I have a back-burner photographic project to photograph all the mountain peaks in Colorado that are higher than 14,000 feet (fourteeners.) This isn’t as simple as it sounds. Colorado is a big place and there are 58 peaks in the state that qualify as fourteeners.
One of the most prolific mountain ranges in Colorado for fourteeners is the Sangre de Cristo range with 10 peaks amongst the highest 58 in the state. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains, meaning “Blood of Christ” in Spanish, are a stunning mountain range that stretches for about 250 miles from southern Colorado into northern New Mexico. They’re part of the larger Rocky Mountains and are known for their dramatic, rugged peaks, some of which soar to over 14,000 feet.
Those peaks in order of height are:
Blanca Peak: 14,351 ft (4,374 m)
Crestone Peak: 14,300 ft (4,400 m)
Crestone Needle: 14,197 ft (4,327 m)
Kit Carson Peak: 14,165 ft (4,317 m)
Challenger Point: 14,080 ft (4,290 m)
Humboldt Peak: 14,064 ft (4,287 m)
Culebra Peak: 14,047 ft (4,282 m)
Ellingwood Point: 14,042 ft (4,280 m)
Mount Lindsey: 14,042 ft (4,280 m)
Little Bear Peak: 14,037 ft (4,278 m)
In today’s photo, we have two of those fourteeners and a number of other peaks that are just a hair short of being fourteeners.
As viewed from the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, from left to right, California Peak at 13,849ft, Twin Peaks at 13,557 ft, Blanca Peak at 14,351 ft (the tallest peak in the Sangre de Cristo range), Little Bear Peak at 14,042 ft and Hamilton Peak at 13,829 ft.
Camera: Nikon D850 w Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II.
Time & Date of photograph: 9:40 AM, March 14th, 2023
