On January 27, Colorado’s Geographic Naming Advisory Board’s meeting agenda including the discussion of renaming two well-known 14,000-foot peaks – 14,259-foot Longs Peak and 14,058-foot Handies Peak.

Found among 51 geographical features on the board’s ‘action list‘ of pending requests was also the topic of naming or renaming other prominent points around the two aforementioned peaks, as well as those around Holy Cross.

In terms of Longs Peak and neighboring Mount Meeker, the proposal discussed was to change Longs Peak to Beaver Mountain and Mount Meeker to Paddle Tail Mountain.

Longs Peak is named after Stephen H. Long, a New Hampshire-born topographical engineer and explorer who led an expedition into Colorado in the early 1800s. The proponent of the name change, D’Arcy Winston Straub of Denver, wrote: “Longs Peak, the 14,000’ peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, is named after the explorer Stephen Long who helped to explore and settle—or conquer and oppress, depending upon one’s perspective—the West. Although Stephen Long did not commit the atrocities associated with Governor Evans [a reference to the 2023 renaming of Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky], Stephen Long does represent an aspect of American history that some may find controversial. The name of the peak should reflect this astonishing rock formation as opposed to a historical figure that will have less significance with each passing generation and is associated with a controversial aspect of history.”

In the case of Longs Peak, the Board seemed to agree that the proposal of the name change was not a priority. Also noteworthy was that a spokesperson for National Park Service took the stance of opposing the name change.

After a vote by the board, it was decided that at this time and considering the proposal being discussed, the peak would not be renamed. It was noted that the door may still be open for a different name to be considered in the future.

For the Handies Peak name change, Rainbow Peak was proposed. The Handies Peak Group proposal also included the naming of 12 other prominent points in the surrounding area, which would adopt the following names: Diffraction Peak, Particle Peak, Photon Peak, Pot of Gold Peak, Quantum Mechanics Peak, Reflection Peak, Refraction Peak, ROYGBIV Peak, Sundog Peak, Wave Peak, White Light Peak, and Wildfire Peak.

The origin of the ‘Handies’ namesake is a bit ambiguous, believed to be the name of an early settler, explorer, or surveyor linked to the Lake City area in the mid-19th century. The proponent behind this proposal was the aforementioned D’Arcy Winston Straub of the Longs Peak proposal. This proposal was moreso related to the concern that any peak named after a person “is shortsighted, perilous, and captures unsavory aspects of human nature,” calling for the name of Handies to fit a theme with surrounding peaks like Sunlight and Redcloud. Hinsdale County and the Bureau of Land Management opposed the switch. It was ultimately decided that this proposal would not move forward, as well.

Also on the agenda was the naming of seven prominent points around Mount of the Holy Cross, which would name surrounding peaks based on the seven deadly sins: Lust Peak, Sloth Peak, Envy Peak, Wrath Peak, Gluttony Peak, Pride Peak, and Greed Peak. The move to advance this proposal was also denied. While creativity related to the proposal was noted, the proposal was said to lack local support.

Other 14,000-foot Colorado peaks are mentioned on the board’s ‘action list,’ as well, including a proposal to change the name of Kit Carson Mountain (proposal to change to Frustrum Peak, Mount Crestone, Venado Mountain, or Tabeguache Ute Peak due to what the proponent describes as the peak’s offensive namesake), Mount Elbert (proposal to change name to Mount Daisy, with ‘Elbert’ also described by the proponent as offensive), and Pikes Peak (proposal to change name to Tava Mountain with reason being to revert to an indigenous name). These proposed changes were not among topics discussed during the January 27 meeting.

The discussion of renaming peaks follows the change of Mount Evans to Mount Blue Sky in 2023, with Mount Evans previously bearing the name of Colorado Governor John Evans who was described as facilitating the political climate in which the horrific Sand Creek Massacre occurred.

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