Mount Bethel (Colorado)

Mount Bethel
East aspect
Highest point
Elevation	12,705 ft (3,872 m)[1][2]
Prominence	425 ft (130 m)[1]
Parent peak	Pettingell Peak (13,559 ft)[2][3]
Isolation	1.24 mi (2.00 km)[1]
Coordinates	39°42′36″N 105°52′43″W / 39.7099144°N 105.8785694°W / 39.7099144; -105.8785694[4]
Naming
Etymology	Ellsworth Bethel
Geography
Mount Bethel Location in Colorado Show map of Colorado Mount Bethel Mount Bethel (the United States) Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Clear Creek County
Parent range	Rocky Mountains Front Range
Topo map	USGS Loveland Pass
Climbing
Easiest route	Hiking class 2[2]

Mount Bethel is a 12,705-foot (3,872 m) mountain summit in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States.

Mount Bethel is set two miles (3.2 km) east of the Continental Divide in the Front Range which is a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.^[1] It is an iconic landmark viewed from westbound Interstate 70 as travelers approach the Eisenhower Tunnel. The mountain is located 50 miles (80 km) west of Denver on land managed by Arapaho National Forest. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains into headwaters of Clear Creek which is a tributary of the South Platte River. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 2,300 feet (701 m) above the creek and Interstate 70 in one mile (1.6 km). Snow fences are a distinguishing feature on the mountain's slopes which are there to mitigate avalanches from threatening the Interstate. An ascent of the peak involves hiking four miles (6.4 km) with 2,680 feet (817 m) of elevation gain.^[5]

The mountain was originally called "Little Professor", in association with "Big Professor" which was the original name for Mount Sniktau on the opposite side of Clear Creek. The mountain's toponym was officially adopted in 1926 by the United States Board on Geographic Names to remember Ellsworth Bethel (1863–1925), American botanist.^[4] Bethel worked for the National Forest Service as a forest pathologist; he was a biology teacher at East Denver High School in Denver; and he named many of the peaks in Colorado's Indian Peaks Wilderness.

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Mount Bethel is located in an alpine subarctic climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool to warm summers.^[6] 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. This climate supports the Loveland Ski Area two miles south of the peak.

• Mountains portal
• List of mountain peaks of Colorado

• Mount Bethel: weather forecast
• Ellsworth Bethel: biography and photo