Mount Democrat

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Mount Democrat

| photo = Mt_Democrat.jpg

| photo_caption = Mount Democrat as seen from Mount Bross

| elevation_ft = 14152.3

| elevation_ref = {{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s00190-024-01831-8|doi-access=free| title=Moving mountains: reevaluating the elevations of Colorado mountain summits using modern geodetic techniques|date=April 2024|first1=Kevin | last1=Ahlgren|first3=Brian|last3=Shaw|last2= Van Westrum | first2=Derek |journal=Journal of Geodesy|volume=98|article-number=29}} {{open access}}

| prominence_ft = 768

| prominence_ref = {{cite peakbagger|pid=5795|title=Mount Democrat, Colorado|access-date=October 20, 2014}}

| isolation_mi = 1.27

| isolation_ref =

| listing = Colorado Fourteener 28th

| location = Lake and Park counties, Colorado, U.S.{{cite gnis|id=204685|name=Mount Democrat|access-date=October 29, 2014}}

| range = Mosquito Range

| parent_peak = Mount Cameron

| map = Colorado

| map_caption = Colorado

| coordinates = {{coord|39.3396098|N|106.1400401|W|type:mountain_region:US-CO_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| range_coordinates =

| coordinates_ref = {{cite ngs|pid=KL0630|name=MT DEMOCRAT ET|accessdate=October 20, 2014}}

| topo = USGS 7.5' topographic map
Climax, Colorado

| first_ascent =

| easiest_route = East Slope: Hike, {{YDS|2}}{{cite web | url = https://www.14ers.com/routelist.php?peakid=10028 | title = Mt. Democrat Routes | publisher = 14ers.com }}

}}

Mount Democrat is a high mountain summit in the Mosquito Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The {{convert|14152.3|ft|0|adj=on}} fourteener is located {{convert|8.7|km|order=flip}} northwest (bearing 313°) of the Town of Alma, Colorado, United States, near the Continental Divide separating San Isabel National Forest and Lake County from Pike National Forest and Park County.The elevation of Mount Democrat includes an adjustment of +2.086 m (+6.84 ft) from NGVD 29 to NAVD 88.

Mountain

Mount Democrat is often climbed together with Mount Lincoln and nearby Mount Bross.{{cite book |author=Louis W. Dawson II |title=Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Volume 1 |publisher=Blue Clover Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-9628867-1-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dawsonsguidetoco00daws }}

=Trailhead access=

The Conservation Fund, a non-profit organization that protects land and water resources, acquired 300 acres of Mount Democrat. The purchase includes the trailhead and summit, and the Conservation Fund intends to transfer the land to the United States Forest Service to ensure permanent public access.

Mount Democrat is one of Colorado's 58 fourteeners, peaks that rise above 14,000 feet in elevation. The fourteeners are a popular destination for hikers and climbers, and they can be a significant economic boon for small towns near the trailheads. However, annual visitors to Mount Democrat fell from 25,000 to 8,000 after the previous landowner closed the trailheads in 2021.

The Conservation Fund's purchase of Mount Democrat is seen as a positive development for recreation enthusiasts and the local economy. It will ensure that the public continues to have access to this iconic peak and will help support the businesses in the surrounding communities.{{cite news |last=Carlton |first=Jim |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climbing-colorados-fourteeners-sometimes-means-trespassing-this-group-has-a-solution-fca0a868 |title=Climbing Colorado’s ‘Fourteeners’ Sometimes Means Trespassing. This Group Has a Solution. |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=2023-09-21 |accessdate=2023-09-22 }}

Historical names

Before being called Mount Democrat, it was known as Republic Mountain and Mount Buckskin. The Buckskin name came from a nearby town which got its name from Joseph "Buckskin Joe" Higginbottom. After the naming of Mount Lincoln in 1861, Southerners who supported the Democratic party gave the peak its current name, and it was put on official maps in 1883.{{Cite book |last=Bright |first=William |title=Colorado Place Names |publisher=Johnson Books |year=1993 |isbn=9781555661021 |location=Boulder, CO |pages=42, 87 |language=en}}{{clear}}