Ajax Peak

Ajax Peak is a 12,785-foot-elevation (3,897-meter) mountain summit located in San Miguel County of southwest Colorado, United States.^[3] It is situated on land managed by Uncompahgre National Forest, and is the iconic landmark visible three miles east of the community of Telluride. Ajax is set immediately south of Savage Basin and the ghost town of Tomboy, one mile southwest of Chicago Peak, and one mile west of Telluride Peak. It is also immediately northeast of Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado's highest waterfall at 365-feet high.^[6] It is part of the San Juan Mountains which are a subset of the Rocky Mountains. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises 3,800 feet (1,200 meters) above the box canyon in approximately one mile. The old mill town of Pandora at the base of Ajax Peak was hit by snow slides each winter, and one particularly bad event in 1884 came over the Ajax Mine and wrecked the mills.^[7]

Ajax Peak
West aspect, from Telluride
Highest point
Elevation	12,785 ft (3,897 m)[1]
Prominence	105 ft (32 m)[1]
Parent peak	Chicago Peak (13,385 ft)[2]
Isolation	1.16 mi (1.87 km)[2]
Coordinates	37°55′43″N 107°45′20″W[3]
Naming
Etymology	Ajax the Great[4]
Geography
Ajax Peak Location in Colorado Show map of Colorado Ajax Peak Ajax Peak (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	San Miguel County Colorado, US
Parent range	Rocky Mountains San Juan Mountains
Topo map	USGS Telluride
Climbing
Easiest route	Hiking trail[5]

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Ajax Peak has an alpine subarctic climate 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. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries and headwaters of the San Miguel River.

Gallery

• 
  Ajax Peak's west aspect (centered) in late winter
• 
  Ajax Peak from Telluride's Colorado Avenue
• 
  Detail of lower southwest cliffs of Ajax Peak
• 
  Ajax with San Miguel River
• 
  Ajax left of center, with San Miguel River
• 

See also

• Mountains portal
• Colorado portal

• Mountains of San Miguel County, Colorado