Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak — colloquially known as "America's Mountain" — is one of Colorado's most iconic natural landmarks, rising to an elevation of 14,115 feet (4,302 meters) above sea level at the southern tip of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is located in Pike National Forest, with its base in the town of Manitou Springs, 10 miles west of downtown Colorado Springs, in El Paso County. One of the most famous mountains in the country and the second most visited mountain in the world behind Mount Fuji, Pikes Peak towers 8,000 feet above Colorado Springs, yet it is not the highest mountain in Colorado. It is a designated National Historic Landmark. From inspiring the words of "America the Beautiful" to serving as the backdrop for one of motorsport's most celebrated races, Pikes Peak has earned a place not only on the map of Colorado but in the broader cultural imagination of the United States.

Geology and Physical Description

Standing 14,115 feet, Pikes Peak was formed by the geologic event known as the Laramide Orogeny, which shaped most of the Rocky Mountains. The peak is estimated to have emerged about 50 million years ago, formed through years of erosion of molten rock, though it is not considered a volcano. At a deeper level of geological time, the mountain is composed of a characteristic pink granite called Pikes Peak granite, whose color is due to a large amount of potassium feldspar. The granite is thought to have once been magma that crystallized at least 20 miles beneath the Earth's surface, formed by an igneous intrusion during the Precambrian, approximately 1.05 billion years ago, during 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, and years of erosion and weathering eventually removed the overlying soil and rock, leaving the exposed mountain visible today.

Pikes Peak's summit, at 14,115 feet above sea level, is the highest fourteener east of its longitude in the contiguous United States. The timberline falls between 11,400 and 12,000 feet; above it rise nearly 2,500 feet of bare granite. Soils on Pikes Peak above the timberline, at approximately 12,000 feet, are classified as cirque land. An average snowfall of about 9.5 feet on the northern slope and 14 feet on the southern slope assures consistent wintry conditions near the summit. Colorado Springs draws its main water supply from the Pikes Peak Watershed.

Indigenous Heritage and Early Names

Long before European explorers arrived, Pikes Peak held deep significance for the peoples who inhabited the region. Recent radiocarbon dating indicates that Clovis people were the first to inhabit the area, roughly around 11,000 BC, and more recently, Utes, Comanches, Arapahos, and Cheyennes also frequented the area. The Utes traveled between their winter and summer camps over the fault between Pikes Peak and the Rampart Range, also known as Ute Pass and the path of modern US Highway 24.

The original inhabitants of the area were the Colorado Mountain Ute people, who inhabited the Front Range region since time immemorial. They saw that, due to its height, the peak was the first to be illuminated by the dawn; for that reason they named it Tava, meaning "Sun Mountain." The band of Ute people who called the Pikes Peak region their home were the Tabeguache, whose name means "the People of Sun Mountain."

In the 1700s, Spanish explorers traveled north from the Viceroyalty of New Spain to explore the northernmost border of their empire's New World territory. They were the first Europeans to see the mountain, initially borrowing a name from the indigenous population and calling it Montaña del Sol, the Mountain of the Sun. In time, they gave it their own name: El Capitán, meaning "the Captain" or "the Leader," emphasizing its nature as the most prominent peak of all the Front Range.

"Pike's Peak" was the name that finally stuck, and it was adopted as the official name — minus the apostrophe, according to the custom of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names — by the federal government in 1890. The mountain has been spelled Pikes Peak ever since.

Exploration and Early Ascents

In 1803, Pikes Peak became part of the United States as part of the vast Louisiana Purchase. Three years later, Lt. Zebulon Pike was sent to explore the borders of the new territory. Pikes Peak was named for Zebulon Montgomery Pike, an early explorer of the Southwest who first sighted what he called "The Great Peak" in November 1806, but was not actually the first to climb it. He attempted to summit the mountain, but heavy snows forced his crew to turn back at about the 10,000-foot mark.

The first successful documented ascent of the peak was made by the geologist and botanist Edwin James during his expedition on July 15, 1820. James, a young student who had just graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont, signed on as the relief botanist for Stephen Harriman Long's expedition after the original botanist had died. 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 was the first to describe the blue columbine, Colorado's state flower. This was the first recorded ascent of a 14,000-foot peak in any area of what became the United States.

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.

The Gold Rush and Cultural Legacy

Pikes Peak became a symbol of westward expansion and aspiration during the mid-nineteenth century. The peak was a symbol for emigrants coming west during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1858–59. Beginning in 1858, prospectors from all over the United States migrated to the region, hoping to strike it rich, and emigrants crossing the plains took heart when they saw Pikes Peak on the horizon, as the landmark was a sign that their arduous journey was nearing an end. Some of the argonauts' wagons sported the phrase "Pikes Peak or Bust." The slogan was something of a misnomer, since most of the diggings at the time lay considerably to the north, but once coined, the motto stuck, demonstrating the importance of the mountain to the region's image.

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 on the obverse. In 1863, the U.S. Treasury purchased the minting equipment for $25,000 to open the Denver Mint.

Perhaps the most enduring cultural legacy associated with the mountain is the poem that became the song "America the Beautiful." More than just a mountain, Pikes Peak is the place that inspired "America the Beautiful," written by Katharine Lee Bates. Her experience in 1893 on top of Pikes Peak moved her to pen the poem that became one of the most patriotic songs honoring America.

Pikes Peak backcountry was transformed in 1890 when Bob Womack discovered gold in Cripple Creek, and a second echo of "Pikes Peak or Bust" sounded as eager gold seekers again flooded the region. Exploited for timber during the Cripple Creek mining days, efforts of the U.S. Forest Service during the 1920s and 1930s helped to reforest the mountainside.

Transportation, Recreation, and Modern Attractions

The accessibility of Pikes Peak has long set it apart from other fourteeners in Colorado. Pikes Peak is one of Colorado's famed "14ers" — a series of mountain peaks with summits above 14,000 feet — and what makes it stand out from other Colorado mountains is its accessibility: visitors can make their way to the summit visitor center via a fully paved road, cog railway, shuttle tours, and a vast hiking and biking trail network.

In the late 1880s, Zalman Simmons, owner of the Simmons Mattress Company, rode a mule to the top of Pikes Peak to inspect new insulators for the telegraph wires at the signal station at the summit. He was in awe of the incredible views but was worn out and saddle-weary from the arduous trip. Legend holds that while soaking in one of the mineral spring spas in Manitou Springs, he heard the idea of a mountain railroad to the top of Pikes Peak, an idea that sparked his imagination, and he soon set about organizing a company to build the Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The Cog Railway has been climbing Pikes Peak since 1891, offering visitors incredible views along the route.

Spencer Penrose, one of Colorado Springs' major benefactors, realized the tourist potential of the mountain and in 1915 finished converting the narrow carriage road into the Pikes Peak Highway. The Pikes Peak Highway offers a 19-mile scenic route to the top, where visitors can enjoy panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the greatest challenge in motorsports for both man and machine, was founded in 1916 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Spencer Penrose and has grown into an international event attracting the best drivers and riders from around the world. Commonly called the "Race to the Clouds," the hill climb is America's second oldest automobile race.

The more than 600,000 people who reach the top each year enjoy the Summit House's gift shop, observation deck, and restaurant, famous for its donuts. In addition to the cog railway and highway, the mountain hosts biking, running, and even skateboarding races, while hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities attract visitors to its slopes. The mountain is estimated to add roughly 15 percent to the value of any house with a summit view, and in 2008 a writer for the Colorado Springs Business Journal speculated that "America's Mountain" added $8.4 billion to the local economy.

See Also

• Colorado Fourteeners
• Pike National Forest
• Colorado Springs
• Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
• America the Beautiful
• Manitou Springs