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5 Beautiful Colorado 14ers

5 Beautiful Colorado 14ers

July 22, 20141218Views
Colorado Fourteener
Photo from Julia Karnavusha/Unsplash

Living in Colorado means never being more than a few hours’ drive from the gorgeous Rocky Mountains. Colorado has 53 fourteeners, which are the most of any state in the country. When there is such a great number of peaks in close proximity, it’s easy to become an avid hiker. Even those who are visitors to Colorado often have a goal in common with in-state hikers: climb and summit a Colorado fourteener. Some hikers, also occasionally called “peak baggers,” are determined to climb all 53 summits.

Regardless of wanting to hike one or all of the fourteeners, there is an established culture revolving around this pastime. Peak climbing season is late June to early September, depending on snowfall and snowmelt for the year. The culture also has a strong online presence, including forums dedicated to discussing trail conditions and best routes.

The various peaks vastly range in climbing and hiking difficulty. The easiest of the classes, Class I, is simply basic trail hiking, while the most difficult of the classes, Class VI, is aid hiking. Even at Class III, which is boulder hopping, requires experienced hikers. With such varied terrain, it is important to have hiking partners and groups.

Related article: Hiking the Geologic Beauty of Colorado’s Hanging Lake

Climbing all 53 peaks is an arduous goal that can take a couple of years to an entire lifetime to achieve. Often, hikers take the weekend to bag a peak, camping at the base or well along the trail for a head start. Because of Colorado’s erratic and potentially dangerous weather, it is crucial to summit and begin descent by late morning. Spending time above tree line into the afternoon becomes dangerous, as storms can roll in with little or no warning.

Colorado mountain feature
Photo from Reymark Franke/Unsplash

Several of the Colorado fourteeners are close enough together that hikers will make a small two-to-three-day adventure out of summiting. Some peaks, such as Grays and Torreys, are connected by a saddleback ridge and are therefore perfect to climb in one outing. Summiting the entire list of fourteeners becomes easier with a number of peaks being fairly close to one another.

Hikers invested in the fourteener culture may want to climb only Colorado’s mountains. Perhaps they are invested enough to desire climbing all 67 fourteeners in the contiguous United States, or even to climb The Seven Summits,  which are the seven highest peaks in the world. Whatever the goal, most people agree with famed mountaineer George Mallory, who wisely said he climbs “because it is there.”

Related article: 5 of Colorado’s Most Popular Fourteeners

Featured Image from Reymark Franke/Unsplash