Favorite Summit View

[temptnmonkey]

Good Day!

So I searched the forum as well as a newbie could, and I didn't really see/find anything addressing this topic explicitly (if I'm wrong, I apologize and just flatter me).

The question is fairly simple: What is your favorite summit view?
I suppose it would be easy to just keep it to 14ers, but feel free to include season (i.e. winter vs summer) or other peaks in Colorado.

I'd offer my opinion, but I don't have one yet (hence my curiosity to ask!)

Cheers!

[CO Native]

I don't think I could pick a favorite but a great one that came to mind is Uncompahgre:

[JA_son27]

The view from the Bells is staggering, I also like the view from Sunlight or Handies. It is very hard to narrow it down to one favorite summit view for me. Sneffels was totally awesome and don't forget the view from anywhere on the Crestone group either!

[Toni Marie]

So question: Are you new to the forum or new to 14er adventures? For a newbie during summer months, I'd say that Quandary Peak has gorgeous summit views. From the summit, you can see almost 20 other 14ers, as well as Lake Dillon, an alpine lake, etc. There are also great views from Grays/Torreys Peaks as well! If you want a great view of a city, you can see Colorado Springs in its entirety from Pikes Peak. I like the views from Mt. Bierstadt as well.

In the wintertime, I love the views from Monarch, Loveland, and Breckenridge Ski Resorts. You can see the continental divide from the top of Monarch on a clear day, and there's a green slope from the summit all the way down! You can also see the collegiate peaks on the drive there, as well as on some of the higher runs. Breckenridge has great views of some 13ers and 14ers, and the quaint town of Dillon is nearby. It's a neat little place to stay if you're planning on doing some boating (in the summer).

Sorry to assume you're a newbie if it isn't true! Happy trails, and maybe I'll see you on the mountain this summer!

@CO Native: Holy crap, that's an awesome picture of Uncompahgre!

[holttd]

Judging based on the panorama pics I would agree that the Bells is absolutely amazing (haven't been myself though).

Of the peaks I've done, Spearhead's view in RMNP is my favorite.

[Carl]

For Colorado peaks in the summer, one of my favorite summits for the view is Pyramid.

[JsinDeAZ]

Out of the 20 I've done so far, Handies is the one that stands out the most. San Juan's are a beautiful area.

[huffy13]

I loved all of my summits to date almost equally because each offers such a unique viewpoint. If I had to pick a favorite though I would have to go with Mt. Shavano. If I remember correctly, a person who knows the peaks could probably point out at least 25-30 other 14ers from Shavano. I also loved the views down into the Arkansas River Valley. I know I could see everything from Pike's Peak to the east to Uncompaghre/Wetterhorn to the west, and if you can see those two you should be able to see Handies, Redcloud and Suhshine. I could also see the Crestone group clearly and even the Blanca Massif was visible through the slightly hazy skies. Almost all of the Sawatch is visible from there also. I guess the only summit view that I felt was substandard was from Mt. Bross but not because it wasn't a great view...I think it had more to do with the fact that is was our fourth summit of the day and we had pretty much been looking at the same views for three other summits already.

[mtgirl]

One of my favorite summit views is from the summit of Marble Mountain in the Sangres, overlooking the Crestones, Humboldt, Kit Carson, and South Colony Lakes.


Some other favorites that come to mind are from the summits of Elephant Butte in Arches National Park (UT), Mt. Whitney (CA), Shrine Mountain (CO), North Eolus (CO), and Sneffels (CO).

[Mountainspirit]

Hands down - Handies Peak!

Chicago Basin.JPG (303.52 KiB) Viewed 1376 times

Sloan Lake.JPG (233.46 KiB) Viewed 1376 times

But . . . I have many more to view.

[PKelley]

Anything high in the deep San Juans is hard to beat. I like the views from Half Peak, Handies, Wetterhorn, Uncompahgre, Pigeon, Eolus, and Jagged. Of all the other peaks in the state that I have done, the Sangre de Cristo range has some good views (Adams, Humboldt, Lindsey), and so do the Elks (Cathedral, Pyramid, Snowmass). The views off of some of the Sawatch peaks are good too (Huron, La Plata, Harvard). The best view IMHO in the front range is while standing above Chasm Lake in RMNP. Second place in the front range is in Eldorado Canyon, probably from somewhere high on the Redgarden Wall or the West Ridge.

[Kovar]

temptnmonkey:

I asked a similar question a couple of years ago:

http://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15892" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;