Mount Bierstadt
Encyclopedia
Mount Bierstadt is a mountain
in the Front Range
region of the Rocky Mountains
, in Clear Creek County, Colorado
. It is one of 54 fourteeners (mountains with peaks over 14,000 ft in elevation) in Colorado. It is located approximately 1.5 miles WSW of Mount Evans
. The nearest major city is Denver. It was named for Albert Bierstadt
, a popular painter of Colorado's Rockies of the 19th century.
Because it is generally considered an easy climb, along with its accessibility from nearby Denver, Mount Bierstadt is one of the most popular mountains to climb in Colorado. As with most peaks in Colorado, July and August make the best months for climbing Mount Bierstadt.
The most popular base from which to begin ascent of Mount Bierstadt is Guanella Pass
, located to the west. From Guanella Pass it is approximately a 3 mile hike, with a climb of 2,391 feet. The trail passes descends slightly into the fairly level marshlands surrounding Scott Gomer Creek before reaching Bierstadt's western slopes. On the rocky upper regions of the mountain the route of the trail is marked by a series of cairn
s. The trail levels about 200 feet below the summit at saddle point before beginning the final ascent. Alternative trails cover the eastern slopes for longer hikes.
Once at the summit, a popular option is to continue the hike to nearby Mount Evans along a ridge known as The Sawtooth
, an intermediate-level hike. Often such a trip will involve a detour down to Abyss Lake (12,650 ft elevation), which occupies the bottom of the valley separating Bierstadt and Evans.
Albert Bierstadt
's painting A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt Rosalie is based on sketches he made during his 1863 visit to the area. That painting shows either Mount Spalding or Mount Evans
(it is ambiguous) from the Chicago Lakes, 3 miles (5 km) north-northwest, but Bierstadt and his guide William Byers
climbed onward to the summit of either Evans or Spalding (the account is ambiguous).
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in the Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
region of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, in Clear Creek County, Colorado
Clear Creek County, Colorado
Clear Creek County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 9,322 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Georgetown...
. It is one of 54 fourteeners (mountains with peaks over 14,000 ft in elevation) in Colorado. It is located approximately 1.5 miles WSW of Mount Evans
Mount Evans
Mount Evans is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners in Colorado, and the closest fourteener to Denver...
. The nearest major city is Denver. It was named for Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. In obtaining the subject matter for these works, Bierstadt joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion...
, a popular painter of Colorado's Rockies of the 19th century.
Because it is generally considered an easy climb, along with its accessibility from nearby Denver, Mount Bierstadt is one of the most popular mountains to climb in Colorado. As with most peaks in Colorado, July and August make the best months for climbing Mount Bierstadt.
Guanella Pass
Guanella Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, US.The pass is located in southwestern Clear Creek County, in the Front Range west of Denver and south of Georgetown....
, located to the west. From Guanella Pass it is approximately a 3 mile hike, with a climb of 2,391 feet. The trail passes descends slightly into the fairly level marshlands surrounding Scott Gomer Creek before reaching Bierstadt's western slopes. On the rocky upper regions of the mountain the route of the trail is marked by a series of cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
s. The trail levels about 200 feet below the summit at saddle point before beginning the final ascent. Alternative trails cover the eastern slopes for longer hikes.
Once at the summit, a popular option is to continue the hike to nearby Mount Evans along a ridge known as The Sawtooth
The Sawtooth
The Sawtooth is a jagged arête joining Mount Bierstadt to Mount Evans, in Colorado, United States., and is also the name of the highest peak at the northeast end of this ridge. The three peaks along this arête resemble the teeth of a saw, leading to its name...
, an intermediate-level hike. Often such a trip will involve a detour down to Abyss Lake (12,650 ft elevation), which occupies the bottom of the valley separating Bierstadt and Evans.
Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt
Albert Bierstadt was a German-American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. In obtaining the subject matter for these works, Bierstadt joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion...
's painting A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt Rosalie is based on sketches he made during his 1863 visit to the area. That painting shows either Mount Spalding or Mount Evans
Mount Evans
Mount Evans is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners in Colorado, and the closest fourteener to Denver...
(it is ambiguous) from the Chicago Lakes, 3 miles (5 km) north-northwest, but Bierstadt and his guide William Byers
William Byers
William Newton Byers was a founding figure of Omaha, Nebraska, serving as the first deputy surveyor of the Nebraska Territory, on the first Omaha City Council, and as a member of the first Nebraska Territorial Legislature....
climbed onward to the summit of either Evans or Spalding (the account is ambiguous).
See also
- List of Colorado fourteeners
- Mountain peaks of ColoradoMountain peaks of ColoradoThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Mountain ranges of ColoradoMountain ranges of ColoradoThe following table lists the major mountain ranges of the U.S. State of Colorado.-Mountain Ranges:-See also:*4000 meter peaks of Colorado*Colorado mountain passes*Geography of Colorado*Lists of mountains*Mountain peaks of Colorado...
External links
- Mount Bierstadt on 14ers.com
- Mount Bierstadt on Distantpeak.com
- Mount Bierstadt on TrailCentral.com
- GPS Tracks from Guanella Pass on SelectHikes.com
- http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfxMDT8MwRydLA1cj72BTJw8jAwgAykeaxcN4jhYG_h4eYX5hPgYwefy6w0H24dcPNgEHcDTQ9_PIz03VL8iNMMgycVQEAHcGOlk!/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfME80MEkxVkFCOTBFMktTNUJIMjAwMDAwMDA!/?ss=110210&ttype=recarea&recid=28450&actid=51&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&position=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&navid=110160000000000&pnavid=110000000000000&cid=null&pname=Clear+Creek+RD+%28Surrounding+Idaho+Springs%2C+CO%29+-+Mount+Bierstadt+Trail+%28%23711%29Mount Bierstadt Trail (#711) on Forest Service website]
- A Storm in the Rocky Mountains by Albert Bierstadt