Barr Trail is a 12.6-mile trail that climbs about 7,500 feet from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak, with an average grade of 11 percent. Surveyed and constructed by Fred Barr in 1918–21, Barr Trail was the first trail to reach the summit via…

Carrie Welton (1842–84) was a relatively well-known socialite and amateur mountaineer who climbed Colorado Fourteeners in the 1880s. When Welton perished during an ill-advised autumn ascent of Longs Peak in 1884, she became the focal point of a national…

The discovery of gold near present-day Denver in 1858–59 drew thousands of people to present-day Colorado, prompting the political organization of first a US territory and later a state. Many current cities and towns, including Denver, Boulder,&nbsp…

Colorado Springs is the second-most populous city in Colorado, with more than 456,000 residents. Located about sixty miles south of Denver at the base of Pikes Peak, it is the county seat of El Paso County and one of the most popular tourist destinations…

The Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway climbs the 8.9 miles to the 14,110-foot summit of Pikes Peak. The railway is the highest in North America and was built as a tourist attraction in the late nineteenth century. Other cog railways can be found on Mt…

Matthew Carpenter (1964–) is a mountain runner best known for his performances at high-altitude races such as the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, where he set the course record in 1993, and the Leadville Trail 100 Run, where he set the record in 2005. In…

At the southern tip of Colorado’s Front Range, just west of the city of Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak is the most famous mountain in the state. The Fourteener is one of the most important peaks in Colorado history and plays an essential role in the state…

First held in 1956 as a contest between smokers and nonsmokers, the Pikes Peak Marathon is an annual trail-running race that takes competitors from Manitou Springs to the summit of 14,115-foot Pikes Peak and back, mostly via the mountain’s famous Barr…