Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

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What peaks do you actively pursue?

Only 14ers (highest in Colorado!)
4
3%
Only 14ers and 13ers (next step: Cents, Bis, all 13ers, etc)
33
27%
Both 14ers and lower mountains (pursue all sorts of peaks, but mainly in the CONUS)
50
41%
Anything BUT Colorado 14ers (eg. 14er finishers who are seeking more solitude or those who are turned off by larger crowds - might do a few now and then, but mainly try to avoid them and focus on other peaks)
14
11%
High altitude: 14ers and below, plus higher peaks (thinking higher than Whitney at least, outside of the CONUS)
17
14%
I don't actively pursue peaks/peak lists (might sometimes go on hikes/climbs, but more spontaneously)
5
4%
 
Total votes: 123
ScottLovesRMNP
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by ScottLovesRMNP »

*Colorado 14ers (finished once, and working on my second lap -- have climbed a dozen or so at least twice)
*Colorado 13ers (with priority on centennials (89 done), bicentennials (32 done), and tricentennials (27 done))
*California 14ers (5 done)
*state high points (33 done)
*U.S. ultraprominent peaks (20 done)
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Eli Watson
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by Eli Watson »

The Short Answer:
74 x Colorado 14ers
74 x Contiguous US 14ers

Then loosely a handful of alpine peaks in the Western US, including a compilation of state highpoints, cool peaks with classic routes, Utah 13ers, west coast volcanos.
Long term I'd like to dabble in Mexico and South America.

The Long Answer:
After completing the 58 x 14ers I got a bit jaded on list-chasing. I do want to finish the 74 with Sunlight Spire as a longer term goal, and I'll shoot to finish the contiguous 14ers, but I think that's the end of my lists. For me personally, once I caught the alpine fever I knew I wanted to finish the 14ers if for no other reason than it would provide direction on how to experience what Colorado has to offer in broad strokes. Even if it doesn't get you into every nook and cranny of secret ranges and basins that don't exist, the 58 forces you to at least experience all the colors of Colorado in general: from the recessed splendor of the Elks, the prominent Sawatch mega-ridges, the mounds of earth near Alma, the San Juan sea, the stark granite of the Diamond, and the isolated Sangre crest towering over sagebrush. Also the diversity of the 14ers requires a garden variety of outdoor experience that feels equivalent to getting a high school diploma in mountains. Once you've tackled the 14ers (if so inclined) you should have a better sense of what you like to do outdoors and can pursue that in a more informed context, be that roaming alpine meadows or scaling technical pitches or something in between.

However I'm not a big fan of the tunnel-vision of checking lists personally, so for now I just look for cool ridges or couloirs and link-ups that interest me. I'm not particularly interested in bush-whacking up piles of rocks that rise above an arbitrary elevation when there are potentially far better routes on unranked piles of rock nearby. My favorite flavor of mountains is linking up as many peaks as I can without sleeping using cool ridges that preferably have excellent rock with fun class 3-5.low scrambling and exposure. Oh, and steep couloirs. Sometimes that pursuit lines up with the Centennials as it did last October in the Grenadiers, and sometimes it doesn't. Or I'll tag along with a climbing partner that has a cool route on their radar. Some of the Centennials are awesome and offer amazing routes, and some less so. But I wouldn't rule out finishing the Centennial list if I realize all I have to do is walk over Silverheels or Buckskin or something I wouldn't otherwise look too closely at. I'd also like to hike something in the 16-20k range and see how that goes too.
Last edited by Eli Watson on Wed Jul 21, 2021 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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12ersRule
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by 12ersRule »

Working on a bunch of different things at the same time. Keeps it interesting. Get tired of one thing....move onto another thing.

-Trying to get a distinct peak for all 366 calendar days (312 done).
-Get to triple digits in Wyoming ranked peaks. Try to pick some of the more interesting peaks here, either in difficulty or just because they're cool.
-Get to quadruple digits in Colorado ranked peaks.
-All the ranked,soft-ranked, and officially named peaks of RMNP and of IPW. Have done all the ranked on both of these.
-Anything above 12k north of I-70. Mostly Gores left, a few Flattops, one in Zirkel Wilderness that is probably on fire right now.
-As many 12ers as possible.
-Top 100 prominence in Colorado. Looking at prominence in Wyoming too, but there's a couple of prominence peaks there that I'll never get.
-All the state highpoints. Denali though...yikes.
-peak radius from my house. Right now, I've done the closest 296 peaks. The next one up is Turtle Rock which has a really tricky section, it's ranked at a 5.9.
-And then there's just getting out because a particular peak piqued my interest.
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by Dave B »

Mostly anything that is within a couple hour drive, has a nice view, and isn't a weapons-grade s**t show. I don't care about lists, I just like being in the mountains, that means I mostly repeat the same 11er/12er/13ers over and over.

5-6x a year, I will drive somewhere else for a peak, but that's always 100% due to the aesthetics/quality of the route rather than being based off of what category it falls into.
Make wilderness less accessible.
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PikaSteve
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by PikaSteve »

After 40+ years pursuing the 14ers list, I'm hoping to finish my final four in Chicago Basin in August and not start any new list obsession.

I'm a bit concerned though, because rather than repeating nearby 14ers, I am already starting to choose my training hikes from (Bi)Centennials within driving distance of Denver. And I'm looking into peakbagger.com lists with 2000' of prominence and/or 25+ isolation miles as ways to see different parts of Colorado. And I entered my 13ers list on 14ers.com.
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by cougar »

ekalina wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:46 pm The major driver for me is, ironically, minimizing driving. Most of the time I would rather hike an 8er that's 45 min away than hike a 14er that requires a 2+ hr drive. Hence why my 14er progress is so slow, and why I like LoJ so much :lol:

I make exceptions of course, particularly this time of year. Gotta get in the high country once in a while.
This has been my general MO as well, so I got into LOJ for that reason, and made slow progress on 14ers, but I'm far enough along now to pick up the pace on those (especially this year to try and keep ahead of increasing red tape and crowds), and have also discovered other lists like county peaks and highpoints, RMNP, wilderness areas, 13ers, and out of state ones. Prefer the higher peaks in the summer, low ones are nice for shorter days and cooler temps. Lots of good ones at every elevation.
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by Fletch Lives »

Lower 48 14ers and ultra proms
EPIC 50 (elevation, prom, isolation for each US state)
National Park and Forest hps
Western US county hps
Assorted Mazama/SPS/CMC lists
Assorted international grab bag
Uh. Well, I've sinned. I didn't take any Polaroids or anything. But, yeah, I've sinned.
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NatDog
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by NatDog »

Eli Watson wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 2:53 pm After completing the 58 x 14ers I got a bit jaded on list-chasing. I do want to finish the 74 with Sunlight Spire as a longer term goal, and I'll shoot to finish the contiguous 14ers, but I think that's the end of my lists. For me personally, once I caught the alpine fever I knew I wanted to finish the 14ers if for no other reason than it would provide direction on how to experience what Colorado has to offer in broad strokes. Even if it doesn't get you into every nook and cranny of secret ranges and basins that don't exist, the 58 forces you to at least experience all the colors of Colorado in general: from the recessed splendor of the Elks, the prominent Sawatch mega-ridges, the mounds of earth near Alma, the San Juan sea, the stark granite of the Diamond, and the isolated Sangre crest towering over sagebrush. Also the diversity of the 14ers requires a garden variety of outdoor experience that feels equivalent to getting a high school diploma in mountains. Once you've tackled the 14ers (if so inclined) you should have a better sense of what you like to do outdoors and can pursue that in a more informed context, be that roaming alpine meadows or scaling technical pitches or something in between.
This pretty much sums up my mindset as I get closer to finishing the 14ers in a few months. Until then I am definitely focused on the list of 58 just because that's what I set out to do when I moved out here. I'm not really sure what I want to do after that's complete, but it will definitely be less list-oriented and more personal satisfaction oriented. As long as I'm in Colorado though, I will probably stick to 14ers because being at altitude is my preference. I might try something along the lines of summiting every 14er twice from two different routes (though I suppose not Culebra). Other than that I would like to eventually make some trips to alpine peaks in Wyoming, Montana, Washington, California, etc. My long term goal would be to climb a few of the easier 5,000 meter peaks.
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by climbingcue »

I am seeing how long I can keep my at least one 14er per month streak going. Currently at 41 months.
12 left to finish my 2nd round on the 14ers. With at least 9 of those peaks planned to complete before September of this year.
Would like to to the last two traverses I have left of the 4. LB-Blanca and Mt Wilson to El Diente.
My last centennial is Jagged and looking to complete that in August, along with a bunch of other 13ers while in there.
Loosely working on the Bicentennials, not sure if I will finish them with the $500 fee for the ones by Culebra. I would much rather spend that money on a season pass than hike a couple of peaks on one single day.
Help other hiking partners work on and complete their Peak list goals. Continue to get out and bag peaks with the great group of partners I have met over the last 4 years.
Would still like to get more state high points, I think I am around 35 or so right now.
Stay away from all the peaks close to the front range to avoid the crowds, do them in the off season to avoid the masses.
Have fun and enjoy anytime I am out in the mountains.
Consecutive months with at least one 13er or 14er, 71 months
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by daway8 »

Having finished the 14ers I'm sort of going after 13ers in a non-committal way, currently more or less going after geographical regions.

Sort of pursuing Cents; sort of pursuing all 13ers, sort of pursuing the 74, sort of pursuing winter 14ers...

...but not firmly committed to actually finishing any of those lists.

Also at times repeat peaks (14ers/13ers) when helping others achieve their goals or to do a cool new route (I don't bother to track anything below 13k).
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by Aphelion »

Count me as another who somewhat soured on lists after finishing the 58. I'll go after anything that looks like a fun scramble, or a challenge within my skillset. Having lived in MT for a few years, I also try to get back up there and climb when I can. But I don't really care how high something is anymore. My to-do list is just a random compilation of routes that look neat. The only real goal is to start doing more technical routes in winter.
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Re: Poll: What peaks do you actively pursue?

Post by WildWanderer »

I go wherever the weather looks good. I live at 7000', so anything above that, especially in winter, is fair game. I also like ranked peaks and checklists, so highpointing keeps me busy.
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