Mount Massive, Part One: The Trail

This mountain has been called Mount Massive long before official United States government surveys mapped the American West.  Topping out at 14,421 feet above sea level, Mt. Massive is the second highest peak in Colorado and the second highest peak of all the Rocky Mountains.  The name comes from . . . well . . . it is just really freakin' big.

You can see from this view of Mt. Massive from downtown Leadville why this mountain has never been called anything else.  It's dominance of the western landscape of the Leadville area lead early miners to believe that Mt. Massive was the tallest mountain in Colorado - not until government surveys in the latter half of the 1800s was Mt. Elbert recognized as the highest peak in the state.

After hitting the trailhead at about 4:30 AM and hiking three miles along the Colorado Trail, the Mt. Massive summit trail breaks to the left and immediately begins gaining elevation.

With a little more sunlight I can easily see the trail winding through the forest, steadily gaining height.

Dawn on the Mt. Massive Trail.

Mt. Elbert's summit rises above the Sawatch Range foothills as I begin to emerge from the cover of the forest.

Although I am still well below tree line, Mt. Massive's summit can be seen on the far right.

The sun slowly rises and begins to cast light upon the Arkansas River Valley.

The trees are shorter, and few and far between; tree line is approaching.

The trail switchbacks through a glade of bushes above tree line...

...along with spectacular views of the Mosquito Range to the east and Lake Turquoise to the northeast.

The same glade of bushes also contains several Rocky Mountain Columbine in full bloom.

Well above tree line, this is a view to the east towards the City of Leadville.

A look back at where I have come from; the bushes from previous photos can be seen in the distance in this photo.

No longer in the foothills - we are climbing our way to the summit.  This photo contains the green, tundra base of Mt. Massive in the foreground and the northern Sawatch Range in the background.

The trail has now become more steep.  As you progress along the trail, as seen in the photo, the Mt. Massive summit disappears.  It does not reappear until the trail wraps around the right side of the large outcropping seen to the right of the summit in this photo.

After taking this photo I packed my camera away as it became more difficult to breathe, focusing my energy on the most difficult part of the trail.

The spectacular view from the saddle just below the Mt. Massive summit.  What a payoff this view is after climbing what I believe to be the most difficult part of the trail.

Another photo from the same saddle with Mt. Elbert in the center of the photo.

From the same saddle, looking east.  Cairns (piles of rock built to guide climbers along faint trails) can be seen in the foreground marking the path I just took to this point.

Looking to the Mt. Massive summit from the saddle - with the bouldering and rock scrambling required to get to the top, this was the fun part of the trail!

Next time: photos from the Mt. Massive summit!