Pawnee Peak

Pawnee Peak is a 12943 ft mountain summit on the boundary shared by Boulder County and Grand County, in Colorado, United States.

Description
Pawnee Peak is set on the Continental Divide in the Front Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The mountain is located 20 mi west-northwest of Boulder in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, on land managed by Arapaho National Forest and Roosevelt National Forest. It is the ninth-highest summit in the wilderness and 18th-highest in Boulder County. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's east slope drains to South St. Vrain Creek, whereas the west slope drains to Monarch Lake via Cascade Creek. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2060 ft above Pawnee Lake in 0.7 mile (1.1 km) and 1600 ft above Blue Lake in 0.75 mile (1.2 km). An ascent of the peak involves hiking 10.5 mi (round trip) with 2500 ft of elevation gain. The mountain was named by Ellsworth Bethel and the toponym was officially adopted on October 7, 1914, by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, the mountain is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers. Due to its altitude, it receives precipitation all year, as snow in winter and as thunderstorms in summer, with a dry period in late spring.

Climbing
Established climbing routes on Pawnee Peak:


 * South slopes –
 * East ridge – class 3