Mount Massive

---

title: "Mount Massive" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountains-of-lake-county,-colorado", "san-isabel-national-forest", "fourteeners-of-colorado", "four-thousanders-of-the-united-states"] description: "Mountain in Colorado, United States" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Massive" 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 Massive
photo	Mount Massive.jpg
elevation_system	NAPGD2022
elevation	14421 ft
elevation_ref
prominence	1,961 ft
prominence_ref
isolation	5.06 mi
isolation_ref
listing	{{unbulleted list
location	Lake County, Colorado, U.S.
range	Sawatch Range, Highest summit
of the Massive Massif
map	Colorado
map_caption	Colorado
label	Mount Massive
coordinates
coordinates_ref
topo	USGS 7.5' topographic map
Mount Massive, Colorado
first_ascent	1873 by Henry Gannett
easiest_route	East Slopes: Hike,
::

| name = Mount Massive | photo = Mount Massive.jpg | photo_caption = | elevation_system = NAPGD2022 | elevation = 14421 ft | elevation_ref = | prominence = 1,961 ft | prominence_ref = | isolation = 5.06 mi | isolation_ref = | listing = {{unbulleted list |North America highest peaks 28th |US highest major peaks 15th |Colorado highest major peaks 2nd |Colorado fourteeners 2nd | location = Lake County, Colorado, U.S. | range = Sawatch Range, Highest summit of the Massive Massif | map = Colorado | map_caption = Colorado | label = Mount Massive | label_position = | coordinates = | range_coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = USGS 7.5' topographic map Mount Massive, Colorado | first_ascent = 1873 by Henry Gannett | easiest_route = East Slopes: Hike,

Mount Massive (Arapaho: Hiwoxuu hookuhu'ee) is the second-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, 17.1 km west-southwest (bearing 247°) of the City of Leadville in Lake County, Colorado, United States. It ranks as the third-highest peak in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney and Mount Elbert.

Mountain

Mount Massive was first surveyed and climbed in 1873 during the Hayden Survey of the American West. Survey member Henry Gannett is credited with the first ascent. Its name comes from its elongated shape: it has five summits, all above 14000 ft, and a summit ridge over 3 mi long, resulting in more area above 14000 ft than any other mountain in the 48 contiguous states, narrowly edging Mount Rainier in that category. Mount Elbert (14440 ft) is Mount Massive's nearest neighbor among the fourteeners; it lies about 5 mi south-southeast of the peak. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Mountain_Goat_Mount_Massive.JPG" caption="Mountain Goat, Mount Massive ~ 2009"] ::

A matter of some contention after the Great Depression arose over the heights of Massive and its neighbor, Mount Elbert, which have a height difference of only 12 ft. This led to an ongoing dispute which came to a head with the Mount Massive supporters taking it upon themselves to build large piles of stones on the summit to boost its height, only to have the Mount Elbert proponents demolish them.

A class 2 hiking path leads to the peak from the eastern face. The path is 13.6 mi round trip, with a 4500 ft elevation gain. There is also a class 2 route along the southwest slopes.

There are several glacial lakes in the wilderness area. The lower slopes of the mountain are covered in lodgepole pine forests, which gradually yield to Engelmann Spruce and Fir. Treeline is just below 12,000 ft. Among the mountain's fauna are the American pika, the mountain goat, elk, mule deer, moose, Canada jay, martin, and the yellow-bellied marmot.

In the Arapaho Language the Collegiate Range and Mount Massive are called Hiwoxuu hookuhu'ee or Elk's Head.

Climate

|location = Mount Massive (CO) 39.1836 N, 106.4761 W, Elevation: 13934 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|Jan high F = 19.7 |Feb high F = 18.8 |Mar high F = 24.0 |Apr high F = 30.3 |May high F = 39.1 |Jun high F = 50.2 |Jul high F = 56.5 |Aug high F = 54.4 |Sep high F = 47.9 |Oct high F = 37.0 |Nov high F = 26.0 |Dec high F = 19.8

|Jan mean F = 8.2 |Feb mean F = 7.0 |Mar mean F = 11.7 |Apr mean F = 17.1 |May mean F = 25.9 |Jun mean F = 36.2 |Jul mean F = 42.4 |Aug mean F = 40.9 |Sep mean F = 34.6 |Oct mean F = 24.6 |Nov mean F = 15.0 |Dec mean F = 8.7

|Jan low F = -3.3 |Feb low F = -4.8 |Mar low F = -0.6 |Apr low F = 3.9 |May low F = 12.7 |Jun low F = 22.2 |Jul low F = 28.3 |Aug low F = 27.4 |Sep low F = 21.3 |Oct low F = 12.1 |Nov low F = 4.1 |Dec low F = -2.4

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 4.76 |Feb precipitation inch = 4.48 |Mar precipitation inch = 4.73 |Apr precipitation inch = 5.80 |May precipitation inch = 4.46 |Jun precipitation inch = 1.78 |Jul precipitation inch = 2.05 |Aug precipitation inch = 2.21 |Sep precipitation inch = 3.00 |Oct precipitation inch = 3.80 |Nov precipitation inch = 4.71 |Dec precipitation inch = 4.08

|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. (April 2024). "Moving mountains: reevaluating the elevations of Colorado mountain summits using modern geodetic techniques". Journal of Geodesy.
2. "Mount Massive, Colorado". Peakbagger.com.
3. {{cite gnis
4. {{cite ngs
5. "Mt. Massive Routes". 14ers.com.
6. (2020-07-24). "Colorado Places: Their Native American Names".
7. "Mount Massive". Summitpost.
8. (August 28, 1999). "Mount Massive". hikingincolorado.org.
9. Dziezynski, James. "Best Summit Hikes in Colorado". Wilderness Press.
10. Stewart Green, [https://www.thoughtco.com/mount-elbert-highest-mountain-in-colorado-755730 Fast Facts About Mount Elbert]
11. KEN JENNINGS, [https://www.cntraveler.com/story/why-the-tallest-mountains-in-the-us-are-almost-the-same-height the Tallest Mountains in the U.S. Are Almost the Same Height]
12. "Mount Massive - Southwest Slopes Route Description".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::