Huron Peak
{{Short description|Mountain summit in Colorado, US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Huron Peak
| photo = Huron Peak (48458753091).jpg
| photo_caption = Near the summit of Huron Peak
| elevation_ft = 14012
| elevation_ref = {{cite ngs|pid=JL0880|name=Huron|accessdate=October 20, 2014}} Note: The summit of Huron Peak is {{cvt|2|ft}} higher than NGS station.
| prominence_ft = 1403
| prominence_ref = {{cite peakbagger|pid=5749|title=Huron Peak, Colorado|access-date=October 20, 2014}}
| isolation_mi = 3.2
| listing = Colorado Fourteener 51st
| range = {{ubl
| location = Chaffee County, Colorado, U.S.{{cite gnis|id=189155|name=Huron Peak|access-date=November 23, 2021}}
| map = Colorado
| map_size = 240
| map_caption = none
| coordinates = {{coord|38.945527161|N|106.438079414|W|type:mountain_region:US-CA_scale:100000_source:ngs|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo = USGS Winfield, Colorado
| first_ascent =
| easiest_route = Northwest Slopes: Hike, {{YDS|2}}{{cite web | url = https://www.14ers.com/routelist.php?peakid=10052 | title = Huron Peak Routes | publisher = 14ers.com }}
}}
Huron Peak is a high mountain summit of the Collegiate Peaks in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The {{convert|14012|ft|0|adj=on}} fourteener is located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, {{convert|28.9|km|order=flip}} west-northwest (bearing 297°) of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States.
Mountain
While relatively close to its neighbor peaks, Huron Peak is separated from them by deep cols, resulting in a moderately high topographic prominence. Nearby to the south are the Three Apostles, a striking group of three thirteen thousand foot peaks.Louis W. Dawson II, Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Volume 1, Blue Clover Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-9628867-1-8}}
It was named after the Huron Indians (Wyandot people).{{cite book|last=Dziezynski|first=James|title=Best Summit Hikes in Colorado: An Opinionated Guide to 50+ Ascents of Classic and Little-Known Peaks from 8,144 to 14,433 Feet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KT0Uf6MLtisC&pg=PA167|date=August 1, 2012|publisher=Wilderness Press|isbn=978-0-89997-713-3|page=167}}
= Climbing =
The easiest route to the top is rated Class 2.{{Cite web |title=Huron Peak {{!}} Routes |url=https://www.14ers.com/routelist.php?peakid=10052 |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=14ers.com |language=en}}
Flight for Life accident
On July 9, 1994, a Flight for Life Aérospatiale Eurocopter AS350 rescue helicopter crashed on Huron Peak at approximately 12,200 feet while attempting to rescue a hiker who had suffered a broken ankle.{{cite web|last=Shimanski|first=Charley|title=Accidents in Mountain Rescue Operations|url=http://www.escalade.com.au/rescue/media/ShimanskiJan02.pdf|access-date=December 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410144023/http://www.escalade.com.au/rescue/media/ShimanskiJan02.pdf|archive-date=April 10, 2013|url-status=dead}} With numerous search and rescue personnel nearby, the aircraft's pilot Gary McCall attempted to partially land on a 35 degree slope by placing one skid on the uphill side of the mountain. As rescuers stood under the rotors, shielding their faces from flying debris, they reported hearing 'chopping' noises and saw the aircraft's rotors striking the side of the mountain.
The aircraft rolled approximately 800 feet down the mountain face, coming to rest near 11,400 feet. Rescuers scrambled to the wreckage, but pilot Gary McCall and flight nurse Sandy Sigman had been killed. The accident was the first in the history of the Flight for Life program.
The angle between rotor and skid of the helicopter was later determined to be 28 degrees. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled the cause of the accident as: 'Failure of the pilot to assure main rotor clearance from sloping terrain while in a hover. The terrain condition was a related factor.'
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Huron Peak is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}} Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter, and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{cite web
| url = https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/14er.php?peakid=10052
| title = Huron Peak
| publisher = 14ers.com
}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110316061320/http://peakery.com/Huron-Peak/ "Huron Peak"] Peakery.com
- {{cite summitpost|id=150477|title=Huron Peak}}
- [http://www.topoquest.com/map.asp?lat=38.94528&lon=-106.4375 "Huron Peak"] TopoQuest.
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080227025829/http://pepinsolutions.com/huronpeak.htm Huron Peak Trail Review with Photos]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130410144023/http://www.escalade.com.au/rescue/media/ShimanskiJan02.pdf Accidents in Mountain Rescue Operations]
{{Mountains of Colorado}}
{{Colorado Fourteeners}}
{{Colorado}}
Category:Mountains of Chaffee County, Colorado