14er Guide Recommendations?

FAQ and threads for those just starting to hike the Colorado 14ers.
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hashtagadventuregirl
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14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by hashtagadventuregirl »

My friend and I are planning to do some 14ers in early July in preparation for another trip. While we both have hiking/backpacking experience, neither of us has done any 14ers yet. We plan to climb and backpack for a few days. Because we do not have any 14er experience, I am thinking it might be good to have a guide along with us. Does anyone have any recommendations on someone who does this sort of thing in their spare time? We are not interested in a full on guided tour with a bunch of people through a company. I have a friend in BC, Canada who works for a company, but, he does this on the side.
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nsaladin
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by nsaladin »

I would say try one of the easier 14ers like Democrat, Bross, Lincoln, Sherman or Bierstadt, and study the routes online, and maybe even print them out off of this site. No need for a paid guide or anything. But, if you're just looking for someone to tag a long with that has done the certain peak, that wouldn't be a bad idea (but the mountains I described are pretty straight forward for their standard routes, and should not require a guide).
jmeizis
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by jmeizis »

There are a limited number of 14ers where a guide would be worthwhile (this is coming from a guide). If you have hiking and backpacking experience then probably more than half of the 14ers are well within your grasp. They're simply walk ups in the summer and you just need a little common sense and to be aware of your timing to avoid afternoon thunderstorms. That said there is still a number of 14ers where a guide may be helpful in either showing you the skills to do it more safely on your own or guiding you on the route. Unless it's a class a guided summit climb will most likely just be you and your group. Technical guiding on a harder 14er shouldn't really have more than 2 or 3 people roped up to one guide

If you are thinking you might want a guide along I would say it would be better to hire them in the capacity of teaching rather than a guided summit climb. For example I'm about to leave for an alpine skills clinic I'm teaching down in the Alpine Loop area near Lake City starting tomorrow. The goal of the course is to teach both basic camping and backpacking skills for mountaineering and additionally basic skills for climbing snow, and rock scrambling. There's some other stuff with a little avalanche hazard recognition, placing gear, and various other basics. While we're doing that though we will hopefully be able to summit Handies Peak, American Peak, and maybe Whitecrosss or one of the other unnamed mountains nearby. After the class is over the participants will hopefully feel ready to tackle some peaks on their own and have the basic skills to do so. Teaching another in June if you're interested, http://www.coclimbing.com/spring_alpine ... linic.html

Of course climbing is a collection of skill sets that builds upon past experiences. If you go climb an easy 14er it may have limited impact on your ability to go climb Mt. Rainier or even Long's Peak. A lot of additional skill sets to learn between the two. Even the easy 14ers can have inobvious or seemingly benign hazards that many people ignore. The number of people ascending into menacing clouds or getting killed on "easy" 14ers is proof of this. I would say do a couple of the easier 14ers like the ones suggested above and then go with a guide for something more complicated with the overall focus being on learning skills for harder peaks but the underlying goal of climbing something as well. There are plenty of people who survive things and believe they then know what they're doing. Just surviving is generally a mistake and does you no good if you fail to learn from it.
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fahixson
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by fahixson »

An alternative to a guide would be a request through the Climbing Connection forum if you're interested in hiking with a partner that may be familiar with the mountain/route of your choice. Agree with others that it's unlikely you'll need a guide for most of the 14ers. However, it can be helpful to share in the planning (and potentially route finding) with a partner.

You can also spend some time searching the forum for things like recommended water supply, gear list, snack/food ideas, pack weight, pace, rest step, pressure breathing, etc. Opinions will vary, but it will help you get an idea of what works for others. Reviewing July/August trip reports is a good way to see how the route is likely to be during your visit, but be sure to check the Peak Conditions and Trailhead Status reports for the latest info in the days before your hike.
Good luck, hope you have a great time.
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spiderman
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by spiderman »

There shouldn't be any insurmountable difficulties if you have basic hiking skills. If you show up at 6 AM on a summer weekend to a trailhead for a 14er with a class 1 rating, I am sure that you will find lots of other hikers. Print out the route description from 14ers and it will be hard to get lost on the trail. Gallant Coloradans are always willing to help out a damsel in distress (especially if you own a Subaru) if you run into any problems.
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Stephen Butler
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by Stephen Butler »

Don't waste your money on a guide. As others have suggested, just try one of the easier mountains. If you go an a weekend in July to one of the easier ones like Bierstadt, Quandary or something similar there will be tons of people. If you are in ok shape and your body does fine with the altitude you won't have a problem.
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douglas
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by douglas »

jmeizis wrote:There are a limited number of 14ers where a guide would be worthwhile (this is coming from a guide)
Do you do guided trips up some of the harder peaks, such as Capitol? I remember hearing about other guides on the forum but don't know who they are. Any info appreciated.
jmeizis
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by jmeizis »

Sent you a message Douglas.
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Dakota
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Re: 14er Guide Recommendations?

Post by Dakota »

http://mtnguide.net/alpine-climbing/private-guiding/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

or I saw this site on IMG a while back:

http://www.sheldonkerr.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you have cash to spend a guide might be nice to have for giving info on local wildlife, information about the area, names of peaks, etc. I don't know, I am imagining my experiences with whitewater guides, and guides I've used out of country.
If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.
-Albert Einstein
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