Mount Massive

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Mount Massive (Arapaho: Hiwoxuu hookuhu'ee) is the second-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, Template:Convert west-southwest (bearing 247°) of the City of Leadville in Lake County, Colorado, United States. It ranks as the third-highest peak in the contiguous United States after Mount Whitney and Mount Elbert.Template:Efn<ref name=PB/><ref name=GNIS/><ref name=NGS/><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Mountain

Mount Massive was first surveyed and climbed in 1873 during the Hayden Survey of the American West. Survey member Henry Gannett is credited with the first ascent.<ref name="summitpost">Template:Cite web</ref> Its name comes from its elongated shape: it has five summits, all above Template:Convert, and a summit ridge over Template:Convert long, resulting in more area above Template:Convert than any other mountain in the 48 contiguous states, narrowly edging Mount Rainier in that category. Mount Elbert (Template:Convert) is Mount Massive's nearest neighbor among the fourteeners; it lies about Template:Convert south-southeast of the peak.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Mountain Goat Mount Massive.JPG

Mountain Goat, Mount Massive ~ 2009

A matter of some contention after the Great Depression arose over the heights of Massive and its neighbor, Mount Elbert, which have a height difference of only Template:Convert. This led to an ongoing dispute which came to a head with the Mount Massive supporters taking it upon themselves to build large piles of stones on the summit to boost its height, only to have the Mount Elbert proponents demolish them.<ref name=best>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Stewart Green, Fast Facts About Mount Elbert</ref><ref>KEN JENNINGS, the Tallest Mountains in the U.S. Are Almost the Same Height</ref>

A class 2 hiking path leads to the peak from the eastern face. The path is Template:Convert round trip, with a Template:Convert elevation gain.<ref name="summitpost"/> There is also a class 2 route along the southwest slopes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

There are several glacial lakes in the wilderness area. The lower slopes of the mountain are covered in lodgepole pine forests, which gradually yield to Engelmann Spruce and Fir. Treeline is just below Template:Convert. Among the mountain's fauna are the American pika, the mountain goat, elk, mule deer, moose, Canada jay, martin, and the yellow-bellied marmot.

In the Arapaho Language the Collegiate Range and Mount Massive are called Hiwoxuu hookuhu'ee or Elk's Head.<ref name=":0" />