Evidence that 13ers are still safe from the hordes

[C-Shepguy]

Went up Longs a couple days ago. A guy was coming down the steeper part of the Ledges and asked me to confirm that he was on the keyhole route (sort of strange, right near one of those signs, and he had gotten up Longs impressively early). I asked him if he had come from the other direction, or from Meeker. He had no idea what I was even asking him. At the summit, I told two guys up there I was considering traversing over to summit Meeker. They had no idea what I was talking about. Almost back to the keyhole, I saw a guy I had talked to hours before and told him I had cliffed out a bunch of times trying to make it over to Meeker. He didn't know what I was talking about. No one on the whole damn mountain seemed to know that there is even a mountain named Meeker. So, in short....13ers are still pretty much unknown to the general public. We've got many years to enjoy most of them in peace.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Yup. Yesterday, not another person all day

[BoulderBarb]

I hiked Fletcher yesterday (but didn't make it quite to the top). Only saw 4 people the whole day. There were more mountain goats than humans.

[spong0949]

What is a 13er?

[Double Oh Seven]

I have never seen another person on a13er hike. I have seen even less people on 12ers.

[planet54]

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin (13er) and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion (14er)."

Henry David Thoreau

[Mtnman200]

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin (13er) and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion (14er)."

Henry David Thoreau

+1

[JasonCleghorn1975]

I have never seen another person on a13er hike. I have seen even less people on 12ers.

Is there an 11ers.com ?

[JChitwood]

I have done 19 Centennials and have met fewer than a dozen fellow climbers. This includes big July 4th and Labor Day weekends. I have only shared a Cent summit once under the most unlikely circumstances, middle of the week in September when I stumbled onto the top of Atlantic to find a couple in their early 20's eating lunch. I wouldn't have been more surprised if they were aliens. I apologized for disturbing their 13er solitude.

[TallGrass]

Went up Longs a couple days ago. ... I asked him if he had come from the other direction, or from Meeker. He had no idea what I was even asking him. At the summit, I told two guys up there I was considering traversing over to summit Meeker. They had no idea what I was talking about. Almost back to the keyhole, I saw a guy I had talked to hours before and told him I had cliffed out a bunch of times trying to make it over to Meeker. He didn't know what I was talking about.

I get the Meeker, nice peak, but what's this Longs thing you mention at the beginning? A trail to Meeker?

[atalarico]

I don't post much here these days, but I will just say that I agree. However, even if there were the same number of hoards of people on 13ers, there are so many more 13ers compared to 14ers that the crowds would be better distributed to the point that we'd hardly notice other people.

It's easy to judge the hoards on 14ers, but there are other ways to avoid crowds on 14ers than just giving them up entirely. For example, I've had Longs (yes, that Longs) all to myself, and once all to me and my climbing partners. One time was when the Keyhole was full of snow but it was still a nice Fall day, so I was the only one who was prepared enough to bring traction and an axe. One of the other times was on the Diamond, which can get crowded by climbing standards too. I think the key is to go when the going gets slightly tougher, or take a more "technical" route, and it tends to thin out the crowds.

We all go into the mountains for different reasons, and solitude and learning more about the land around you isn't as important to some people as it is to others. I'm not one of those people, so I'll keep seeking out the solitude and learning all the peaks on the horizon with the rest of you awkward and nerdy loners. =p

Cheers!

[C-Shepguy]

I get the Meeker, nice peak, but what's this Longs thing you mention at the beginning? A trail to Meeker?

:

Yes but keep this between you and I since it is sort of a well kept secret. There is a trail to Meeker called Longs, and it's crazy, because it actually goes higher than Meeker on the way there. I know, sounds unbelievable. Just trust me.