East Crestone and Crestone Second Surveys

East Crestone (center) and Crestone (right) viewed from the North. Crestone Needle on left. (photo by John Scurlock)

June 15-17, 2026

Eric Gilbertson, Hannah Finch, Matt Sewick, Ethan Moe

Abstract

East Crestone is a mountain in South Central Colorado near Crestone Peak. In October, 2025 we measured both peaks with GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) units and discovered East Crestone is taller than Crestone Peak, meaning East Crestone has enough prominence to be a new 14er and Crestone Peak is a sub-peak. For this study we measured both peaks again with Trimble R980 GNSS units in order to collect enough data to meet NGS blue-booking standards for recognizition. We found East Crestone 0.4ft +/-0.1ft taller than Crestone Peak, consistent with October 2025 measurements.

Figure 1: Location of Crestone Peak and East Crestone Peak in Colorado.

Introduction

Climbing all the 14ers in Colorado is a popular peakbagging objective, first completed in 1911 by Carl Blaurock and William Ervin using the known list at the time. As of 2026, over 2000 people have completed the most updated 14ers list (CMC1 2025). In order to qualifier as a 14er a peak must be above 14,000ft of elevation and have at least 300ft of prominence.

The list was originally based on US quadrangles, which were updated with LiDAR measurements around 2021. Based on the quadrangles and LiDAR data, Crestone Peak was considered a 14er and nearby East Crestone was considered a sub peak. East Crestone was well above 14,000ft in elevation, but the saddle between it and Crestone Peak only dropped around 100ft. This meant East Crestone did not have enough prominence to qualify as a 14er.

The R980 receivers set up on East Crestone and Crestone Peak. Views look North, East, South, and West

In October 2025 I took simultaneous 2hr measurements with Trimble DA2 GNSS units on each summit. The measurements showed East Crestone was 0.3ft +/-0.2ft taller than Crestone Peak. This meant East Crestone was in fact the 14er and Crestone Peak was a sub peak. In order for the results to be recognized by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), they must meet strict blue-booking requirements. This means data must be collected on each peak for at least 2 hours with an approved GNSS device, and this must be done on two separate days for a total of 4hr+ of data on each peak over the two days. The October 2025 measurement counted as the first set of data.

With this study we aimed to take a second set of measurements on each peak to gather enough data to meet NGS blue-booking standards.

Methodology

We performed simultaneous static surveys on both peaks using Trimble R980 GNSS units capable of 0.1ft vertical accuracy or better. This is a different model of GNSS receiver than was used in October, which would increase confidence in the final conclusion if the results were consistent with the October measurements.

On June 16 we first climbed East Crestone and mounted the R980 on a 1.0ft antenna rod levelled with a bubble level on the top of the summit boulder previously identified in October. We stabilized the unit with a standard Adir-pro surveying tripod and started logging data at 5:50am.

We next climbed Crestone Peak and mounted a second identical R980 receiver on a 1.0ft antenna rod levelled with a bubble level on the summit. We stabilized the receiver with another standard Adir-pro surveying tripod, with one leg extended with a hiking pole strapped on to reach below the cliff on the north face. We started logging static survey data at 6:25am.

After 3 hours we stopped logging data on East Crestone at 8:50am. We then moved to Crestone Peak and stopped logging data at 9:25am for three-hour measurements on each. Approximately 2 hrs 30 minutes of data on each were taken simultaneously.

Results

We processed results with two different software tools – CSRS-PPP (CSRS-PPP 2026) and OPUS (OPUS 2026). These are standard tools for processing GNSS measurements and correct for errors such as atmospheric distortion using nearby base stations. We present results in NAD83(2011) Epoch 2010 NAVD88 (Geoid18) international ft, since this is the standard OPUS output. Both methods were in agreement that East Crestone is 0.4ft +/-0.1ft taller than Crestone Peak, with greater than 99% confidence that East Crestone is taller than Crestone Peak. Resulting elevations and sigmas can be found in Table 1.

Table 1: Elevation measurement results for each peak for each processing method.

Peak/Method	Elevation NAVD88 (GEOID18) (ft)	Sigma (ft)	Lat (N)	Long (W)
OPUS (NAD83 (2011) Epoch 2010
Crestone	14299.117	0.030	37.96687760	105.5853832
East Crestone	14299.514	0.052	37.96724053	105.5840058

CSRS-PPP (NAD83(2011) Epoch 2010
Crestone	14299.029	0.043	37.96687764	105.5853828
East Crestone	14299.446	0.039	37.96724061	105.5840055

Figure 2: Box-and-whisker plot of measured height of East Crestone above Crestone Peak in October and June. Box edges at one-sigma and whiskers at two-sigma errors.

These results are consistent with the October 2025 results , as can be seen in Figure 2 showing the measured height of East Crestone above Crestone Peak. The mean height difference in October was measured as 0.3ft +/-0.2ft, and the mean height difference measured in June was 0.4ft +/-0.1ft. These error bounds overlap, meaning the measurements are consistent.

Interestingly, the OPUS-processed height difference from October of 0.397ft was exactly the same to the thousandth of an inch as the OPUS-processed height difference in June, 0.397ft.

Discussion

Independent measurements on two separate dates with different GNSS receivers processed with five different processing methods are all consistent that East Crestone is taller than Crestone Peak. The set of data now meets the rigorous NGS blue-booking standards. It is possible that these two peaks are now the most accurately-surveyed 14,000ft peaks in Colorado.

We are working to submit the data to NGS and hope to have that completed this summer. Mountaineers should have no doubt that East Crestone is the true 14er and Crestone Peak is a sub peak.

Accuracy-minded mountaineers seeking to climb all ranked 14ers in Colorado should climb East Crestone. Crestone Peak should be removed from the list of 53 ranked 14ers and replaced with East Crestone.

Data Availability

Raw measurement files (t04 format) can be accessed at

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cF0ndaYYHRYPM67takxmfULI63z2OO7Q?usp=sharing

References

AUSPOS – Online GPS Processing Service (2025), https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/positioning-navigation/positioning-australia/geodesy/auspos

Canadian Spatial Reference System Precise Point Positiong processing (2026), https://webapp.csrs-scrs.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/geod/tools-outils/ppp.php?locale=en&_gl=1*1as3oua*_ga*NTQ2NTE3OTMwLjE3MTQ2NzgzMjU.*_ga_C2N57Y7DX5*MTcyNjA4NjU

Colorado Mountain Club (1), Everyone Who Has Completed the Colorado Fourteeners (2025). Available at https://www.cmc.org/about/governing-documents/cmc-foundation/14-comp-spreadsheets/2025-6-19-copy-of-14ers.pdf

Colorado Mountain Club (2) (2025), Summit Completers (2025). Available at https://www.cmc.org/about/summit-completers-1

Gilbertson, E., Hensley, R., Kirmse, A., Bretherton, K., Stanchak, K., “LiDAR Accuracy on North American Mountain Summits,” Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 2025 Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/03091333251401361 (Link to free version: https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.12341 )

Hart, J. Fourteen Thousand Feet, The Colorado Mountain Club (1925).

OPUS: Online Positioning User Service (2026), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Available at https://geodesy.noaa.gov/OPUS/