Most 14ers viewed from a 14er

[Carl_Healy]

Summiting Princeton today I asked an interesting but ultimately arbitrary question.

Which 14,000 ft peak in Colorado has the most other 14,000 ft peaks visible from its summit on a clear day?


I can't help but think that it must be a peak in the Sawatch given how "central" they all are.

[JChitwood]

I always thought it was Huron. Seems like there was a thread on this some years ago. Almost got to be in the Sawatch.

[jaymz]

I too recall a similar thread several years ago - not that I mind, it's always a fun discussion! Seems I remember that Shavano was the winner. It was whichever one you could see both Longs and the San Juans from.
(Too lazy right now to get on CalTopo to find out)

Edit: So I did get a little curious. Based on the viewshed analysis, the only Sawatch 14ers visible from Longs would be the northern ones (La Plata, Elbert, Massive... forgot to check on Holy Cross, but I think it should be visible). La Plata, then, is visible (in theory) from Sneffels/Redcloud/Wetterhorn. So the answer might be one of the northern Sawatch 14ers. Then again, this is just factoring in the visibility of only one peak (Longs), so it could very well be a 14er farther south that might gain visibility of, perhaps, the ChiBasin group or Culebra or something.

Maybe the discussion I'm remembering was the question of at what point - 14er or non-14er - are the most 14ers visible? That one, I think, went to Mt. Ouray.

[CoHi591]

If I recall correctly, Roach states that you can see 30 other 14ers from the summit of Yale on a clear day. I may be making that up and my book is not at my side at the moment but I feel like that stuck in my head for some reason.
Doesn't seem impossible but looking at my pictures real quick La Plata would be my guess with nothing else to go on.

[Carl_Healy]

I figured this was a topic that had been done before, but a cursory forum search yielded nothing.

If I recall correctly, Roach states that you can see 30 other 14ers from the summit of Yale on a clear day....

Should have thought to check that. Just looking at it now you're right he does state that in his book, though that statement doesn't confirm that that's the most?

[cdgibbons]

I started this thread: https://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=57163

a couple of years ago after a bluebird day on Grizzly.

Nothing definitive, but I think La Plata came out as the most likely 14er.

[ltlFish99]

I figured this was a topic that had been done before, but a cursory forum search yielded nothing.

If I recall correctly, Roach states that you can see 30 other 14ers from the summit of Yale on a clear day....

Should have thought to check that. Just looking at it now you're right he does state that in his book, though that statement doesn't confirm that that's the most?

I just checked Roach's book prior to reading the above. He does state that from the summit of yale one can see 30 of Colorado's 14ers.

[ECF55]

I had a bluebird day on Yale a couple years back. Yale has some broad basins immediately around it that afford clear views into most of the state's ranges, including the San Juans, Sangres and Elks. There might be more 14ers visible on other summits, but it couldn't be by much. Just amazing.


EDIT: I just looked through my pictures and compared them to some online resources ( https://peakvisor.com/peak/mount-yale.h ... hfov=71.54 ). I honestly don't think it's that hard to get to 30 peaks.

SAWATCH (14x): Yale, Princeton, Antero, Shavano, Tabeguache, Columbia, Harvard, Huron, Missouri, Oxford, Belford, La Plata, Elbert, Holy Cross
MOSQUITO/TENMILE (4x): Lincoln, Democrat, Bross, Sherman
FRONT (3x): Pikes, Evans, Bierstadt
ELK (5x): Castle, Pyramid, Maroon, North Maroon, Capital
SAN JUAN (4x): San Luis, Uncompahgre, Sneffels, Handies
SANGRES (1x): Crestone Peak

NOTES: The Mosquitos are a mass of peaks, so there's some uncertainty there. The Sangres are partially blocked by Princeton, but the Crestones are definitely visible. On clear days, the San Juans are a wall of mountains in the distance, but the high points of San Luis, Uncompahgre, and Sneffels are easily visible (and at least Handies is visible from the Handies Group).

[nyker]

Huron sounds right, somewhere deep in the Sawatch

[huffy13]

Just experimenting w/ CalTopo, which is kind of annoying as it won't let me go any lower than 25 ft above Yale, but according to CalTopo there are 41 14ers visible from Yale. The one I would mark off the list if I could set the view at the exact summit level would probably be Torreys, as it is just a tiny sliver above the west slopes of Silverheels. Pretty sure if I could lower the view perspective to 6 ft above Yale's height Torreys would be completely hidden.

[Hiking_TheRockies]

I always thought it was Mt. Lincoln. On a clear day, you might even be able to see Evans and Bierstadt.