Quail Mountain (Colorado)

Quail Mountain is a 13465 ft mountain summit in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States.

Description
Quail Mountain is set approximately 7 mi east of the Continental Divide in the Collegiate Peaks which are a subrange of the Sawatch Range. The mountain is located 4 mi southwest of Twin Lakes on land managed by San Isabel National Forest. It ranks as the 282nd-highest summit in Colorado. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's south slope drains into Clear Creek, whereas the north slope drains to Lake Creek, and both are tributaries of the Arkansas River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3700 ft above Clear Creek in 1.5 mi. The highest peak in Colorado, Mount Elbert, rises 6.84 mi to the north-northwest of Quail Mountain. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names.

Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Quail 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. Climbers can expect afternoon rain, hail, and lightning from the seasonal monsoon in late July and August.