Sawatch Range

The Sawatch Range is a massive range filled with massive peaks in the center of the Colorado Rockies, forming the Continental Divide stretching from Vail to Leadville to Buena Vista and Saguache. This range includes Colorado's highest peak, Mt. Elbert, and contains fifteen fourteeners, or 14,000-foot mountains, more than any other range in the continental United States. The majority of the Sawatch is covered by the San Isabel National Forest, including four designated wilderness areas: the Holy Cross Wilderness, Mount Massive Wilderness, Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness, and Collegiate Peaks Wilderness.

Holy Cross Alpenglow
Sawatch Range near Vail, Colorado
Elbert's Moonshadow
Sawatch Range, Colorado
Massive from Elbert
Sawatch Range near Leadville, Colorado
Huron Peak Wildflowers
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Pristine Evening
Holy Cross Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
South Fork & Huron Peak
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Sunset on The Three Apostles
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Three Apostles Blue
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Gold Dust Peak
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Huron Sunrise
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Colorado
Missouri Lakes Sunrise
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Tundra Sun Ponds
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Blodgett Sunrise
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Taylor Park Sagebrush
Sawatch Range, Colorado
Sawatch Undercast
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Three Apostles Gray
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, Colorado
La Plata Moonlight
Sawatch Range, Colorado
Holy Cross Hut
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Stormy Holy Cross
Holy Cross Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Holy Cross Alpenglow #2
Holy Cross Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Holy Cross Dawn Panorama
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Elbert Tarns
Mount Massive Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Mount Elbert Evening Light
Mount Massive Wilderness, Sawatch Range, Colorado
Marmot in Rocks
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Treasure Vault Lake
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Holy Cross Backcountry
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Fancy Pass Vista
Holy Cross Wilderness, Colorado
Gold Dust Basin
Sawatch Range, Colorado
Hartenstein Thunderstorm
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Sunrise on Mount Harvard
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Huron and Castle
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Mount Columbia
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Mount Yale
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Cloud Hiker
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Stormy Belford
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Collegiate Sunrise
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Mount Harvard Sunrise Reflection
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Missouri Mountain Ptarmigan
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Missouri Basin
Collegiate Peaks Wildernes, Colorado
Sunset Over the Sawatch
Browns Canyon National Monument, Colorado
Sawatch Range map

The Sawatch Range was carved from a huge dome of 1.7 billion year old basement granite, uplifted around 70 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny. During the Ice Age about 2 million years ago, the range was almost completely covered with ice sheet and glaciers, with only the highest ridges emerging through the ice. Today hiking through this range with its hulking but rounded massifs you can't help but feel the ancient origins of the rock and a sense of a once mighty mountain range in a regal age of decline.