Best beginners peaks for October/November

FAQ and threads for those just starting to hike the Colorado 14ers.
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jpkili15
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Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by jpkili15 »

What are the best beginners 14ers during the months/weather of October/ November? I am driving from Texas to hike 2 or 3. Thanks JP
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nsaladin
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Re: Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by nsaladin »

jpkili15 wrote:What are the best beginners 14ers during the months/weather of October/ November? I am driving from Texas to hike 2 or 3. Thanks JP
Bierstadt, Sherman, Quandary. Bring snow gear.
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litote312
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Re: Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by litote312 »

Is Sherman more easily accessed from Iowa Gulch or Fourmile Creek in late fall/winter?
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ameristrat
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Re: Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by ameristrat »

It honestly depends on the weather. Quandary, Elbert, Sherman, Bierstadt, etc are all good bets, but you never know when the snow will come. I did a mostly snow-free trip to Blanca and Ellingwood in late October two years ago. I hike Antero with no snow to speak in November of the same year.

By the same token, by mid October last year, snow gear was much more necessary.

The best advice is to be ready for lots of snow - it's easier to audible to snow-free routes than away from them.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. - Rene Daumal
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Urban Snowshoer
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Re: Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by Urban Snowshoer »

October is really hit and miss: sometimes you can get really stable weather days and sometimes you get snowstorms. Either way, it's going to be cold so prepare accordingly and do bear in mind that the amount daylight is diminishing in October. .


As far as climbing in November goes, snow is virtually a given. How much snow you'll encounter in November depends on the year and what time in the month you go; the later in the month you head out the more snow there will be. Also take into consideration that the amount of daylight is getting really short in November.

If you're not confident in your snow climbing abilities shoot for early October and keep the technical difficulty below Class 3: ice patches on Class 1-2 is mostly a minor annoyance, whereas ice on Class 3+ is serious business.

You may also want to look for a trailhead with year-round access or something close to it (e.g. Quandary). The trailheads with seasonal closures--the ones that aren't plowed all the way in winter--typically become inaccessible sometime in October-November. However, exactly when these roads close for the season is a real crapshoot.
Last edited by Urban Snowshoer on Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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AlexeyD
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Re: Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by AlexeyD »

jpkili15 wrote:What are the best beginners 14ers during the months/weather of October/ November? I am driving from Texas to hike 2 or 3. Thanks JP
If you don't mind either a longer day or an overnight, Humboldt Peak in the Sangres (via W ridge) should be good in October (before there's enough snow for serious avy hazard on the slopes going up to the ridge)
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Re: Best beginners peaks for October/November

Post by nsaladin »

litote312 wrote:Is Sherman more easily accessed from Iowa Gulch or Fourmile Creek in late fall/winter?
Sherman has been my only calendar winter hike/climb. I came from fourmile creek side in December. I did not get all the way to the gates, but I got just past the large modern house on the south side of the road. Around a 9 mile hike instead of the standard 5.25 miles RT from the gate.
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