Mount Eolus

Mount Eolus is a high mountain summit of the Needle Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14,090-foot (4,295 m) fourteener is located in the Weminuche Wilderness of San Juan National Forest, 27.4 miles (44.1 km) northeast by north (bearing 29°) of the City of Durango in La Plata County, Colorado, United States.[1][2][3]

Mount Eolus
Mount Eolus
Highest point
Elevation14,090 ft (4,295 m) [1][2]
Prominence1,024 ft (312 m) [2]
Isolation1.69 mi (2.72 km) [2]
ListingColorado fourteeners 33rd
Coordinates37°37′18″N 107°37′22″W [3]
Geography
Mount Eolus
Location in Colorado
LocationLa Plata County, Colorado, U.S.[3]
Parent rangeSan Juan Mountains,
Needle Mountains[2]
Topo mapUSGS 7.5' topographic map
Columbine Pass, Colorado[3]
Climbing
Easiest routeScramble (Class 3)

Named after the Greek god of the wind, the mountain was originally referred to as "Aeolus" in the 1874 Hayden Survey.[4] The current spelling of "Eolus" was first used in the Wheeler Survey of 1878.[5]

Climbing

Mount Eolus is one of three fourteeners in the Needle Mountains; the others are Sunlight Peak and Windom Peak. All three peaks are located around the cirque known as Upper Chicago Basin. Eolus lies to the west of the upper basin, while the other peaks lie on the east side. These mountains are among the most remote of Colorado's fourteeners and have a strong wilderness character.

North Eolus, elevation 14,045 ft (4,281 m), is a northern subpeak of Mount Eolus, though it is not usually counted as a separate peak or as an official fourteener, since it has a topographic prominence of only 179 ft (55 m).[6] It is sometimes climbed in conjunction with Eolus.[7]

Elevation

Mount Eolus' elevation is very close to, and may even be higher than, that of nearby Windom Peak. If this is the case, Mount Eolus would be the highest summit of the Needle Mountains, La Plata County, and the entire San Juan River drainage basin.

Recent surveying with a Trimble GPS unit determined the following elevations, confirming that Windom is truly the monarch of the basin.

Eolus: 14085.4 ft +/- 2.1’

Windom: 14089.9 ft +/- 1.4’

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See also

References
  1. The elevation of Mount Eolus includes an adjustment of +1.756 m (+5.76 ft) from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88.
  2. "Mount Eolus, Colorado". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  3. "Mount Eolus". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  4. Dziezynski, James (1 August 2012). Best Summit Hikes in Colorado: An Opinionated Guide to 50+ Ascents of Classic and Little-Known Peaks from 8,144 to 14,433 Feet. Wilderness Press. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-89997-713-3.
  5. Bright, William (1993). Colorado Place Names. Boulder, Colo.: Johnson Books. ISBN 1-55566-102-5.
  6. "North Eolus, Colorado". Summits of the World. peakbagger.com. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
  7. Louis W. Dawson II (1996). Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Volume 2. Blue Clover Press. ISBN 0-9628867-2-6.
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