14ers.com

angry wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:07 pm

daway8 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 7:58 pm

jasayrevt wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 3:38 pm ...If you climbed Capitol Pk, you will be fine on any 13er

Hmm, not to sidetrack a good thread but from what I've heard there are several 13ers that are significantly harder than Capitol and which include class 5 on the standard route - something not the case for any standard 14er route... Though I see your 13er count is significantly higher than mine so perhaps I'm just hearing overhyped reports on some of the ones I haven't done yet?

I don't know of any standard 14er route that has any class 5 (including all of the traverses, those are pretty tame). Only class 5 I can think of that I've done on any 14er at all is most recently Ellingwood Arete on the the Needle. I can think of more 13ers that had felt like some actual climbing even if it was short lived.

nunns wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:15 am
So really the age distribute out about evenly between young 'uns (under 30), middle age (40-50), and older people (older for climbers, not in an absolute sense) (55+).
This thought has not escaped me as I have moved through the first 2 categories and am now poised to break into the third category.
You can replace some, but not all, of the advantages of youth with better, more specific preparation and experience.

daway8 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:25 pm

angry wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 8:07 pm

daway8 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 7:58 pm

Hmm, not to sidetrack a good thread but from what I've heard there are several 13ers that are significantly harder than Capitol and which include class 5 on the standard route - something not the case for any standard 14er route... Though I see your 13er count is significantly higher than mine so perhaps I'm just hearing overhyped reports on some of the ones I haven't done yet?

I don't know of any standard 14er route that has any class 5 (including all of the traverses, those are pretty tame). Only class 5 I can think of that I've done on any 14er at all is most recently Ellingwood Arete on the the Needle. I can think of more 13ers that had felt like some actual climbing even if it was short lived.

Yes, that's my point - there is no class 5 on the 14ers unless you're on a non-standard route but I thought I'd heard tale of at least a few 13ers where the only way up was to hit some class 5.

Conor wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:23 pm All the 13ers are for the most part pretty tame as well. Assuming we're talking standard routes.

angry wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:52 pm

Conor wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:23 pm All the 13ers are for the most part pretty tame as well. Assuming we're talking standard routes.

true story. can we go hit some non-tame routes together?!! it's gotta happen one of these days!!

daway8 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:06 pm
What about the likes of Jagged and Dallas? If I'm not mistaken I think those are 2 of the peaks where I hear of people typically being roped in. Maybe not a biggie for experienced climbers but from the little I've heard I get the impression they're a significant step up in difficulty vs any of the 14er standard routes...

cfischer wrote: ↑Fri Oct 16, 2020 2:43 am Hey everyone, thanks for all the positive feedback. I turned 35 this year. Wisdom and experience have made me a more cautious outdoors person, but sometimes being overly cautious is what stands in my. An example is looking up at Skywalker Couloir a few years ago and finding myself thinking that I had the skill, but not the soundness of mind to climb it.

It has been a long road to recovery my fitness since a major surgery back in 2014, so I'm a bit sensitive about how fit or not fit I am, but the points are well take: 8 miles isn't exactly a long distance. My exercise routine combines strength, cardio, and balance, and have already noticed improvements to my balance.

I appreciate the sentiment about using fear as a way to clue oneself into their surroundings. I did a fair amount of winter backpacking and hiking in the Whites back east, and some of that terrain certainly felt more technical that what I've encountered here.

From all your feedback, it sounds like I'm in the right path. A combination of more practice and experience, plus a gradual reacclimation to exposure through low committal trails and climbing will probably work well. It has been an uphill battle to relearn how to trust my body.

Thanks again for all the great advice and positive support.

peter303 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:22 pm

nunns wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:15 am
So really the age distribute out about evenly between young 'uns (under 30), middle age (40-50), and older people (older for climbers, not in an absolute sense) (55+).
This thought has not escaped me as I have moved through the first 2 categories and am now poised to break into the third category.
You can replace some, but not all, of the advantages of youth with better, more specific preparation and experience.

I think if you normalize the stats by how many climb in each age group, the oldsters would be more likely to perish. From my observations the majority of 14er hikers are under age 35. Perhaps with a secondary group in 50s and 60s early retired. Perhaps someone has counted the age distribution.

Unfortunately as of today I have to add a 12th data point- female, age 60, unknown cause. Remember each of these were living people, a son/daughter, husband/wife, father/mother with grieving loved ones.

bergsteigen wrote: ↑Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:09 am I was wondering if there was some accident/surgery involved. I shattered my leg in a pretty traumatic accident on Maroon in 2014. From that I have a titanium rod in my tibia and multiple surgeries. (I also broke it again in 2015 & 2018). I had to relearn how to walk again. I remember my first scramble on Mt Neva and how the exposure and terrain effected me. I was glad to have friends around me, as that gave me quite a bit of confidence, even though I was slower than normal.

So I understand how you are feeling, and have gone through it multiple times. I found that serious strength training helped not only with rebuilding muscle, but it helped with stability and balance (it also got rid of the pain in my leg). It is a slow rebuilding process both physically as well as mentally. I’m still rebuilding my ski brain after the 2018 trauma. My speed isn’t back to previous, but my endurance has returned.

angry wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:52 pm

Conor wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:23 pm All the 13ers are for the most part pretty tame as well. Assuming we're talking standard routes.

true story. can we go hit some non-tame routes together?!! it's gotta happen one of these days!!

daway8 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 10:06 pm

angry wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:52 pm

Conor wrote: ↑Thu Oct 15, 2020 9:23 pm All the 13ers are for the most part pretty tame as well. Assuming we're talking standard routes.

true story. can we go hit some non-tame routes together?!! it's gotta happen one of these days!!

What about the likes of Jagged and Dallas? If I'm not mistaken I think those are 2 of the peaks where I hear of people typically being roped in. Maybe not a biggie for experienced climbers but from the little I've heard I get the impression they're a significant step up in difficulty vs any of the 14er standard routes...