3,000 foot rule question?

[pbakwin]

The 3000' rule is used in Colorado for 14er speed records. It has also been called the "Colorado Rule". I'm not aware if this rule being applied in any other place or situation. Certainly not for speed records on the state high points.

[nunns]

I am going to echo what others have said here, and add a couple of individual stories:

On Pike's Peak, I climbed 6800' up and took the train down.
On Princeton, I climbed 5280' up and accepted a ride down whilst I was descending.

Both of these climbs were much more strenuous than some of the easy 14ers that I have climbed AND descended entirely under my own power.

I tend to use common sense when it comes to deciding whether or not I climbed a peak. I wouldn't drive to the building at the top of the Mount Evans road, climb that last 100 feet or whatever it is, and say I climbed Evans.

Sean Nunn
Raytown MO

[TaylorHolt]

Most people don't use the 3,000 ft rule when climbing all the 14ers (especially for mountains like Culebra, Bierstadt, Decalibron, Sherman, etc). It's mostly reserved for speed records and other competitions on the peaks in order to establish a standard set of rules.

It's your list, whether you want to count it or not is up to you. However, you didn't follow the 3,000 ft rule in this instance. To follow the 3000' rule on Antero you'd need to start below 11,269' and finish below 11,269'.

[ezabielski]

In the FKT spirit of the rule, it seems pretty cut and dry that OP didn't meet it. You have to end >3k feet below the summit.

In the 14ers.com checklist, it only says "3,000' gained". In the linked description it doesn't talk about descending. So on that basis you can check the box on the checklist.

[Trotter]

Uncompahgre from the upper Nellie Creek TH wouldn't count either, even if you combined it with Wetterhorn

???
Its 3000 feet. And combining it with wetterhorn puts it way over

[TravelingMatt]

Isn't the FKT rule that you only need 3000' of total unsupported gain and loss? So combining peaks that are individually less than 3000' is fine as long as the entire outing has 3000' gross rise and drop between support points.

[TravelingMatt]

Uncompahgre from the upper Nellie Creek TH wouldn't count either, even if you combined it with Wetterhorn

???
Its 3000 feet. And combining it with wetterhorn puts it way over

Upper trailhead's at least 11400 (11440 according to Raoch) and summit is 14309

[ezabielski]

Uncompahgre from the upper Nellie Creek TH wouldn't count either, even if you combined it with Wetterhorn

???
Its 3000 feet. And combining it with wetterhorn puts it way over

Actually Nellie Creek TH is at 11,400 (according to this website) and the summit is 14,309. The intermediate undulations add the extra hundred feet. The 3,000' rule definitely applies to the difference between the starting elevation and the summit, not the total gain.

[Trotter]

Uncompahgre from the upper Nellie Creek TH wouldn't count either, even if you combined it with Wetterhorn

???
Its 3000 feet. And combining it with wetterhorn puts it way over

Actually Nellie Creek TH is at 11,400 (according to this website) and the summit is 14,309. The intermediate undulations add the extra hundred feet. The 3,000' rule definitely applies to the difference between the starting elevation and the summit, not the total gain.

I disagree. Where do you get that from? I think its the total gain. Which is over 3000 feet.

[Lobojasper]

Has anyone ever submitted a 14er starting from the lowest elevation point in Colorado, on foot? This should be the true standard on which a colorado 14er is submitted.

[ezabielski]

???
Its 3000 feet. And combining it with wetterhorn puts it way over

Actually Nellie Creek TH is at 11,400 (according to this website) and the summit is 14,309. The intermediate undulations add the extra hundred feet. The 3,000' rule definitely applies to the difference between the starting elevation and the summit, not the total gain.

I disagree. Where do you get that from? I think its the total gain. Which is over 3000 feet.

All of the 14ers FKTers have followed that standard. It's given here in the description of the records: http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/t ... ourteeners

"Most critical is the so-called "Colorado Rule", which says that the climber must ascend at least 3,000 vertical feet net elevation on foot from the base of the first peak in a series, and descend at least 3,000 feet at the end of the series."

Otherwise you could just do laps near the top to make up the extra gain on say, Sherman, since that would be a lot faster than starting way down the road.

As for your own personal standard, the obvious answer in this thread is "who cares, do what you want."

[painless4u2]

Has anyone ever submitted a 14er starting from the lowest elevation point in Colorado, on foot? This should be the true standard on which a colorado 14er is submitted.

Phttff. Everyone knows the REAL standard should be from sea level, barefoot, and then return. That would be the only true "climb" of a 14er. Now get busy.