 miners in honor of Samuel Hitt Elbert , the governor of the then @-@ Territory of Colorado , because he brokered a treaty in September 1873 with the Ute tribe that opened up more than 3 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 acres ( 12 @,@ 000 km2 ) of reservation land to mining and railroad activity . The first recorded ascent of the peak was by H.W. Stuckle in 1874 , who was surveying the mountain as part of the Hayden Survey .   Originally measured as 14 @,@ 433 feet ( 4 @,@ 399 m ) in height , Mount Elbert 's elevation was later adjusted to 14 @,@ 440 feet ( 4 @,@ 400 m ) following a re @-@ evaluation of mapped elevations , which sparked protests . The actual change was made in 1988 as a result of the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 ; it seems the original measurement resulted from the Sea Level Datum of 1929 . A matter of some contention arose after the Great Depression over the heights of Elbert and its neighbor , Mount Massive , which differ in elevation by only 12 feet ( 3 @.@ 7 m ) . This led to an ongoing dispute that came to a head with the Mount Massive supporters building large piles of stones on the summit to boost its height , only to have the Mount Elbert proponents demolish them . The effort was ultimately unsuccessful and Mount Elbert has remained the highest peak in Colorado . The first motorized ascent of Elbert occurred in 1949 , when a Jeep was driven to the summit , apparently to judge suitability for skiing development .   = = Flora and fauna = =   The summit of Mount Elbert is an alpine environment , featuring plants such as Phacelia sericea ( sky @-@ pilot ) , Hymenoxys grandiflora ( old @-@ man @-@ of @-@ the @-@ mountain ) , and Geum rossii ( alpine avens ) . Also noted are Carex atrata var. pullata , Salix desertorum , Platanthera hyperborea , Thalictrum fendleri , Aquilegia canadensis , Chenopodium album , Gentiana detonsa var. hallii , and Bigelovia parryi . Below treeline the mountain is heavily forested , with the lower slopes covered with a mixture of lodgepole pine , spruce , aspen and fir .   Some of the fauna reported on the climb to the summit include black bears , marmots , mule deer , pikas , and pocket gophers ; there are also many species of avifauna . Elk , grouse , turkey and bighorn sheep are present in the area during the summer .   = = Climbing = =   There are three main routes which ascend the mountain , all of which gain over 4 @,@ 100 feet ( 1 @,@ 200 m ) of elevation . The standard route ascends the peak from the east , starting from the Colorado Trail just north of Twin Lakes . The 4 @.@ 6 miles ( 7 @.@ 4 km ) long North ( Main ) Elbert Trail begins close to the Elbert Creek Campground , and gains about 4 @,@ 500 feet ( 1 @,@ 400 m ) . The trail is open to equestrians , mountain bikers and hunters during season . An easier , but longer route , the South Elbert Trail , is 5 @.@ 5 miles ( 8 @.@ 9 km ) long , climbing 4 @,@ 600 feet ( 1 @,@ 400 m ) at a less @-@ punishing gradient than the North Elbert Trail , approaching from the south and then climbing the eastern ridge .   The most difficult of the main routes is the Black Cloud Trail , a Class 2 climb that takes ten to fourteen hours depending on pace , gains 5 @,@ 300 feet ( 1 @,@ 600 m ) in elevation , and also involves an ascent of the sub @-@ peak , South Elbert , at 14 @,@ 134 feet ( 4 @,@ 308 m ) . Even healthy and experienced climbers report great difficulty on this route , and despite the fact that there is a trail , the route is extremely steep , unstable , and rocky in places . The elevation gain is not evenly distributed over the 5 @.@ 5 @-@ mile ascent . There are also routes approaching from the western face , and southwestern ridge , from South Halfmoon Creek Trailhead and Echo Canyon Trailhead respectively .   Although strenuous and requiring physical fitness , none of the conventional routes require specialist mountaineering skills or technical rock climbing . The main dangers of the mountain are those common to all high mountains , particularly altitude sickness . This can affect anyone , even those who are acclimatized . In serious cases , it can lead to high @-@ altitude pulmonary edema and cerebral edema , which can lead to difficulties with
Ġminers Ġin Ġhonor Ġof ĠSamuel ĠH itt ĠEl bert Ġ, Ġthe Ġgovernor Ġof Ġthe Ġthen Ġ@ - @ ĠTerritory Ġof ĠColorado Ġ, Ġbecause Ġhe Ġbroke red Ġa Ġtreaty Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ18 73 Ġwith Ġthe ĠU te Ġtribe Ġthat Ġopened Ġup Ġmore Ġthan Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġacres Ġ( Ġ12 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġkm 2 Ġ) Ġof Ġreservation Ġland Ġto Ġmining Ġand Ġrailroad Ġactivity Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġrecorded Ġascent Ġof Ġthe Ġpeak Ġwas Ġby ĠH . W . ĠSt uckle Ġin Ġ18 74 Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġsurve ying Ġthe Ġmountain Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠHayden ĠSurvey Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠOriginally Ġmeasured Ġas Ġ14 Ġ@ , @ Ġ433 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ399 Ġm Ġ) Ġin Ġheight Ġ, ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġ' s Ġelevation Ġwas Ġlater Ġadjusted Ġto Ġ14 Ġ@ , @ Ġ440 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ400 Ġm Ġ) Ġfollowing Ġa Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġevaluation Ġof Ġmapped Ġelev ations Ġ, Ġwhich Ġsparked Ġprotests Ġ. ĠThe Ġactual Ġchange Ġwas Ġmade Ġin Ġ1988 Ġas Ġa Ġresult Ġof Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAmerican ĠVertical ĠDat um Ġof Ġ1988 Ġ; Ġit Ġseems Ġthe Ġoriginal Ġmeasurement Ġresulted Ġfrom Ġthe ĠSea ĠLevel ĠDat um Ġof Ġ1929 Ġ. ĠA Ġmatter Ġof Ġsome Ġcontention Ġarose Ġafter Ġthe ĠGreat ĠDepression Ġover Ġthe Ġheights Ġof ĠEl bert Ġand Ġits Ġneighbor Ġ, ĠMount ĠMassive Ġ, Ġwhich Ġdiffer Ġin Ġelevation Ġby Ġonly Ġ12 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ3 Ġ@ . @ Ġ7 Ġm Ġ) Ġ. ĠThis Ġled Ġto Ġan Ġongoing Ġdispute Ġthat Ġcame Ġto Ġa Ġhead Ġwith Ġthe ĠMount ĠMassive Ġsupporters Ġbuilding Ġlarge Ġpiles Ġof Ġstones Ġon Ġthe Ġsummit Ġto Ġboost Ġits Ġheight Ġ, Ġonly Ġto Ġhave Ġthe ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġproponents Ġdemol ish Ġthem Ġ. ĠThe Ġeffort Ġwas Ġultimately Ġunsuccessful Ġand ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġhas Ġremained Ġthe Ġhighest Ġpeak Ġin ĠColorado Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġmotor ized Ġascent Ġof ĠEl bert Ġoccurred Ġin Ġ1949 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġa ĠJeep Ġwas Ġdriven Ġto Ġthe Ġsummit Ġ, Ġapparently Ġto Ġjudge Ġsuit ability Ġfor Ġskiing Ġdevelopment Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠFlor a Ġand Ġf auna Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsummit Ġof ĠMount ĠEl bert Ġis Ġan Ġal pine Ġenvironment Ġ, Ġfeaturing Ġplants Ġsuch Ġas ĠPh ac elia Ġser ice a Ġ( Ġsky Ġ@ - @ Ġpilot Ġ) Ġ, ĠHy men ox ys Ġgrand if lor a Ġ( Ġold Ġ@ - @ Ġman Ġ@ - @ Ġof Ġ@ - @ Ġthe Ġ@ - @ Ġmountain Ġ) Ġ, Ġand ĠGe um Ġro ss ii Ġ( Ġal pine Ġaven s Ġ) Ġ. ĠAlso Ġnoted Ġare ĠCare x Ġat r ata Ġvar . Ġpull ata Ġ, ĠSal ix Ġdesert orum Ġ, ĠPlat ant her a Ġhyper b orea Ġ, ĠTh al ict rum Ġfend ler i Ġ, ĠAqu ile g ia Ġcan ad ensis Ġ, ĠChen op odium Ġalbum Ġ, ĠGent iana Ġdet ons a Ġvar . Ġhall ii Ġ, Ġand ĠBig el ov ia Ġpar ry i Ġ. ĠBelow Ġtre eline Ġthe Ġmountain Ġis Ġheavily Ġforest ed Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġlower Ġslopes Ġcovered Ġwith Ġa Ġmixture Ġof Ġlodge pole Ġpine Ġ, Ġsp ruce Ġ, Ġas pen Ġand Ġfir Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSome Ġof Ġthe Ġf auna Ġreported Ġon Ġthe Ġclimb Ġto Ġthe Ġsummit Ġinclude Ġblack Ġbears Ġ, Ġmar m ots Ġ, Ġm ule Ġdeer Ġ, Ġp ik as Ġ, Ġand Ġpocket Ġg ophers Ġ; Ġthere Ġare Ġalso Ġmany Ġspecies Ġof Ġav if auna Ġ. ĠElk Ġ, Ġgrou se Ġ, Ġturkey Ġand Ġb igh orn Ġsheep Ġare Ġpresent Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġduring Ġthe Ġsummer Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠClim bing Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġare Ġthree Ġmain Ġroutes Ġwhich Ġascend Ġthe Ġmountain Ġ, Ġall Ġof Ġwhich Ġgain Ġover Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ100 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ200 Ġm Ġ) Ġof Ġelevation Ġ. ĠThe Ġstandard Ġroute Ġasc ends Ġthe Ġpeak Ġfrom Ġthe Ġeast Ġ, Ġstarting Ġfrom Ġthe ĠColorado ĠTrail Ġjust Ġnorth Ġof ĠTwin ĠLakes Ġ. ĠThe Ġ4 Ġ@ . @ Ġ6 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ7 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġkm Ġ) Ġlong ĠNorth Ġ( ĠMain Ġ) ĠEl bert ĠTrail Ġbegins Ġclose Ġto Ġthe ĠEl bert ĠCreek ĠCamp ground Ġ, Ġand Ġgains Ġabout Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ400 Ġm Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġtrail Ġis Ġopen Ġto Ġequ est rians Ġ, Ġmountain Ġb ikers Ġand Ġhunters Ġduring Ġseason Ġ. ĠAn Ġeasier Ġ, Ġbut Ġlonger Ġroute Ġ, Ġthe ĠSouth ĠEl bert ĠTrail Ġ, Ġis Ġ5 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġmiles Ġ( Ġ8 Ġ@ . @ Ġ9 Ġkm Ġ) Ġlong Ġ, Ġclimbing Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ600 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ400 Ġm Ġ) Ġat Ġa Ġless Ġ@ - @ Ġpunishing Ġgradient Ġthan Ġthe ĠNorth ĠEl bert ĠTrail Ġ, Ġapproaching Ġfrom Ġthe Ġsouth Ġand Ġthen Ġclimbing Ġthe Ġeastern Ġridge Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmost Ġdifficult Ġof Ġthe Ġmain Ġroutes Ġis Ġthe ĠBlack ĠCloud ĠTrail Ġ, Ġa ĠClass Ġ2 Ġclimb Ġthat Ġtakes Ġten Ġto Ġfourteen Ġhours Ġdepending Ġon Ġpace Ġ, Ġgains Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ300 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ600 Ġm Ġ) Ġin Ġelevation Ġ, Ġand Ġalso Ġinvolves Ġan Ġascent Ġof Ġthe Ġsub Ġ@ - @ Ġpeak Ġ, ĠSouth ĠEl bert Ġ, Ġat Ġ14 Ġ@ , @ Ġ134 Ġfeet Ġ( Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ308 Ġm Ġ) Ġ. ĠEven Ġhealthy Ġand Ġexperienced Ġclimbers Ġreport Ġgreat Ġdifficulty Ġon Ġthis Ġroute Ġ, Ġand Ġdespite Ġthe Ġfact Ġthat Ġthere Ġis Ġa Ġtrail Ġ, Ġthe Ġroute Ġis Ġextremely Ġsteep Ġ, Ġunstable Ġ, Ġand Ġrocky Ġin Ġplaces Ġ. ĠThe Ġelevation Ġgain Ġis Ġnot Ġevenly Ġdistributed Ġover Ġthe Ġ5 Ġ@ . @ Ġ5 Ġ@ - @ Ġmile Ġascent Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġalso Ġroutes Ġapproaching Ġfrom Ġthe Ġwestern Ġface Ġ, Ġand Ġsouthwestern Ġridge Ġ, Ġfrom ĠSouth ĠHalf moon ĠCreek ĠTrail head Ġand ĠEcho ĠCanyon ĠTrail head Ġrespectively Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġstren uous Ġand Ġrequiring Ġphysical Ġfitness Ġ, Ġnone Ġof Ġthe Ġconventional Ġroutes Ġrequire Ġspecialist Ġmount aine ering Ġskills Ġor Ġtechnical Ġrock Ġclimbing Ġ. ĠThe Ġmain Ġdangers Ġof Ġthe Ġmountain Ġare Ġthose Ġcommon Ġto Ġall Ġhigh Ġmountains Ġ, Ġparticularly Ġaltitude Ġsickness Ġ. ĠThis Ġcan Ġaffect Ġanyone Ġ, Ġeven Ġthose Ġwho Ġare Ġacc lim at ized Ġ. ĠIn Ġserious Ġcases Ġ, Ġit Ġcan Ġlead Ġto Ġhigh Ġ@ - @ Ġaltitude Ġpulmonary Ġed ema Ġand Ġcerebral Ġed ema Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcan Ġlead Ġto Ġdifficulties Ġwith