If you could do it over again...

[nyker]

There have been a lot of Finishers of all sorts lately...

I was curious... For those of you who have completed the 14ers, (or 13ers, or Cents, etc..) If you could do it over again, what if anything would you do differently starting fresh?

For me, if I were magically able to go back in time to do them over, I'd pay attention and try and do more 13ers around the 14ers. Due in part to my ignorance and time constraints and limited vacation days, when I did my first 14er climbs I mostly just did them alone not doing any 13ers while in those areas. In some spots, like Chicago Basin or others in the San Juans doing some at the same time would have saved a ton of time in the future to go back.

[Ptglhs]

I would abandon the delusion that finishing was going to mean anything to my life, or change the opinions others had of me.

[d_baker]

I wish I had made better notes on dates and my partners on many of my ascents. Yet I still don't document that very well!
I have a friend that asked her partners to sign her Roach 14er guidebook on the peaks w/dates they did them together. I thought that was a cool idea.

[Wentzl]

I agree with D Baker.

Keep a climbing and hiking logbook.

Date, objective and outcome along with a couple observations along the way.

After a few decades, will be worth gold. . .

if only I had known.

[HokieTom]

I would have started this passion earlier in my life. At 68, there are many peaks that I will never do. However, I am so glad I did start 6 years ago.

[Mtnman200]

I wish I'd made more of an effort to climb everything in an area, especially when a rough road or backpacking trip is involved.

I'm glad I've kept detailed records (dating back to 1966 - yes, I'm old) of the peaks I've summited, the date, climbing partner(s), and whether there was a summit register.

[Mtnman200]

I wish I had made better notes on dates and my partners on many of my ascents. Yet I still don't document that very well!

On 8/4/2018 you, Ricky, Randy, and I climbed Cottonwood Peak and 13123 (which has been LIDAR'd out of existence). There was no register on Cottonwood Peak but an informal (i.e., non-CMC) register on 13123.

On 8/11/2018 you, Randy, and I climbed Storm King and Peak Seven. There was no register on Storm King but an informal register on Peak Seven.

On 8/12/2018 you and Randy climbed Mt. Silex and The Guardian. (I was a slacker and didn't want to repeat them.) There was no register on either peak.

Are there any other records I can help you with?

[kushrocks]

I love being in the mountains, but I wish I had spent more time with friends hiking repeats, or even just hanging out and not skipping spending time with them because I was so worried about chasing “the list” and doing XYZ peak every weekend because it would get me closer to finishing.

Obviously, we should all still enjoy the mountains and pursue the goals that matter to us. But good, loyal people in your life are hard to come by, and they are far more important than being a 14er/13er “fisher” or summiting any big mountain.

[jfm3]

I would learn how to snow climb earlier so that I could have done snow routes all summer/fall in 2019, instead of trying to run/hike and having multiple existential crises while wallowing through feet of snow below the treeline in late July.

[Scott P]

If I could start over again with a young body, I wouldn't have ever finished the 14ers (or at least would have waited). I would have done a lot of them but not finished because finishing meant that I missed out on a lot of other peaks I could have done back when I was in shape. A lot of those were closer to where I lived too.

This isn't meant to be a flex and should probably be thought of as the opposite. I now feel too weak to do some of the peaks I used to want to do (and still want to if I was still in shape) but never got to when I was younger. I could have done the 14ers at a later age.

The 14ers were still a good experience though.

[daway8]

I love being in the mountains, but I wish I had spent more time with friends hiking repeats, or even just hanging out and not skipping spending time with them because I was so worried about chasing “the list” and doing XYZ peak every weekend because it would get me closer to finishing.

Obviously, we should all still enjoy the mountains and pursue the goals that matter to us. But good, loyal people in your life are hard to come by, and they are far more important than being a 14er/13er “fisher” or summiting any big mountain.

+100

I strongly agree with some of the comments of keeping records not just of peaks but partners and experiences.

I used to regret, as several have indicated above, that I didn't climb all of the peaks (13ers/14ers) in a given area all at once but now I'm totally glad that I didn't - there's so much more richness to be found in returning to an area multiple times and repeating peaks from alternate routes or with different partners.

So I would have slowed down the race and shared it more with others.

[wmagnuson7]

I feel very blessed to have finished the 14'ers earlier this month, largely unscathed, and wouldn't change much about my journey. I love being in the mountains, challenging myself and exploring, driving to the trailheads in the dark and hiking as the sun is rising, so am very grateful I decided to pursue this goal four years ago. However, the one minor thing I would change is the mountain/route I would have chose for my finisher.

I finished on the Maroon Bells Traverse because the Bells are obviously gorgeous mountains, it's a great route (second only to the Crestone Traverse for me) and was it was wonderful to have my wife and kids meet me at the trailhead to see the Bells (we live out of state, so they had never seen them before). While that was great, if I could do it again, I would have finished on Wetterhorn or Uncompahgre and have them do the hike with me. They are both beautiful mountains, doable for my wife and children in optimal weather conditions, and would have been cool to have them at the summit with me.