| Mount Champion | |
| Elevation Ft: | 13646 |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] [2] |
| Prominence Ft: | 286 |
| Isolation Mi: | 0.6 |
| Parent Peak: | Peak 13738[3] |
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Colorado |
| Region: | Lake County |
| Region Type: | County |
| Part Type: | Protected area |
| Part: | San Isabel National Forest |
| Range: | Rocky Mountains Sawatch Range |
| Map: | Colorado#USA |
| Coordinates: | 39.1321°N -106.5215°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [4] |
| Topo: | USGS Mount Champion |
| Rock: | Quartz Monzonite[5] |
| Easiest Route: | hiking |
Mount Champion is a 13646feet mountain summit in Lake County, Colorado, United States.
Mount Champion is set 2miles east of the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains. The mountain is located 17miles east of the community of Aspen on land managed by San Isabel National Forest. Mount Champion can be seen from State Highway 82 at Independence Pass. It ranks as the 173rd-highest peak in Colorado.[3] Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into tributaries of the Arkansas River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2450feet above North Fork Lake Creek in 0.75miles. An ascent of the peak involves hiking 6miles with 3400feet of elevation gain.[1]
Tingley S. Wood discovered gold on Mount Champion in 1881.[6] The Champion Mine extracted gold and silver-bearing quartz and an aerial tramway transported the ore from the mine to the Champion Mill. The crushed ore was then transported by wagon to Leadville. The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names,[4] and has been featured in publications since at least 1898.[7] The mine and summit are privately held land, owned by Gold Retrievers, LLC.
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mt. Champion is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.[8] 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.