Challenger
Point
Routed from OpenStreetMap · elevations USGS 3DEP
Challenger Point is a subpeak on Kit Carson Peak's northwest shoulder, unnamed on maps until 1987. Colorado Springs resident Dennis Williams proposed the name that year in memory of the seven astronauts killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart on liftoff on January 28, 1986; the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved it on April 9, 1987. By raw elevation it is the 34th-highest of Colorado's fourteeners, yet whether it qualifies as a peak distinct from Kit Carson has never been settled.
In July 1987, climber Alan Silverstein led an expedition that placed a memorial plaque on the summit inscribed with the phrase "Ad astra per aspera," Latin for "to the stars through adversity." At 301 feet of prominence above its connecting saddle with Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point clears the standard threshold for separate-summit status by a narrow margin, which is why some published Colorado 14ers lists still treat it as an appendage of Kit Carson rather than a fully independent peak.
Rough-dirt 2WD with good clearance just outside the town of Crestone; ruts and steep bits occasionally make 4WD useful, snow tires/AWD in winter.
No fee or permit — Rio Grande National Forest, trailhead at the edge of Crestone. Willow Lake (4.5 mi in) is the standard camp for a two-day climb; the lake basin is heavily used, camp in established sites. Source: 14ers.com Willow Creek trailhead page, checked July 2026.
Peak data: Challenger Point — Wikipedia