Ellingwood Point: A 14er named for Colorado's pioneer technical climber
Ellingwood Point honors Albert Ellingwood — the early-twentieth-century mountaineer who introduced technical alpine climbing to Colorado and made the first ascent of dozens of routes still considered classic today.
Ellingwood Point sits a quarter-mile west of Blanca Peak on the same upper massif ridge — easily climbed as a side-trip from the Blanca summit. The peak is named for one of the most consequential figures in Colorado climbing history.
The peak at a glance
- Elevation: 14,042 ft (4,280 m)
- Rank in Colorado: 44th of 56 peaks above 14,000 ft
- Range: Sangre de Cristo Range
- County: Costilla County
- Coordinates: 37.5825° N, 105.4928° W
- Standard route: South Face from Lake Como (Class 2) — combine with Blanca for full massif day
- Public land: San Isabel National Forest
How Ellingwood Point got its name
Albert Ellingwood (1887–1934) was a Colorado College philosophy professor and the climber who introduced technical roped alpine climbing to Colorado. Ellingwood made the first technical ascents of the Crestone Needle, the South Face of Lizard Head (5.7, in 1920 — astonishing for the era), Pingora in the Wind River Range, and dozens of other routes that remain in the climbing canon. He died in 1934 at age 47. The peak was named in his memory in 1971 by the Colorado Mountain Club.
The standard route
From the Blanca summit, traverse west on a Class 2 ridge to the Ellingwood summit — a half-mile out-and-back, comfortable terrain, no exposure of consequence. The standalone climb from Lake Como is rarely chosen.
When to climb
The Colorado fourteener climbing season is short. The standard window runs from late June through mid-September — after the snow has melted off the trail and before the first serious autumn storm. Outside that window, you're committing to a winter ascent: snow travel, avalanche assessment, post-holing through drifts, and route-finding without a visible trail.
Inside the window, the rule that has saved more Colorado lives than any other is be off the summit by noon. Afternoon convective storms build over the high peaks almost daily in July and August. Lightning is the leading weather killer in the Rockies. Plan for a pre-dawn start — most experienced climbers leave the trailhead between 4:00 and 5:30 AM.
Where it sits
What climbers wish they'd known
Climb both with one camp. The Blanca + Ellingwood combination from a single Lake Como bivvy is the standard practice. Adding Little Bear from the same camp creates a three-summit Massif day.
Before you go
A 14er is a long, exposed day at altitude. Read these first if you haven't already:
- Planning your first multi-day backpacking trip — same logistics apply to a long single-day summit push.
- How to choose the right trail difficulty — converting class ratings into honest fitness estimates.
- Leave No Trace, in one minute — alpine tundra heals on a geological clock. Stay on the trail.
Looking for the standard route on the map? Browse Colorado trails on the Outdoors App or jump to the Near Me view if you're already in-state.
If you liked this peak
- Blanca Peak — the Massif crown
- Little Bear Peak — the Massif technical test
- Mount Lindsey — the Massif outlier
Hero photograph: Ellingwood Point and the Blanca Peak group from Alamosa County, Colorado. by David Herrera, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
