GNSS Survey Finds East Crestone Slightly Taller Than Crestone Peak, Potentially Reordering Fourteener Status

Overview

• On Oct. 5, surveyors placed differential GNSS units on both summits for more than two hours, recording simultaneous data every second.
• The measurements show East Crestone at 14,299.3 feet versus Crestone Peak at 14,299.0 feet, a roughly 3.6-inch edge.
• Under the 300-foot topographic prominence convention, acceptance of the data would make East Crestone the ranked fourteener and reclassify Crestone Peak as a subpeak.
• The findings have been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, and any formal re-designation would likely involve the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
• The survey challenges earlier lidar estimates favoring Crestone Peak, and climbing leaders say any list update would minimally affect climbers’ records or fastest-known-times.