FAQ and threads for those just starting to hike the Colorado 14ers.
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This past fall break (around mid-October) I bagged my first 14er, Mt. Bierstadt, and I have been psyched to continue my quest of climbing more this summer.
I am looking for some advice for what/how many I should try to bag this summer. I'm from Nebraska, and it's about an 8 hour drive to Denver from my house.
Right now, I'm thinking these six, on two different week-long trips.
Early May:
Grays/Torreys
Mt. Evans
Quandary Peak
Late July/Early August:
Mt. Lincoln
Mt. Bross
Mt. Democrat
Is this realistic? Or am I crazy?
Thanks all!
S
Assuming you are physically prepared for it, your goals are completely doable. I would try to get in Elbert rather than Evans, just because Elbert is the highest, isn't a bad climb. I know I am saving Evans for a time when I am a little more experienced with Class 3 stuff and I can bag Bierstadt and the Sawtooth also. But I honestly believe your goals are realistic.
Seems like the times that I need a mountain the most are the times that I can not get to them.
So what I'm hearing is try to do Greys/Torreys/Evans all in one trip, and then Quandary and DECALIBRON for my second trip? The dates were more of a guesstimate, and if snow is an issue I can just do a July trip and then an August trip (summer vacation is great for college kids).
That's only four days of hiking, so you could probably do those in one seven-day trip, depending on your conditioning. All are within a short drive of each other (~ an hour).
Climbing at altitude is like hitting your head against a brick wall — it's great when you stop. -- Chris Darwin
I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now. -- Forrest Gump
I agree with Jim - hope I am not belaboring the point but Greys/Torreys can be done in the same hike, same for DECALIBRON. That leaves Quandary by itself, and Evans by itself, although I believe you can hit Bierstadt and Evans in the same hike if you desire. Man this makes me want to get back to Colorado!
SBaker2 wrote:So I'm hearing that I can bag 8 in one trip? That's absolutely amazing!
I'll have to figure out my second week, if I get around to taking a second week, sometime in the future.
Seriously, thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it!
What's your philosophy? Do you consider it climbed if from two summits you only had to cross a saddle (Grays/Torreys or Democrat, Bross, Lincoln, Cameron)? Or do you consider it climbed if you start from the trailhead each time?
Just asking, but how many of us climb from the trailhead every time? I did not double on that many, but did a few...Bel-Ox, Sunshine-Redcloud, Lincoln-Bross, Sunlight-Windom. Is the prevailing philosophy now to climb from the bottom every time?
If you have a week to visit each time and you want to tag a bunch of beginner mountains one thing you can do when you plan is look at the 14's in their mountain range groupings and use them as target areas. There are plenty of people here that have done the entire Mosquito Range 14's in a single 30 hour sprint. It's not even very difficult to do. Just up the road from the Mosquito Range you can nail Quandary. Evans can be paired with Bierstadt if you want to try something a bit harder and do the traverse over the Sawtooth. Greys and Torreys are routinely done as a pair in a single moderate day. Massive and Elbert can both be started from trailheads that are almost within shouting distance of each other if you want to do two mountains over two days from one campsite and many of the mountains in the Sawatch can be done as doubles in a single day as JC mentioned. Use the maps on the website and plot your trip according to how much you want to climb and how many rest days you want. After a day on Lake Como Road I myself want a low impact sightseeing day (I usually hit the dunes nearby). If I do Longs Peak I don't need to rest the next day but I do prefer something easier (last trip I did Bierstadt the next day). Lastly, the website has trailhead information that is pretty accurate so plan your trip not only to your abilities but also your vehicle's abilities- a few trailheads will require serious hiking to get to if you do not have four wheel drive and that will impact your time available. That particular facet screwed up my timing on Lindsey and ended my day early (no climbing Huerfano afterward in a thunderstorm). If you got an early start and climbed every day with the weather cooperating you could easily climb eight or nine of the beginner to moderate 14's in a week, maybe more.
JChitwood wrote:Just asking, but how many of us climb from the trailhead every time? I did not double on that many, but did a few...Bel-Ox, Sunshine-Redcloud, Lincoln-Bross, Sunlight-Windom. Is the prevailing philosophy now to climb from the bottom every time?
I'll preface this by saying this is all really personal opinion, but for me, if I hike Grays and then cross the saddle to Torreys, I did not climb two 14ers. It was more like 1.25 14ers.
Elbert and Quandary are better options than Mt Evans in my opinion. All of these mountains are within reasonable driving distance from each other; they could be done in one trip. Some people acclimate better than others though, so you might prefer to have some rest days in there as well. Like others have mentioned, based on your original post and experience level, I would wait until at least late June because of snow levels. It'll be much more enjoyable for you.
“If you're bumming out, you're not gonna get to the top, so as long as we're up here we might as well make a point of grooving." -Scott Fischer
Brendan Magee wrote:
What's your philosophy? Do you consider it climbed if from two summits you only had to cross a saddle (Grays/Torreys or Democrat, Bross, Lincoln, Cameron)? Or do you consider it climbed if you start from the trailhead each time?
Most everyone considers a peak climbed if one climbs from the saddle after ascending another peak (e.g. Grays/Torreys together). And most everyone does not count a peak a second time climbed in the same day when reclimbing the peak on the 'descent' (e.g Belford/Oxford).
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the women 'round here start looking good"
