Your to-do list should also include...

[doggler]

Hey you! Uhm, congratulations on your recent climb of [insert peak name here]. You're really taking to this fourteeners thing, aren't you? What's on your schedule? What are you climbing next? Oh really? Man, you're really getting after it this summer. That's a lot of time in the mountains...yeah, I know, it's wonderful up there, right?

So...hear me out for a second. I think it's great that you're loving on these peaks. I've been there. I know what it feels like. Have you ever thought about giving back, though? The great thing about climbing these great mountains here - OK, the great thing besides it being great - is that they're (almost) all FREE! Since no one is requiring you to pay a fee to climb, dontchya think it's reasonable to offer up some time and money via your own free will? Yeah? You do? Good! Luckily, I've included links to a few places where you should go to first! Yeah, you're welcome - I've done all the dirty work. All you have to do is read on a bit, click a few things, and pat yourself on the back for being a good boy/girl.

1)Donate to the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative. Just......click here. Remember that one time you climbed Columbia and decided you never wanted to touch that heap of eroded mess again? Ever notice how hard it is to get lost on your way up Grays and Torreys? Were you thankful that you didn't have to deal with the misery of wobbling through North Maroon's rock glacier? Guess what? Those trails you use don't appear out of thin air; people actually create and maintain these things! If you've ever complained about a route you have done in the past, you can actually do something about it! The money you give to the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) goes toward building, maintaining, and restoring trails.

1a)Volunteer for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative. This summer's projects involve trail work on Bierstadt, Yale, Holy Cross, Capitol, North Maroon, and Quandary. This is definitely one of those things that you think, "Hmmmm, well, yeah. That's a good idea. I probably should do something like that, but man, I just don't have time." I would challenge you with this - if you have time to bag peaks, don't you have time to help maintain them? I'm not going to put out a ratio, but...well, you know you probably should.

2)Buy a CORSAR card. OK, so the hardest part about doing this is actually just clicking here. Seriously...for $3 a year, or $12 for 5 years, you help reimburse the costs of all the wonderful SAR members across the state who selflessly give in order to help keep us safe. Not trying to guilt you too much, but really, this one is a no-brainer. Anyone who has the means to climb a fourteener surely has $3 they can part with to support SAR.

Full disclosure: My first few years in the Colorado mountains were full of me, me, me. I was in such a rush to complete all the fourteeners, trying to hit X peak on Y weekend with Z people. By the time I "finished", I had probably put in a couple hundred hours on the trails. It took me a few more years before I bought my CORSAR card, and it wasn't even until last year that I finally broke down and donated to the CFI. My first volunteer project hasn't even happened yet! But if I ran across more threads like this, hearing from folks in this little community who were putting money and time were their mouths were, or at least where they should be, I may have been goaded into action a little sooner. Even if I can convince one of you to click on any of the above links, I guess I have helped make up for being a bonehead in the past.

Climb on!

[James Scott]

Great post Doggler!

One thing I would add to anyone just starting: Train yourself to pick up any trash on the trail, whether it is yours or not. There will always be someone ahead of you who, either by accident or out of apathy, leaves that Power Bar Wrapper or water bottle cap. Get in the habit of picking it up without getting upset about it, and toss it later. I climbed Quandary with a cousin from North Carolina who was amazed how clean it was up and down. Made me especially proud of this community, which does a great job of taking care of what we love!

[ajkagy]

I'd like to add, anyone with a current hunting/fishing license, or boat, snowmobile, or ATV registration puts money into the CORSAR fund as well.