Mount Massive rises fourteen thousand four hundred twenty-eight feet in central Colorado, making it the state's second-highest summit and one of North America's loftiest Rocky Mountain peaks. Surveyed and first climbed in 1873 during the Hayden Survey, with Henry Gannett credited for the ascent, it is named for its broad, elongated shape rather than a single sharp summit. Five summits exceed fourteen thousand feet along a ridge more than three miles long, giving it more high-elevation land than any other mountain in the lower forty-eight states. Its near tie with Mount Elbert fostered a local rivalry, and today it remains renowned for its scale, hiking routes, and alpine wilderness setting.