Favorite 14er?!?

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angry
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by angry »

Colorado: Little Bear (LB/Blanca Traverse). If we are talking non-standard routes, the winner is Ellingwood Arete on the Needle.
California: Palisades Traverse (Thunderbolt to Sill). Beats any route in Colorado I've done thus far.
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Ans015
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by Ans015 »

Would you all say Creston Peak/Needle is comparable to longs in difficulty?
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by Alpinefroggy »

Ans015 wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:31 pm Would you all say Creston Peak/Needle is comparable to longs in difficulty?
if you can do Longs you can do the Peak. The red gully is sort of like a really long trough with sections of class 3 and lots of loose rock. The ledges to the summit are all class 3 though and there is some pretty decent exposure.

Needle is a more difficult but possibly doable peak. It is basically 800 feet of solid class 3/4 climbing with good exposure and hard route finding. If you aren't comfortable making some class 4 moves I would not climb the needle. While you can keep the difficulty at class 3 some areas are pretty stiff and exposed which isn't a good situation to be in if you aren't too comfortable on class 3/4 terrain.

I really like avoiding the cross over though since it tends to trip lots of people up and the East Gully has a tiny class 4 section and is easy to get into once again. There is a lot more loose rock in the upper parts though, possibly because people don't take it often.

If I were you I would wait to do the needle and either do the peak, or start doing other front range class 3 routes. Kelseo and the Sawtooth came to mind.
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randalmartin
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by randalmartin »

Ans015 wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 3:31 pm Would you all say Creston Peak/Needle is comparable to longs in difficulty?
I think they are similar in terms of technical difficulty, however, Longs is a far more physically demanding peak. Difficulty should encompass all aspects and to me that makes Longs more difficult. Longs frequently has more serious weather related difficulties. It has higher winds more frequently, your approach blocks visibility to the west and you are more exposed for a longer period of time which can add to weather complexity. One final thing, you spend a long time above 13,000ft on Longs. That takes a toll on many people.
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Kolo
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by Kolo »

The Crestones are my favorite. Yes, over Longs Peak. I know that seems like blasphemy to the Longs lovers but to me there’s something more special in the Crestones. Maybe it’s the lack of hoards or maybe it’s the views. Maybe it’s the ruggedness with surrounding peaks. To me, it’s all at the top.

I will take the Crestones all day long.
Although I have not hiked/climbed them all, I have to agree with Bill! Both of the Crestones are my favorites, and I climbed over Broken Hand Pass twice in two days to get them. In fact, the Sangre De Cristos is my favorite range in Colorado, for several reasons.
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by NatDog »

Longs, Crestone Needle and Capitol would be basically tied at the top of my list if judging by climbing enjoyment and scenery alone.

But if judging by overall experience on the mountain, for me, Mt. Eolus can't be beat. It is much more remote and less crowded than the other three I listed, which is a huge positive for me (like it is for many of us). The upper scrambling is sporty and interesting, and the 360 degree view of endless mountains is nice too.
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by HikesInGeologicTime »

San Luis. Scenic with a nice, easy-to-follow trail, never too steep. Kinda wish it were easier to reach from Denver, but considering the lack of crowds also contributed to its fond place in my memory, I suppose I can deal with the additional driving time. :)

It probably shouldn’t surprise me anymore, considering how frequently it seems to come up, but I’m always a bit bemused by Capitol’s popularity. The approach trail is looooooooooong, there’s a fair amount of boulder hopping to get to the scrambling, and then said scrambling is, imho (and I say this as someone who has an unfortunate degree of expertise in fourteener-induced hospital visits), nothing special. I mean, yeah, the Knife Edge is long and a potentially significant challenge if you don’t like exposure, but otherwise...meh. I personally wouldn’t call Capitol my very least favorite, but it’s definitely Top Five for fourteeners I’m happy to never revisit.
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agui
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by agui »

North Maroon gets my vote. Super fun scramble, plus the colors (the green vegetation, the red rock and the blue sky) made it for a gorgeous day.

I also loved The Needle and Uncompahgre
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by bdloftin77 »

HikesInGeologicTime wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 7:26 pm
It probably shouldn’t surprise me anymore, considering how frequently it seems to come up, but I’m always a bit bemused by Capitol’s popularity. The approach trail is looooooooooong, there’s a fair amount of boulder hopping to get to the scrambling, and then said scrambling is, imho (and I say this as someone who has an unfortunate degree of expertise in fourteener-induced hospital visits), nothing special. I mean, yeah, the Knife Edge is long and a potentially significant challenge if you don’t like exposure, but otherwise...meh. I personally wouldn’t call Capitol my very least favorite, but it’s definitely Top Five for fourteeners I’m happy to never revisit.
The cow trail was interesting, the aspens were fun to hike through, the fields beyond with Capitol in the distance were gorgeous in the evening light, the lake and the final alpenglow on the steep, majestic peak were captivating. Sunrise on the Daly saddle was cool, the boulders weren’t too bad to wander over/through, the climb up K2 was fun, the views of Capitol’s ridge from the top were incredible, the knife edge was exhilarating, the scrambling beyond interesting. The views to the south of Snowmass and the lakes below were spectacular (views in the other directions weren’t bad either). The summit.. I had actually hyped up the difficulty of Capitol so much that I asked said in my head, “Was that it?” I think I was expecting more Bells or Little Bear-Blanca type exposure. The knife edge definitely had exposure, but the rest wasn’t all that crazy.

Coming back down the Capitol-Daly saddle, seeing the sun washing the fields in golden light with the steep, impressive face of Capitol and the waters of Capitol Lake to the left, and other mountains including Sopris on my right.. I was pretty happy. Definitely had a really good experience on that peak.

That being said, I also really enjoyed the Bells, Little Bear-Blanca, and Crestones traverses. Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn, Chicago Basin and the sea of mountains, Sneffels and the super cools views - all those rank among my favorites. Pyramid on a warm, bluebird September day was my finisher, and a great one.
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by bdloftin77 »

agui wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 8:36 pm North Maroon gets my vote. Super fun scramble, plus the colors (the green vegetation, the red rock and the blue sky) made it for a gorgeous day.

I also loved The Needle and Uncompahgre
North Maroon was very cool after traversing from Maroon. And I’d climbed when all the aspens were turning.. it was amazing. The approach through the aspens and the views at the top were very memorable.

Also did Snowmass when the aspens were changing. The long hike back wasn’t as long with all the beauty we were walking through. Snowmass Lake in the early morning without the slightest ripple was breathtaking.
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by jfm3 »

Snowmass Mountain. I think the only way to climb it is in the spring, with snow on the upper mountain. The camp & snow climb combination is a very unique way to reach the summit. Additionally, Snowmass is one of the very few 14er summits that can't be seen from a paved road, so it really feels like it's out in the wilderness.
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Re: Favorite 14er?!?

Post by JChitwood »

Like many I usually tag Crestone Needle as my favorite 14er. The quality of rock and sustained scrambling make for a great experience. As does the beauty of South Colony Lake and the Sangres in general my favorite range. The ratty hike up Broken Hand Pass is a detraction but that’s quickly forgotten when you engage the gully and start climbing.

But my favorite 14er hike remains San Luis in September of 1999. A perfect cerulean sky seemingly without a cloud in all of Colorado, crisp fall temperature and zero wind, golden aspen in every direction, yes the day made the hike perfect and not so much the mountain. Also loved how remote the trailhead was 30 miles on dirt roads with hardly any hikers back then even on a weekend. It was the first mountain I hiked with my then girlfriend now wife and there was even an awesome dog on the summit. He and his owner were the only hikers we ran into all day.

I’m glad I remember the La Garitas as they were now when I go back there it is nothing like that. The forests are decimated as almost every evergreen tree has died, the once empty dirt roads are jammed with Okies and Texans on RZR’s, and the trails are filled with Front Rangers rushing to the summits stressing over their time and average heart rate. What progress.
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