Mount Bierstadt
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox mountain
Mount Bierstadt is a Template:Convert mountain summit in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The fourteener is located in the Mount Evans Wilderness of Pike National Forest, Template:Convert south by east (bearing 171°) of the Town of Georgetown in Clear Creek County.<ref name=NGS/><ref name=NAVD88/><ref name=PB/><ref name=GNIS/> It was named in honor of Albert Bierstadt, an American landscape painter who made the first recorded summit of the mountain in 1863.
Mountain
Mount Bierstadt is located Template:Convert WSW of Mount Blue Sky and Template:Convert WSW of downtown Denver.
Mount Bierstadt is one of the most popular mountains to climb in Colorado due to its proximity to Denver and non-technical reputation. As with most peaks in Colorado, July and August make the best months for climbing Mount Bierstadt.
The most popular base from which to begin ascent of Mount Bierstadt is Guanella Pass, located to the west. From Guanella Pass it is approximately a Template:Convert hike, with a climb of Template:Convert. The trail descends slightly into the fairly level marshlands surrounding Scott Gomer Creek before reaching Bierstadt's western slopes. It then begins a cairn-marked ascent to a relatively flat area just below the main summit block, which is rated Class 2.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Once at the summit, a popular option is to continue the hike to nearby Mount Blue Sky along a ridge known as The Sawtooth, an intermediate-level hike that overlooks Abyss Lake, which occupies the bottom of the valley separating Bierstadt and Blue Sky. This route is rated as class 3.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Albert Bierstadt's painting A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie is based on sketches he made during his 1863 visit to the area. That painting shows either Mount Spalding or Mount Blue Sky (it is ambiguous) from the Chicago Lakes, Template:Convert north-northwest, but Bierstadt and his guide William Byers climbed onward to the summit of either Blue Sky or Spalding (the account is ambiguous).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Climate
See also
References
External links
- Template:Cite web
- Mount Bierstadt on Distantpeak.com
- Mount Bierstadt on TrailCentral.com
- GPS Tracks from Guanella Pass on SelectHikes.com
- Mount Bierstadt Trail (#711) on Forest Service websiteTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore
- A Storm in the Rocky Mountains by Albert Bierstadt
Template:Mountains of Colorado Template:Colorado Fourteeners Template:US state navigation box Template:Albert Bierstadt Template:Portal bar