Columbia Point

Columbia Point is a 13,986-foot summit in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Range, in the Crestones near the town of Crestone. A subpeak of Kit Carson Mountain with enough topographic prominence to stand as a separate summit, it was long known informally as Kat Carson or East Summit. In 2003, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially named it Columbia Point in memory of the seven astronauts killed when Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on February 1. That year, family members, astronauts, friends, and climbers gathered on the summit for a dedication service, making the mountain both a notable peak and a memorial tied to American spaceflight.

Crestone, Colorado · United States