| Mount Eolus | |
| Photo Size: | 240 |
| Elevation Ft: | 14090. |
| Elevation Ref: | [1] [2] |
| Prominence Ft: | 1024 |
| Isolation Mi: | 1.69 |
| Range: | San Juan Mountains, Needle Mountains |
| Listing: | Colorado fourteeners 33rd |
| Location: | La Plata County, Colorado, U.S. |
| Map: | Colorado |
| Coordinates: | 37.6218°N -107.6227°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [3] |
| Topo: | USGS 7.5' topographic map Columbine Pass, Colorado |
| Easiest Route: | Northeast Ridge: Scramble, [4] |
Mount Eolus is a high mountain summit of the Needle Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 14090feet fourteener is located in the Weminuche Wilderness of San Juan National Forest, 44.1km (27.4miles) northeast by north (bearing 29°) of the City of Durango in La Plata County, Colorado, United States.[1] [2] [3]
Named after the Greek god of the wind, the mountain was originally referred to as "Aeolus" in the 1874 Hayden Survey.[5] The current spelling of "Eolus" was first used in the Wheeler Survey of 1878.[6]
Mount Eolus is one of three fourteeners in the Needle Mountains; the others are Sunlight Peak and Windom Peak. All three peaks are located around the cirque known as Upper Chicago Basin. Eolus lies to the west of the upper basin, while the other peaks lie on the east side. These mountains are among the most remote of Colorado's fourteeners and have a strong wilderness character.
North Eolus, elevation 14045feet, is a northern subpeak of Mount Eolus, though it is not usually counted as a separate peak or as an official fourteener, since it has a topographic prominence of only 179feet.[7] It is sometimes climbed in conjunction with Eolus.[8]