Winter 14ers record attempt?

[Dave B]

heli-snowshoeing

Anyone seen that show "The Good Place"? I feel like this is something they'd make you do in the Bad Place.

I enjoy snowshoeing 14ers, and everytime I go with skiers I stand around waiting most of the time.

Liar. Damn dirty liar.

[cottonmountaineering]

I'll make that argument, but only once you have a pair that's light enough that you barely notice them.

I have actually witnessed people snowshoeing like, recreationally. So I suppose there are people that just enjoy this activity as it's own pursuit. I suspect these weirdos are a small group though, because otherwise we would have snowshoe resorts, heli-snowshoeing, and snowshoe film festivals.

Within the context of the discussion at hand, they are a tool which is used toward accomplishing a goal that is otherwise not related to the thing strapped to your feet. If you can summit a winter 14er without any floatation whatsoever - you do!

I enjoy snowshoeing 14ers, and everytime I go with skiers I stand around waiting most of the time.

[Hiking_TheRockies]

heli-snowshoeing

Anyone seen that show "The Good Place"? I feel like this is something they'd make you do in the Bad Place.

I have watched that show. Heli-snowshoeing sounds brutal, but at least you could ask Janet to bring you hot chocolate whenever you want. Unless it's Bad Janet, in which case I would just keep trudging through the snow.

[SnowAlien]

I do think that there are other occasions where snowshoes are a better choice than what you have listed here. Deadfall or other types of obstacles are terrible to navigate in either, but far worse in skis. Low snow coverage sucks with skis, like say on a road or something where you get stretches of bare rock over and over and over. Routes in which you don't come back to a logical stash point suck with skis, because despite what I read here climbing / scrambling with skis on your back is harder than it is with snowshoes (duh). Hard steep snow sucks worse with skis.

Danny, completely agree with you here. That's why I wrote earlier that the Sangres and Front range (and drier, more windblown peaks in general) are more efficiently done on snowshoes, and I got examples to back it up!
Spanish Creek approach for Kit Carson was a mistake on skis. Crazy amount of deadfall and very thin and rocky. I decided to stay another night only because I didn't want to hurt myself trying to ski out in the dark with an overnight pack. Dillon on snowshoes got out in a couple of hours. Interestingly, just a drainage over - the approach to Challenger on skis was just fine (and I've done it a couple of times). It's really case by case scenario (something like 22 snowshoes vs 36 skis in winter). But keep in mind that all 14ers are skiable in spring from the summits.

Above all else though (and this is not a speed thing): if you aren't a really good skier it is mentally exhausting to finish a massive day dealing with the hazards of descending on variable snow through trees, rivers and your now frozen and imperfect trench. I personally enjoy the fact that snowshoeing takes no skill whatsoever so I can just sort of shuffle home on BIG days where regardless of the things strapped to my feet I will be a zombie by the end.

On the other hand, if you're a proficient skier (and say not in Spanish creek or Cottonwood drainages), then the exit on skis is truly the best part. It's so nice to let gravity do all the work after a BIG day. When it works (like 8 mile Tigiwon road/ Castle creek to Ashcroft/ Snowmass to Marble or G/T to I70), it's just perfect and saves so much time and energy.

[I Man]

For any one who is interested I wasn't familiar with the aforementioned "Dirty Dozen". I was curious as to which peaks they were referring to. Here is what I found, and yeah they are some pretty intimidating ones, although their are definitely some combos on the list so it wouldn't require 12 separate trips:
Capitol,
Snowmass,
Maroon,
N. Maroon,
Pyramid,
Eolus,
N. Eolus,
Windom,
Sunlight,
El Diente,
Mt. Wilson,
Wilson Peak

Man I am having a slow day at work and I am so happy I stumbled upon this thread. I did 25 unique winter 14ers in the winter of 2012-13, but I think the only DD I hit that year was Wilson Peak. I agree with Ryan, the only ones that matter are the DD - the rest is just a matter of time and commitment.

I moved out of CO in 2017 and haven't notched a new snowflake since. I am sitting at 50/59 - with several of the DD still left. I am 0/2 on North Maroon from the Snowmass approach which is really annoying. Jeff H and Will Seeber got it when I went with them, but I never left camp that morning. Regrets. This was probably my final attempt, December 2016. I remember being beyond ecstatic when Furthermore and I were able to grab Mt Wilson and El Diente in a single day in 2014 by doing a double traverse from the south side of Mt Wilson - safe and fun! After looking for another route up S Maroon for years, I finally bit the bullet and ran the gauntlet up the Bell Cord in March of 2016 (Sarah & Dominic did the same after swearing they never would).

I still need Pyramid, N. Maroon, Snowmass, Chicago basin (4), Crestone Peak (Got Needle but it wasn't a good day for the traverse, for a variety of factors including a pair of clowns following us which was a real bummer) and finally Quandry.
The winter list used to mean everything to me, but now its hard to even fathom going back. I don't have the risk tolerance I used to, the challenge isn't what it used to be given the effects of climate change and the finisher list is not nearly as exclusive as it used to be.

All that being said, i look back on my 50 14ers (which took maybe 100 attempts to get) very fondly. I was lucky enough to get out with legends like Steve Gladbach, Derek (Furthermore), Sarah T and many, many others.

My biggest take away from it all is I am glad I got away with what i did, and maybe I didn't quite understand the avy risk in my youth. Single Season winter record is dangerous because it puts you in a position to attempt climbs that you otherwise wouldn't. The winter 14ers have been the best testing ground for the greater ranges that I have yet found.

[Jorts]

Is "Dirty Dozen" the best name for some challenging winter summits? It's winter. And snowy, cold and icy. "Dirty" sounds like some loose, sketchy multi-pitch routes that don't see much traffic.

Maybe instead:

The Diabolical Dozen
The Twisted Twelve
The Fun Dozen
The Decadent Dozen

[d_baker]

Is "Dirty Dozen" the best name for some challenging winter summits? It's winter. And snowy, cold and icy. "Dirty" sounds like some loose, sketchy multi-pitch routes that don't see much traffic.

Maybe instead:

The Diabolical Dozen
The Twisted Twelve
The Fun Dozen
The Decadent Dozen

If you were a fore-father of the wintereering 14ering, you could change the name. But I don't think you fall under that category.
Whether it was Ken or Steve, or someone else back from the 14erW days, it's what stuck.

[justiner]

If you were a fore-father of the wintereering 14ering, you could change the name. But I don't think you fall under that category.
Whether it was Ken or Steve, or someone else back from the 14erW days, it's what stuck.

LOL probably someone old they saw that movie in theaters.

[nsaladin]

Isn’t the term for the winter finishers “Frozen Finisher”? Kinda odd they didn’t just go with “Frozen Dozen”.

[angry]

The DD topic comes up every year. 10 of the 14 I have left are part of the DD. My foray into the winter list wasn't intentional, but I finished the 14ers in a little over a year and had got quite a few winter summits during that time. When I moved on to the cents, I did some of those in winter too so when I finished that list, I reverted to winter 14er summits.

The only ones that have taken two attempts so far are Sneffels (partner illness on the first attempt) and the Needle (bad snow). When I went into CB with Brad, I only got Sunlight. This is also the only time I’ve backpacked for a winter peak. I had a horrible respiratory infection and was coughing up a lung which made me slower than usual. I have no doubt that we would’ve got all 4 if we could’ve cruised on through the trench like everyone else did after us. It’s so pretty back there in winter and I have no qualms about returning even though I'm really not a fan of backpacking.

I agree that time and commitment will get you to at least 40. I also agree that some folks winged it based on CRs/TRs I've read over the years...plenty of which seemed like pure luck to have reached a summit and made it out alive (not judgemental, just an observation). I've completed AIARE 1 and Rescue and read the CAIC bulletin/forecast religiously to try my best to mitigate risk. I'll probably take AIARE 2 this spring. Regarding the snowshoe/ski debate, I really wish I would've learned to ski 5 years ago.

Does anyone know what the slowest known time is to have completed the winter list? Maybe I can take a shot at that. Winter is my favorite season so this project has become my labor of love and I don't really care how long it takes.

[Jorts]

Is "Dirty Dozen" the best name for some challenging winter summits? It's winter. And snowy, cold and icy. "Dirty" sounds like some loose, sketchy multi-pitch routes that don't see much traffic.

Maybe instead:

The Diabolical Dozen
The Twisted Twelve
The Fun Dozen
The Decadent Dozen

If you were a fore-father of the wintereering 14ering, you could change the name. But I don't think you fall under that category.
Whether it was Ken or Steve, or someone else back from the 14erW days, it's what stuck.

Hey now! I've done Quandary multiple times in the winter. It's part of like, the baker's dozen. See what I did there d_baker.

This winter, more so than normal, has the potential for a stable early March where Chris could blitzkrieg some deep snow approaches on skis and ski from or near a few of the DD summits. That would be entertaining to follow. Time will tell. I told Chris I'd join him for the Eolus group so hoping for kind snow.

[d_baker]

^ ha! If I were a forefather, that's exactly what I would have called the dirty dozen.
But I would have added a 13th for a true Baker's Dozen.
But I suck and I don't enjoy the winter game of peaks that often. I doubt I will ever do a dirty dozen peak. Even though I would love to be in Chi Basin in winter...that would be cool, Until it's not.