Winter 14er Books

FAQ and threads for those just starting to hike the Colorado 14ers.
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Wight Walker
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by Wight Walker »

Bill - Let me know if you want help combing through winter TRs to link to specific winter 14er descriptions. I'll be doing it anyway to make a personal winter 14er info book (TRs, topos, slope shadings, etc) and happy to share with others.
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JtheChemE
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by JtheChemE »

There are TRs for every 14er in Winter, and fairly well established winter standard routes. The Dawson books are pretty alright as well. Ability to plan your route via topo, slope angle, long/short range weather forecast, and onsite eval of snow conditions are the necessary prerequisites.

I'm just not sure if it's wise to try and popularize winter 14ers as "plug and chug" equations. So much of it relies on careful evaluation of snow / weather / conditions. Anyway, just my .02. I'm just a lurker though, carry on.
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Harrison
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by Harrison »

JtheChemE wrote:There are TRs for every 14er in Winter, and fairly well established winter standard routes. The Dawson books are pretty alright as well. Ability to plan your route via topo, slope angle, long/short range weather forecast, and onsite eval of snow conditions are the necessary prerequisites.

I'm just not sure if it's wise to try and popularize winter 14ers as "plug and chug" equations. So much of it relies on careful evaluation of snow / weather / conditions. Anyway, just my .02. I'm just a lurker though, carry on.
That's a valid concern. Winter hikes carry a different level of danger than summer routes, and since the trails aren't as heavily populated as summer, it's not something I would want others to take lightly.

I'll stick to reading TRs, and familiarizing myself with evaluating snow, weather, and conditions.
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Voshkm
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by Voshkm »

OP I am not sure if you meant only books with trail specific information. I find that for teaching general mountaineering Freedom of the Hills is an excellent encyclopedia. Much of the information is well beyond what I ever want to need but its better to know how to set a snow anchor and never use than need to and wish you read that chapter. I also believe you should plan your trip to CO in way that you can catch some Avy Safety classes taught by CO locals for CO specific snow conditions, before heading into the snow covered hills. If I was you I wouldn't put my life solely in the hands of someone elses judgement when I could educate myself to a degree. Have fun but stay safe.
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Harrison
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by Harrison »

Voshkm wrote:OP I am not sure if you meant only books with trail specific information. I find that for teaching general mountaineering Freedom of the Hills is an excellent encyclopedia. Much of the information is well beyond what I ever want to need but its better to know how to set a snow anchor and never use than need to and wish you read that chapter. I also believe you should plan your trip to CO in way that you can catch some Avy Safety classes taught by CO locals for CO specific snow conditions, before heading into the snow covered hills. If I was you I wouldn't put my life solely in the hands of someone elses judgement when I could educate myself to a degree. Have fun but stay safe.
I wasn't too specific. I was more looking for specific route info, but I do want to find some general skill info books to read through, so thank you for your recommendation. Mostly looking for exposure to typical conditions, skills, etc. Although I do intend to take some winter alpine courses before I get too deep into climbing/hiking 14ers in winter.

I do want to take an avalanche course. I'm still researching routes, snowshoe rentals, and general winter mountain navigation, so everything is up in the air regarding my trip. I'm up for switching my short winter trip to a weekend avalanche course. Better to have the skills now, to fully utilize them later than rely solely on others. Regarding single day avalanche courses, like REIs in Colorado offer - do these even involve getting into the mountains to practice spotting dangers? It looks like the "Know Before you Go - Avalanche Awareness" is a couple hours, so I have a hard time believing you'd get into the mountains for it. If it's a simple powerpoint/lecture on the topic I wonder if my local REI could offer a similar course than.
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Voshkm
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by Voshkm »

The rei 2 hr starter course is not a field class but is a good start
don't forget to access REI through 14ers.com if are going to purchase a class there
Last edited by Voshkm on Mon Sep 18, 2017 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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kaiman
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Re: Winter 14er Books

Post by kaiman »

Harrison wrote:Hello all,

I'm curious if anyone can recommend some good winter hiking books to help improve my knowledge for summiting in the winter.
In addition to finding winter route info and beta on this site by using the advanced search option as others have suggested, I would highly recommend taking a winter mountaineering course and even more importantly an avalanche course before hiking/climbing any of the 14ers in winter. Even the easiest of the 14ers in the summer can be avalanche prone in the winter so it's important to know what snow conditions to look for/avoid during the winter months.

My two cents,

Kai

Edit: It looks like Voshkm beat me to it, and I agree with his post.
"I want to keep the mountains clean of racism, religion and politics. In the mountains this should play no role."

- Joe Stettner

"I haven't climbed Everest, skied to the poles, or sailed single-handed around the world. The goals I set out to accomplish aren't easily measured or quantified by world records or "firsts." The reasons I climb, and the climbs I do, are about more than distance or altitude, they are about breaking barriers within myself."

- Andy Kirkpatrick
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