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43-612: Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America . The ultra-prominent 14,107-foot (4,299.83 m) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest , 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado . The town of Manitou Springs lies at its base. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike , even though he

86-469: A few miles up Ute Pass at Cascade . The road has a series of switchbacks, treacherous at high speed, called "The W's" for their shape on the northwest side of the mountain. The road is maintained by the city of Colorado Springs as a toll road . A project to pave the remainder of the road was completed on October 1, 2011. The project was in response to a suit by the Sierra Club over damage caused by

129-464: A mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface. The topographic prominence of a summit is the elevation difference between that summit and the highest or key col to a higher summit. The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum great-circle distance to a point of equal elevation. All elevations in this article include an elevation adjustment from

172-550: A neighboring country, with whom Spain was not at war. He ordered the repatriation of Pike, but held some of the soldiers of his party in jail in Mexico for years. The Spanish military escorted Pike and some of his party back north, through San Antonio, Texas , arriving at the border with Louisiana at Natchitoches on July 1, 1807. The Spanish formally complained to the United States Department of State about

215-478: Is a designated National Historic Landmark . It is composed of a characteristic pink granite called Pikes Peak granite . The color is due to a large amount of potassium feldspar . It is thought that the granite was once magma that crystallized at least 20 miles (32 km) beneath the Earth's surface, formed by an igneous intrusion during the Precambrian , approximately 1.05 billion years ago, during

258-731: Is now used for a peak further west.) It is thought that the Ute people first arrived in Colorado about 500 A.D., however their oral history states that they were created on Tava. In the 1800s, when the Arapaho people arrived in Colorado, they knew the mountain as Heey-otoyoo' meaning "Long Mountain". By comparison, the Pawnee called the same mountain Tûs Pêh ("Where the Heavens Touch

301-498: Is required by humans and animals not acclimated to high altitudes. Altitude sickness may develop in those who are sensitive or who over-exert themselves. The summit of Pikes Peak has a polar climate ( ET ) due to its elevation. Snow is a possibility any time year-round, and thunderstorms with high winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) or more are common in the afternoons. Surrounding areas have different climatic variations depending on location and elevation. Much of

344-495: The Grenville orogeny . Through the process of uplifting , the hardened rock pushed through the Earth's crust and created a dome-like mountain, covered with less resistant rock. Years of erosion and weathering removed the soil and rock leaving the exposed mountain. Soils on Pikes Peak above the timberline (approximately 12,000 ft or 3,700 m) are classified as Cirque land . Forests at lower altitudes mostly lie over

387-809: The National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). For further information, please see this United States National Geodetic Survey note . If an elevation or prominence is calculated as a range of values, the arithmetic mean is shown. 39°07′04″N 106°26′43″W  /  39.1178°N 106.4454°W  / 39.1178; -106.4454  ( Mount Elbert ) Pike Expedition Pike's company made several errors and ended up in Spanish territory in present-day Southern Colorado , where

430-672: The Rio Grande at a point near Alamosa in present-day southern Colorado and then part of the Spanish empire. Pike mistook the Rio Grande for the Red River he had been seeking. Here, he built a fort and attempted to collect the rest of his men, who were strewn across miles of mountains behind him. On February 26, in the night Pike and his remaining men were captured at their fort by Spanish soldiers from nearby Santa Fe . Arresting

473-670: The Americans built a fort to survive the winter. Captured by the Spanish and taken into Mexico in February, their travels through present-day New Mexico , Mexico, and Texas provided Pike with important data about Spanish military strength and civilian populations. Although he and most of his men were released because the nations were not at war, some of his soldiers were held in Mexican prisons for years, despite U.S. objections. In 1810, Pike published an account of his expeditions, which

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516-614: The Earth"), and the Ute Indians called it Tava-Kaavi ("Sun Mountain"). Throughout its history, European peoples have called the mountain El Capitán, Grand Peak, Great Peak, James Peak, Long Mountain, and Pike's Peak. Early Spanish explorers named the mountain "El Capitán," meaning "The Leader". American explorer Zebulon Pike named the mountain "Highest Peak" in 1806, and the mountain was later commonly known as "Pike's Highest Peak." American explorer Stephen Harriman Long named

559-616: The Pikes Peak area until the Cripple Creek Mining District was discovered southwest of Pikes Peak and led, in 1893, to one of the last major gold rushes in the lower 48 states. In July 1860, Clark, Gruber and Company commenced minting gold coins in Denver bearing the phrase "Pike's Peak Gold" and an artist's rendering of the peak (sight unseen) on the obverse . In 1863, the U.S. Treasury purchased

602-605: The Red River. Pike left Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri on July 15 with a detachment of 20 soldiers and 50 Osage hostages, freed for return to their people. The expedition followed the Missouri River and the Osage River to the Osage Nation village at the present-day border of Kansas and Missouri . On August 15, Pike returned the hostages and parlayed with the natives. Striking northwest,

645-658: The Spanish in the 1700s. The first American sighting is often credited to members of the Pike Expedition , led by Zebulon Pike . After a failed attempt to climb to the top in November 1806, Pike wrote in his journal: The first European ascent of the peak came 14 years after Pike's discovery, in the summer of 1820. Edwin James , a young student who had just graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont , signed on as

688-493: The area near Pikes Peak has a continental semiarid climate, while other areas would be classified as hemiboreal . List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges All the major mountain ranges in the state of Colorado , United States, are considered subranges of the Southern Rocky Mountains . As given in the table, topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid ,

731-658: The balance is for labor, because of the project's high standards and the rigors of working for a maximum of 6 + 1 ⁄ 2  hours per day at such a high altitude during a short season of April to October. Heavy equipment and prefabricated building components are slowly moved up the mountain's highway in the middle of the night to avoid any car traffic. Ground conditions are bedrock and alpine permafrost , soil and rock that remains at or below freezing temperatures all year to depths of up to 200 feet (61 m), only warming above freezing in direct sunlight or due to external sources. Problems with excavation and blasting exist because

774-682: The brown stony, sandy, loams of the Catamount loam or Ivywild loam series. The Devils Playground is a minor subpeak of Pikes Peak located on the northwest side of the mountain near the Pikes Peak Highway . The Devils Playground is named for the way lightning sometimes dances around the prominence during lightning storms. The Devils Playground is the highest point in Teller County at an approximate elevation of 13,075 feet (3,985 m). The first Europeans to see Pikes Peak were

817-423: The current Summit House. The older facility will remain open to the more than 600,000 visitors annually through the end of construction in the fall of 2020 or summer of 2021. Around 40 contractors are working on the $ 50 million project. The general contractor, G.E. Johnson Construction Co., estimates that about half of the budget is for materials, many of which are prefabricated in downslope shops, and

860-456: The gravel and sediment that is constantly washed off the road into the alpine environment. In 2023, the toll road cost US$ 15 for age 16 and older or US$ 5 for age 6 to 15; from December 1 to April 30 the cost is reduced to US$ 10 for age 16 and older. The Highway is famous worldwide for the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb , a motor race held since 1916. The short film Climb Dance features Ari Vatanen racing his Peugeot 405 T16 up

903-663: The group made for the Pawnee territory on the Republican River in southern Nebraska . Pike spent several weeks at the Pawnee village on September 29, Pike met with the Pawnee tribal council. He announced the new claim of protectorship by the United States government over the territory. He persuaded the Pawnee chief to remove a Spanish flag from their village and to fly the American flag instead. He left them with

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946-611: The headwaters of the Red River and head downstream to the Mississippi and relative safety in the lowlands. But, the company had gotten confused in its bearings, and they made several blundering steps trying to find the river. They were not equipped for a mountain expedition, nor for hard winter weather. Heading north, the party found the South Fork of the Platte River and, following it upstream, came to what they thought were

989-521: The headwaters of the Red. Turning back downstream, they returned to the point at which they had left the Arkansas originally. They had executed a large loop, taking weeks of precious travel time. Hungry, cold, and exhausted, the party headed south over the mountains. Several men were left behind as they dropped from fatigue, but Pike doggedly pressed on. By January 30, he and the ten men still with him came to

1032-484: The length of the Arkansas to its mouth and back up the Mississippi, safely returning to St. Louis. Pike led the other, larger group upstream, to the west, toward the headwaters of the Arkansas. Upon traversing the Great Plains , Pike wrote, "This vast plains of the western hemisphere may become in time as celebrated as the sandy deserts of Africa; for I saw in my route, in various places, tracts of many leagues where

1075-862: The minting equipment for $ 25,000 (or $ 620,000 adjusted for inflation) to open the Denver Mint . Julia Archibald Holmes and James Holmes traveled to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in 1858, and reached the summit on August 5, with J. D. Miller and George Peck, making Archibald Holmes the first European-American woman to climb Pikes Peak. From the summit, she wrote in a letter to her mother: "Nearly everyone tried to discourage me from attempting it, but I believed that I should succeed; and now here I am, and I feel that I would not have missed this glorious sight for anything at all." Thirty-five years later, in July ;1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote

1118-564: The mountain "James Peak" in honor of Edwin James who climbed to the summit during Long's Expedition of 1820 . The mountain was later renamed "Pike's Peak" in honor of Pike. The name was simplified to "Pikes Peak" by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1890. Pikes Peak is one of Colorado's 54  fourteeners , mountains more than 14,000 feet (4,267.2 m) above sea level. The massif rises over 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above downtown Colorado Springs. Pikes Peak

1161-418: The mountain, snapping and uprooting several trees. The tornado travelled 2 miles along Pikes Peak Highway and wind speeds reached 108 mph. No injuries were reported from the storm. At the peak, the partial pressure of oxygen is only about 60% of that at sea level. Water boils at 186 °F (86 °C) at 14,000 feet, rather than 212 °F (100 °C) at sea level. A faster rate of respiration

1204-419: The mountain. The Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway , the world's highest cog railroad , operated from Manitou Springs to the summit, closed for repairs in 2017. After being closed for more than three years, the cog railway resumed service seven days per week (conditions permitting) on May 27, 2021. Road vehicles can be driven to the summit via the Pikes Peak Highway , a 19 mi (31 km) road that starts

1247-574: The party as spies, the Spanish collected the rest of his men who had been scattered in the mountains, and marched them all south. The Spanish took them through Santa Fe, Albuquerque , and El Paso to Los Coabos, the state capital of Chihuahua . Along the way, Pike's party was treated with respect and celebrated by the Mexican locals, and Pike made careful notes of the military strength and civilian population. Chihuahua's Governor Salcedo released Pike and most of his men, as they were military officers of

1290-399: The peak, hoping to get a view of the surrounding area to record on maps, the 14,000-foot (4,300 m) summit. Pike's group ascended a lesser summit nearby—likely Mount Rosa . With winter threatening, Pike pressed onward up the Arkansas, and on December 7 the party reached Royal Gorge , a spectacular canyon on the Arkansas at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Pike next intended to travel to

1333-535: The permafrost in the fractured granite actually absorbs energy. The project is being constructed to achieve both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification and Living Building Challenge . The new complex will include a visitor center, a communications facility for Colorado Springs Utilities, and the Army's High-Altitude Research Laboratory. On July 20, 2023, an EF1 tornado touched down on

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1376-478: The relief botanist for Stephen Harriman Long 's expedition after the first botanist had died. The expedition explored the South Platte River up as far as present-day Denver, then turned south and passed close to what James called "Pike's highest peak". James and two other men left the expedition, camped on the plains, and climbed the peak in two days, encountering little difficulty. Along the way, James

1419-679: The song " America the Beautiful ", after having admired the view from the top of Pikes Peak. It appeared in print in The Congregationalist , a weekly journal, on July 4, 1895. A plaque commemorating the words to the song was placed at the summit. On July 17, 1913 William Wayne Brown drove his car, the Bear Cat , 20 miles (32 km) to the summit. The ascent took 5 hours and 28 minutes. The uppermost portion of Pikes Peak, above 14,000 feet (4,267 m) elevation,

1462-749: The steep, twisty slopes. It also hosts the Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb (formerly Assault on the Peak), a cycling hillclimb race first held in 2010, and the USA Cycling Hill Climb National Championships, a race first held in 2016. The most popular hiking route to the top is called Barr Trail , which approaches the summit from the east. The trailhead is just past the cog railway depot in Manitou Springs. Visitors can walk, hike, or bike

1505-653: The summit from the west. Barr Trail can also be accessed via the Manitou Incline . Since the end of 1922, the AdAmAn Club, a mountaineering group, climb the Barr Trail on the east face of Pikes Peak each year on December 30th, stay overnight at Barr Camp, and continue to the top on December 31. Then, at midnight on New Year's Eve, the AdAmAn members and their guests ignite a fireworks display from

1548-524: The summit. Since 1969, the summit of Pikes Peak has been the site of the United States Army Pikes Peak Research Laboratory , a medical research laboratory for the assessment of the impact of high altitude on human physiological and medical parameters of military interest. On June 4, 2018, ground-breaking was held for a new 38,000 square feet (3,500 m) Summit Complex which is being constructed next to

1591-539: The trail. Although the Barr Trail is rated only Class 1, it is a long and arduous hike with nearly 8,000 ft (2,400 m) of elevation gain, and a 13 mi (21 km) trip one-way. The Pikes Peak Marathon , a trail race held since 1956, is a round trip between the trailhead and the Pikes Peak. The Barr Trail Mountain Race is a 13 miles (21 km) round trip between the trailhead and Barr Camp. Another route, rated as Class 2, begins at Crags Campground, approaching

1634-547: The understanding, "... That for the fear the spaniards might return there in force again but with an ejection that it should never be hoisted during their stay". The expeditionary force turned south and struck out across the prairie for the Arkansas River . After reaching it on October 14, the party split in two. One group was led by Lieutenant James Biddle Wilkinson, son of the General. They traveled downstream along

1677-498: The wind had thrown up the sand in all the fanciful form of the ocean's rolling wave, and on which not a speck of vegetable matter existed." When Stephen Long led an expedition to the area in 1820 , he labeled the area on his map as the " Great American Desert ." On November 15, Pike recorded the first sight of the distant mountain Tava which he called "Grand Peak". It has since been called Pikes Peak in his honor. Pike tried to climb

1720-620: Was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Pikes Peak was the home of a ski resort from 1939 until 1984. There are several visitor centers on Pikes Peak, some with a gift shop and restaurant. These centers are located at the 6-mile (9.7 km) and 12-mile (19 km) markers of the toll road, plus one at the summit itself. Along with other food, the Summit House sells special high altitude doughnuts , frying up to 700 per hour. The doughnuts collapse or go mushy if transported to lower altitudes. There are several ways to ascend

1763-659: Was so popular that it was translated into French , German , and Dutch for publication in Europe . On June 24, 1806, General James Wilkinson , commander of the Western Department, ordered Lieutenant Zebulon Pike , then age 27, to lead an expedition to the western and southern areas of the Louisiana Purchase to map the terrain, contact the Native American peoples, and to find the headwaters of

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1806-568: Was the first to describe the blue columbine , Colorado's state flower. Gold was discovered in the area of present-day Denver in 1858, and newspapers referred to the gold-mining area as "Pike's Peak". Pike's Peak or Bust became the slogan of the Colorado Gold Rush (see also Fifty-Niner ). This was more due to Pikes Peak's visibility to gold seekers traveling west across the plains than any actual significant gold find anywhere near Pikes Peak. Major gold deposits were not discovered in

1849-582: Was unable to reach the summit. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude . The band of Ute people who called the Pikes Peak region their home were the Tabeguache , whose name means the "People of Sun Mountain". Tava or "sun", is the Ute word that was given by these first people to the mountain that we now call Pikes Peak. (In contrast, the name Tabeguache Peak

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