Best order to complete all 14ers

[CheapCigarMan]

It’s a solid plan until you get hit in the face with Colorado weather
Weather will certainly play a factor in your plans.

[desertdog]

Don’t save all the harder ones till the end. They are more conditions dependent. Still having some easier ones in the mix provides you with some flexibility. Also, take time to enjoy your outings and try to learn mountain skills along the way. Have fun!

[Jorts]

SJs saving San Luis for last. Can probably knock these out in 6 days +/-
Overnight the Chicago Group, Sneffels as a day, Recloud/Sunshine/Handies in a day, Uncompaghre/Wetterhorn in a day, ED/The Wilsons in a day.

Sangres in ~4 days
Start on the west side of the Sangres for LB, Blanca and Ellingwood in a day.
Do Culebra and then wrap around to the east side for Lindsey doing both in a day or 2.
Bag Humboldt, the Crestones, Kit Carson and Challenger in one trip. Probably be an overnighter.

Sawatch over the course of a week; could tag sherman from the west while you're there.
Could always do the Sawatch as Nolans taking it under 60 hours and hopping up to Holy Cross later.

I havent done any of the Elks but I'd guess you could do those in 4 days.
Maroons and Pyramid in a day.
Capitol in a day.
Snowmass in a day.
Castle and Conundrum in a day.

Quandary and Decalibron give a day.

G&T, Bierstadt, Evans a day or 2.

Longs and Pikes probably best to do each on their own day. It's a lot of driving.

[Scott P]

Don’t save all the harder ones till the end.

Agreed. Another reason is because doing them when you are younger is easier.

Although I'm not that old yet and none of the CO 14ers are out of my reach, there are a lot of mountains I wanted to do that I feel are probably out of my reach now days and I wish I would have got them when I was younger.

Don't save the hardest mountains on whatever list you have until last; do as many as you can while you are young.

Of course you need to gain some skills for some peaks, but do this sooner than later.

It had been said that 20 years from now you will regret more of what you didn't do than the things you did do. This seems that it will be true for most of us.

[JChitwood]

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
—Mike Tyson

Do a dozen of the closer easy ones and see if you still enjoy hiking and have the enthusiasm to finish then make a plan. The only thing I wish I had done differently would be to hike Jupiter when I was in Chicago Basin and save another trip on the Train from Hell. Yes I know you can walk in and 25 years ago I would have but now not sure I can.

[greenonion]

Take your time. Enjoy each one and each time. While taking your time. In whatever order

[zinj]

“Efficient approach” got me to all 58, and might have been necessary in my case because I moved away from Colorado in the early 90s and didn’t consider submitting 14ers.com to be a “thing” until 2011! (I Had been up only ahandful of 14ers just in the ordinary business of hiking to that point).

The caveat to this is that a focus on efficiency drains some of the magic out of the endeavor. I was always planning and scheming - “needing” to hurry down, to go to sleep early, to marathon drive to the next trailhead. My collaborators resident in Colorado found my approach annoying. And it was. It was also effective and we topped out on El Diente and Wilson in the summer of 2017 to “finish”.

My recommendation would be to research and be AWARE of peaks in a given area, especially if it’s remote, so that you can avoid “missing” something you would have liked to have climbed. But If you’re in Denver and reasonably young, don’t over-economize and make it too efficient.

All of my best stories involve a mistake.

[jrs1965]

Take your time, no reason to hurry. It took me eight years. My only suggestion would be to try and pick off the San Juans early, or when you're ready. Living on the front range makes it difficult when you're down to less than ten peaks and most of them are on the opposite side of the state...

[ltlFish99]

i agree with the people who say to take your time, and enjoy the adventure. i have done this for several reasons, snd certainly do not regret it.
it has taken me a much longer time than i first thought it might, snd i am still not finished. The reasons for this are varied, and a good discussion of it would be a little long.

i have unexpectedly started to be more bothered by exposure.
i believe that part of the reason is getting older.
when i first started, i found exposure to be exciting, and quite enjoyable.
Now, at 62 not so much.

Therefore i wish i had finished several of the more moderately difficult peaks back when it was fun.
All the more reason tor me to take my time when i do get to the somewhat more difficult ones i have left.
Anyway, it has been a wonderful experience so far, and not being in any hurry has provided many opportunities to repeat the ones i really enjoy. i have almost as many repeats, as i do unique 14er summits, and look forward to my adventure continuing.

[greenonion]

i agree with the people who say to take your time, and enjoy the adventure. i have done this for several reasons, snd certainly do not regret it.
it has taken me a much longer time than i first thought it might, snd i am still not finished. The reasons for this are varied, and a good discussion of it would be a little long.

i have unexpectedly started to be more bothered by exposure.
i believe that part of the reason is getting older.
when i first started, i found exposure to be exciting, and quite enjoyable.
Now, at 62 not so much.

Therefore i wish i had finished several of the more moderately difficult peaks back when it was fun.
All the more reason tor me to take my time when i do get to the somewhat more difficult ones i have left.
Anyway, it has been a wonderful experience so far, and not being in any hurry has provided many opportunities to repeat the ones i really enjoy. i have almost as many repeats, as i do unique 14er summits, and look forward to my adventure continuing.

+1 big time