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NEVER SUMMER MOUNTAINS PROVIDED
Courtesy Kent Kanouse
The Never Summer mountains in July 2019.

Never Summer Mountains

The Never Summer Mountains are a striking sight: saw-toothed and snow-capped much, if not all, of the year – a stark collection of 17 prominent peaks just west of Rocky Mountain National Park. The continental divide cuts through the Never Summers, and so snow that does melt goes west into the Colorado River, east into the North Platte and the Cache la Poudre. The name for the Never Summer Mountains was offered by the Arapaho, as was the name of one of the jaggedest peaks: "Nokhu Crags," from an Arapaho phrase for "Eagle's Nest." Mount Cirrus, Mount Cumulus, and Mount Nimbus, seem to spawn the clouds. But the tallest of the range is Mount Richthofen, named after a globe-trotting German geologist of the 19th century, who they say planned a great summer resort here, but whose nephew flew to greater heights as the “Red Baron” of World War I.

The words "Colorado Postcards" overlaid on top of a sun beams

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Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.


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