3.07 |Jun precipitation inch = 1.40 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.78 |Aug precipitation inch = 3.02 |Sep precipitation inch = 2.35 |Oct precipitation inch = 2.69 |Nov precipitation inch = 3.12 |Dec precipitation inch = 3.16

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= October 9, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}

Notes

References

References

1. {{cite ngs
2. "Mount Harvard, Colorado".
3. {{cite gnis
4. "Mt. Harvard Routes". 14ers.com.
5. "Mount Harvard Trail".
6. "Mount Harvard - South Slopes Route Description".
7. "Combination Route - Harvard and Columbia Traverse".

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