In the middle of a chilly October night in 2025, my two friends and I suited up at the Cottonwood Creek trailhead and started a trek into the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Colorado. It was a little below freezing as we got moving at 1:30 a.m., and the Moon illuminated the snowy mountaintops above us.
Our packs were a bit heavier than normal because we were hauling highly accurate surveying equipment to the summits of two peaks, each over 14,000 feet (4,267.2 meters). The peaks, Crestone and East Crestone, were close enough in height, with a short enough saddle in between, that only the taller of the two would count as a true 14er and the other as a sub-peak.
Crestone had traditionally been thought to be taller and sees hundreds of ascents each year. East Crestone, traditionally believed to be shorter, sees only a fraction as many ascents. Colorado has 58 mountain peaks over 14,000 feet that peakbaggers consider 14ers. For locals and visitors alike, bagging a 14er is a sport, and some people post reports about having climbed all 58.
I wanted to measure which was taller, since I suspected previous measurements people had trusted for years might be erroneous.
GPS allows Eric Gilbertson to measure the peaks of Crestone and East Crestone in Colorado in October 2025.
Eric Gilbertson
I teach mountain surveying, and I climb and research mountains around the world for fun. I’m trying to climb the highest mountain in every country on Earth. I have so far climbed 147 of 196, including tough, high-altitude technical ones such as K2 without supplemental oxygen in Pakistan and Pobeda in Kyrgyzstan.
Through my experience climbing, I discovered that not all countries in the world have been surveyed accurately enough to know the country’s true high point. The high point is geographically significant, as it’s the highest natural point or peak in the country, state or province. Often, high points are a source of national or state pride. I taught myself surveying to determine and verify these high points on my own.
Discovering high points around the world
I’ve so far discovered new high points in seven countries: Colombia – Pico Simón Bolívar; Saudi Arabia – Jabal Ferwa; Uzbekistan – Alpomish; Togo – Mount Atilakoutse; Gambia – Sare Firasu Hill; Guinea Bissau – Mount Ronde; and Botswana – Monalanong Hill.
Ginge Fullen, a climbing partner of Eric Gilbertson, sits atop the peak of Pico Simon Bolivar in Colombia in December 2024.
Eric Gilbertson
I’ve surveyed over 60 peaks in the U.S. and Canada. In 2025 I discovered a new state high point in Michigan, Mount Curwood, at 1,979.3 feet (603.3 meters), and a new provincial high point of Nova Scotia, Western Barren, at 1,743.2 feet (531.3 meters).
I’ve determined the 100 highest peaks in Washington state, where I live and work, and studied how climate change is affecting the elevations of…
