Mount Elbert

Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado and the entire Mississippi River drainage basin. The ultra-prominent 14,440-foot (4401.2 m) fourteener is the highest summit of the Sawatch Range and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney. Mount Elbert is located in San Isabel National Forest, 12.1 miles (19.4 km) southwest (bearing 223°) of the City of Leadville in Lake County, Colorado, United States.

The mountain was named in honor of Colorado statesman Samuel Hitt Elbert, who was active in the formative period of the State and was Governor of the Territory of Colorado 1873-1874. Henry W. Stuckle of the Hayden Survey was the first to record an ascent of the peak in 1874. The mountainous terrain is categorized as Class 1 to 2 Level or A+ in mountaineering parlance. Mount Elbert is referred to as the "gentle giant" that tops all others in the Rocky Mountains.