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15 unusual facts about Pikes Peak


1806 in the United States

November 15 – Pike expedition: During his second exploratory expedition, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike sees a distant mountain peak while near the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains (later named Pikes Peak in his honor).

2005 D1 Grand Prix season

One notable debuts was the father of Rhys, Rod Millen, the rallying and Pikes Peak legend, with all the thirty year motorsport experiences he gained, he broke into the last 16 on his first ever D1 outing in his Mazda RX-8.

Colorado Springs Blizzard

Blizzard entered the PDL as an expansion franchise in 2004 as the third team from the Pikes Peak area to play in the league, following the runs of the Colorado Springs Stampede (1995−2000) and Colorado Springs Ascent (2001).

Colorado–Colorado Springs Mountain Lions

Snowboarding, skiing, rock climbing, bouldering, hiking, mountain biking, trail running, and lesser common slack roping and 4-wheeling are popular student activities at UCCS due to the proximity to Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and the surrounding mountainous terrain.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

Here, visitors see views of the Front Range, from Longs Peak in the north to Pikes Peak in the south.

Edward M. McCook

He joined the Pike's Peak Gold Rush in 1859 and represented the Pikes Peak region in the Kansas Territorial House of Representatives.

Fort York

As the British abandoned the fort, they set the powder magazine to blow up, killing or wounding several hundred U.S. soldiers (including General Zebulon Pike, for whom Pikes Peak is named).

George L. Shoup

After being devastated financially in the panic of 1857, Shoup moved to Colorado Territory in 1859 to engage in mining and merchandising near Pikes Peak.

KRDO-TV

By 1960, the formerly separate Colorado Springs and Pueblo TV markets melded into one single market serving the Pikes Peak region and surrounding areas.

Simo Lampinen

More recently, he has been Clerk of the Course at the Rally Finland, the event he won three times himself, and he has also assisted Saab in two racing events; their Saab 900 Talladega Challenge in Alabama in 1996 where several speed records were set, and the 2000 Pikes Peak race, when Per Eklund won in a race-prepped Saab 9-3 Viggen.

Suzuki Aerio

In 2001, Suzuki specially built spaceframe racing car for hillclimb races with a bodyshell to resemble the Aerio dubbed the Suzuki Aerio P950 Pikes Peak Special driven by its rally team manager and former rally driver, Nobuhiro Tajima.

Terrell Braly

His great grandfather, J. Oliver Russell, along with his brothers William G. Russell, Levi Russell and James Russell, discovered gold in the Colorado Territory in 1858 and are credited with founding Denver and starting the Pikes Peak Gold Rush.

The Man Who Sold the Moon

As Harriman predicted, once the first flight succeeds, many seek to invest in his venture to make more flights using a catapult launcher built on Pikes Peak.

UFO Phil

Phil said he planned to construct his power plant at his new home on top of Pikes Peak.

Zalmon G. Simmons

In the late 1880s, it took Simmons two days to get to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado to inspect some telegraph wire insulators he had invented.


Mountain States

Some of the more famous mountains in the Mountain West are Mount Elbert, Pikes Peak, Blanca Peak, Longs Peak, Kings Peak, Wind River Peak, Cloud Peak, Wheeler Peak, Truchas Peak, Granite Peak, Borah Peak, and Humphreys Peak.

William F. Milliken, Jr.

He drove cars such as Type 35 and 54 Bugattis and an ex-Indy Four Wheel Drive (FWD) Miller at Watkins Glen, Pikes Peak, Sebring and many others across North America for 15 years.