Mount Yale Summit Markers to commemorate your hike!
Mount Yale is one of nine 14ers in the Collegiate Peaks, in the central part of the Sawatch Range near Buena Vista, Colorado. It is the 21st tallest peak in Colorado and the 5th highest in the Collegiate Peaks. The term "Collegiate Peaks" comes from some of its individual peaks, which are named after universities, including Mount Harvard, Mount Princeton, Mount Oxford, Mount Columbia, and Mount Yale itself. Much of the upper part of the mountain is covered in scree and boulder fields.
Mount Yale has achieved great popularity as a non-technical fourteener. The mountain offers fantastic views of the Sawatch Range and Buena Vista, and can be considered a good "training" mountain for those wishing to tackle more difficult fourteeners later in the season.
The standard route for climbing Mount Yale was once Denny Gulch, but overuse turned the trail into both a safety and environmental issue. The Denny Gulch trailhead was closed by the Forest Service for restoration, and now most hikers use the nearby Denny Creek Trailhead to begin their hike. The climb up Mount Yale is generally considered to be moderately difficult, and can be attempted by any hikers in good physical condition.