Mount Elbert

Mount Elbert is the highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, 14,440 feet, and its Northeast Ridge is a trail from the trailhead to the summit with no scrambling at all, which makes the highest mountain in the state one of the more approachable. The cost is 4,500 feet of steady climbing over 4.75 miles, four false summits, and the thin air above 13,000 feet, where most first-timers slow to a crawl.

From the North Mount Elbert trailhead at 10,070 feet, the trail follows the Colorado Trail south through lodgepole and aspen for about 1.2 miles to a signed junction. The Elbert trail turns right and climbs steadily through the forest, steepening as it goes, to treeline at about 11,900 feet.

Above the trees the trail climbs the broad northeast ridge on tundra and then rock, well built and easy to follow, with the first of the false summits appearing around 13,000 feet. The ridge rolls over several humps, each one looking like the top, before the true summit at 14,440 feet with its wind shelter and register. Return the same way; the descent is long and the knees know it.

From Leadville, drive south on US 24 about 4 miles to Colorado 300, west 0.7 mile, then south on Lake County Road 11 toward Halfmoon Creek; follow Halfmoon Road (County Road 11) 5 miles of gravel to the North Mount Elbert trailhead. Passenger cars manage it in summer. The lot fills by 5 AM on July and August weekends with overflow along the road. No fee or permit for day use. Toilet at the trailhead; Halfmoon and Elbert Creek campgrounds are along the road.

Dogs are allowed on leash in the Mount Massive Wilderness section and under control elsewhere; the ridge is long for one. Not a kid hike, though fit teenagers summit it every summer. Carry three liters; there is no water above the trailhead. The trailhead is above 10,000 feet and the summit is the highest ground for a thousand miles; sleep in Leadville, at 10,150 feet, the night before. Poles for the descent, layers for the wind. The Mount Elbert guide covers the route in detail, the Elbert weather guide covers the month-by-month conditions, and the Leadville hikes page has Massive next door.