The Decalibron 14ers Are Closing Again

[cougar]

Curious - can law enforcement see the private property areas from around Kite Lake?

The summits (except for Cameron) are private land, so yes. You can see Bross and Democrat from Kite Lake. I doubt it's regularly patrolled, but you can definitely see it.

LiDAR drones can see everything

[Flips]

It's a major barrier to public access that might require a legislative solution someday. That said, the issue of fractional summit ownership is a unique problem among the 8 privately owned peaks - maybe with the exception of Mount Sherman (it's owned by a consortium of mining companies currently going through bankruptcy). My guess is the USFS or a nonprofit will buy it and make sure that stays open for good.

Alex, what is the entire list of 14ers that involve private access? So far I have:
- Lindsey
- Culebra
- Democrat
- Lincoln
- Bross
- Sherman

[timewarp01]

It's a major barrier to public access that might require a legislative solution someday. That said, the issue of fractional summit ownership is a unique problem among the 8 privately owned peaks - maybe with the exception of Mount Sherman (it's owned by a consortium of mining companies currently going through bankruptcy). My guess is the USFS or a nonprofit will buy it and make sure that stays open for good.

Alex, what is the entire list of 14ers that involve private access? So far I have:
- Lindsey
- Culebra
- Democrat
- Lincoln
- Bross
- Sherman

Maybe Little Bear and Blanca? the SE sides of those mountains are part of the same private ownership Lindsey is under

[Scott P]

It's a major barrier to public access that might require a legislative solution someday. That said, the issue of fractional summit ownership is a unique problem among the 8 privately owned peaks - maybe with the exception of Mount Sherman (it's owned by a consortium of mining companies currently going through bankruptcy). My guess is the USFS or a nonprofit will buy it and make sure that stays open for good.

Alex, what is the entire list of 14ers that involve private access? So far I have:
- Lindsey
- Culebra
- Democrat
- Lincoln
- Bross
- Sherman

Those are the ones who's summits are on private land, but a lot of other ones involve private access on the approaches. It doesn't seem to be a problem on most of them and much of the time you don't even know you are on private land. Even the trail to Chicago Basin crosses private land in places (not only down by Needleton) as does the trail to Columbine Pass. It doesn't seem like the land will ever be mined so I assume it will never become a problem, but who knows?

[BillMiddlebrook]

Sorry if I missed this, but, who is "US,"
Are you a member or staff of an organization that is working on this?
Or is 'us' just a general term for all of us who are interested in this?

Thanks
Joel

Lol. Apparently everyone except us

I bet they'd be quite excited to add you to the list - just let us know

No thanks, I already did time on MRHI and the CFI Board and it was frustrating to see the struggle dealing with these closures. I'm more of a "Get it done and plow ahead" type of person rather than deal with 30 inputs and end up with no deal. That's brutal. I meant "us" as the collective body of Colorado 14er hikers, which I don't think is fully represented by the CMC or any other organization.

However, Alex, I am glad you and others are working on this. When the bill comes up again, I hope you have enough lead time to drum up support during the summer hiking season.

[justiner]

Maybe Little Bear and Blanca? the SE sides of those mountains are part of the same private ownership Lindsey is under

On the west side, the standard route of Little Bear goes through PP - I remember someone posted the property manager page on the FB Group. I think the general consensus was, "who would buy such a piece of land?" Well, it was bought in 2021 by, "CLIMBING INTERNATIONAL LLC", which is news to my ears (perhaps this is all old news to some, I'm not much into the real estate game!). I'm sure CFI et al are aware. My Internet sleuthing may be off, but that LCC points to, http://www.coclimbing.com - quite curious. They do do guiding in the Sangres. Not to derail, but at first blush, a pro-hiking entity bought a potentially problematic parcel of land on a 14er.

[CheapCigarMan]

It doesn't look like Lincoln Falls is affected but want to make sure. Is Lincoln Falls now closed? Is the approach or road to Lincoln Falls closed?

[headsizeburrito]

The Colorado Sun talked about the CRUS issue in their daily podcast today: https://coloradosun.com/podcast/

To be honest Jason Blevins may not be the best at talking off the cuff (I know I wouldn't do any better) but he's written some excellent articles on the subject and this is another way that the broader community will have a chance to learn about this issue. My main disappointment with the podcast discussion is that while they mentioned who introduced the bill, they never talked about who voted against it in the committee or why. Still a useful intro for people unfamiliar with the issue.

I haven't seen any coverage of this issue from Colorado Public Radio, which has a wider audience than the Colorado Sun. Maybe I've just missed it, but a quick search of their website didn't turn up anything.

[GuiGirard]

Long story short, it appears (at least to me) to be a case of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association vs everyone else. (And to an extent, the three Democratic Senators which they lobbied against everyone else.)
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm surprised that there aren't more posts directly mentioning them despite a plethora of posts already.

Maybe those of you mentioning the idea of a protest with mountaineering gear by the Capitol should consider a different venue, especially in the context (as I understand from some posts here) of protests at the Capitol being a near daily occurrence and producing little but background noise.

Textbook case of politics by special interests for special interests against We The People.

[GuiGirard]

Maybe Little Bear and Blanca? the SE sides of those mountains are part of the same private ownership Lindsey is under

You are correct. I am not aware however of any published route coming from this side of the peaks; and unlike the DeCaLiBron, it's the whole slope of the mountains all the way to timber line and below that is on private land (all one same ranch if I'm correct, ie, Trinchera Blanca). A case much akin to Culebra but one where the landowners DO NOT grant public access even with a fee or reservation or waiver.
If I understand correctly the recently failed bill would have changed nothing to this. Any landowner would have retained their right to deny access to their land, if they wanted so.
Although the ranch had been ok with access to Lindsay from the public lands in Huerfano county (and is not ok with it anymore due to liability concerns raised by their legal team), had they ever granted access to the SE sides of Little Bear and Blanca?
Or, could this be a concern for those planning to do that thrilling LB-Blanca traverse?

[justiner]

Maybe Little Bear and Blanca? the SE sides of those mountains are part of the same private ownership Lindsey is under

You are correct. I am not aware however of any published route coming from this side of the peaks;

A little bit of a nitpick, but Roach does publish a route up Blanca Peak from Winchell Lakes - the Class 4 alt. to Gash Ridge. It's a terrible route, and should be banished from his guide imho, but in at least the second to last edition, it's in there (and obviously something published before all this drama).
Roach does update access to peaks in his books when they're needed, tho the book publishing world goes a bit slowly.

[JROSKA]

Long story short, it appears (at least to me) to be a case of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association vs everyone else. (And to an extent, the three Democratic Senators which they lobbied against everyone else.)
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm surprised that there aren't more posts directly mentioning them despite a plethora of posts already.

I’ve noticed that too and I think it’s just the way politics are nowadays. It happens in both major parties. If you dare criticize one of your own, people shout you down and say “you’re not one of us” so most people really don’t want to do that.