For information about mountaineering on these magnificent mountains,
see Gerry’s guidebook, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park Summits

– Sorted by Elevation

Notes by Gerry Roach

1. Our climbs in Rocky Mountain National Park

   Gerry Roach’s totals: 354 ascents; 91/91 hard ranked; 8/8 soft ranked; 170/228 overall
   Jennifer Roach’s totals: 318 ascents; 83/91 hard ranked; 7/8 soft ranked; 151/228 overall
   Gerry and Jennifer’s combined total as of 10/17/10: 672 ascents
   
   
2. There are 228 summits on this list, of which 91 are hard ranked and 8 are soft ranked.
   
   
3. Every peak on this list is in or on the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park.
   
   

4. Mount Cumulus (12,725 feet) on the Mount Richthofen Quad.

   The map is missing a contour line at the north summit. It may be slightly higher than the 12,725-foot summit. A large cairn and a register are on the north summit. The ridge between the two is easy.
   
   

5. Comanche Peak (12,702 feet) on the Comanche Peak Quad.

   The point marked 12,702, which has a register, is actually the lowest of the three southwest-to-northeast points on the ridge. The highest, and most interesting to climb, is the southwest point. Gerry determined that Point 12,681, which is 1/2 mile to the northwest, is higher than all the points adjacent to the named, 12,702 summit. Point 12,681 has a benchmark on top with the elevation 12,716 feet, and is listed as ƒ12,716.
   
   

6. Pine Ridge (11,909 feet) on the Longs Peak Quad.

   The map indicates that the summit above Pine Ridge with the extrapolated elevation of 11,940 feet is the summit of this feature. There is another 11,909-foot summit 0.2 mile north of the 11,940-foot summit. Gerry’s careful hand level measurements from both these summits determined that the northern, 11,909-foot summit is indeed higher than the alleged 11,940-foot summit. Thus, the map is wrong. Since the northern summit has a given elevation, it is reasonable to assume that the highest contour line on the 11,940-foot summit is spurious, and that it is less than 11,909 feet. Accordingly, Gerry uses 11,909 feet for the elevation of Pine Ridge.
   
   

7. The Gable (10,940 feet) on the McHenrys Peak Quad.

   There has been a debate for decades about what is the summit of the officially named feature called The Gable, which rises dramatically above Odessa Lake. The name on the quad is clearly embracing the lower, 10,940-foot summit, while just 100 yards southwest is a higher, 11,060-foot summit. The higher summit is actually a massif of four rocky summits of nearly equal elevation with the easternmost being the highest. This issue is what I call the Lone Eagle Problem, where a summit that is dramatic when seen from below is actually just the end of a ridge that rises behind the dramatic feature. In the case of The Gable, none of the five summits come close to ranking, so this is a question for purists. A similar situation exists on nearby Castle Rock to the north of The Gable. There, the summit is clearly the easternmost spire even though higher summits exist along the ridge to the west. Some contend that the entire massif of five rocky summits is the feature to which the name The Gable applies, and that the highest of the five summits should be the summit of The Gable. I was in this camp for decades and listed The Gable at 11,060 feet. Recent views of, and a climb of the different summits changed my mind. Some had lobbied me for decades that the position of the name on the map decides the issue, and that the name is clearly on the lower, 10,940-foot spire that rises directly above Odessa Lake. I have switched camps, and now agree with this logic. To appease both camps, I now list The Gable at 10,940 feet, and list the higher, 11,060-foot summit under the moniker “Gable Gate.” The higher summits of “Gable Gate” are simple scampers, but reaching the top of The Gable requires climbing a 40-foot, Class 4 pitch.
   
   

   The Gable rising above Lake Odessa. You can clearly see the five summits in question. The Gable is the lower, right (easternmost) summit. “Gable Gate” is the farthest right of the other four, higher summits.

   
   
   
8. I am adding the park’s moraines to this list. Perhaps they are strange features for a peak list, but they are named geographic features, at least as notable as named ridges. These moraines are very old, and determining their highpoints is an interesting question. They may have a highpoint along their ridgeline, but more likely their highpoints are where they depart from the upstream mountain. This is the case with the South Lateral Moraine. In such a case, the prominence of the moraine is zero.
   
   Bierstadt Moraine has multiple choices for it’s highpoint, and a geologist poking around in summer conditions might be able to make a determination. Complicating the issue is the fact that multiple ice ages have sent glaciers streaming down this terrain, and there have been times when ice covered the entire area in question. The biggest clue for the extent of Bierstadt Moraine is that the western-most positioning of the name on the McHenrys Peak Quad is not on the ridge line, but below it to the south at the slope-angle break. Accordingly, I have determined the highpoint of Bierstadt Moraine to be a small closed 9,600-foot contour near the location where this slope-angle break departs from the ridge. Another interesting candidate for this moraine’s highpoint is a distinct 20-foot high boulder on the ridge 0.2 mile west of the small bump at the 9,600-foot contour. This boulder was clearly left behind by a glacier. It provides a jolly Class 3 ascent on it’s sloping south side.
   

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