See Class definitions here
Most of these links will take you to my other blog on Rocky Mountain 14ers, RickCrandall.net.
First Fourteener Candidates – mostly a hike (can do these with a dog)
- Mt. Sherman – hiking, shorter, good first mountain
- Mt Bierstadt – good trail, could be first mountain.
- Mt. Elbert – everyone’s first; long but Class 1
- Quandary Peak – very popular, especially weekends, near front range
- Handies Peak nice outing
- San Luis Peak –nice, obvious trail; stay in Creede, very cool villas
- Huron Peak – nice, drive to trailhead from Aspen, great views
- Yale Mountain – longer and more elevation gain; hiking on obvious route
Easy Doubles, all easier Class 2 (can do these with a dog)
- Redcloud Peak and Sunshine Peak, well-marked trail, good starter climb for a double peak; longer day, great summit views of San Juans
- Belford and Oxford –only way to get to Oxford is over the top of Belford both ways
- Grays & Torreys – near front range; very busy on weekends
Full Class 2, Class 2 Difficult (can do these with a dog)
- Mt. Princeton – a long way on the rocks the whole way
- Four Fourteeners – Not as hard as it sounds, all Class 2: Mt. Democrat, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Bross
- Uncompahgre Peak – in beautiful San Juans
- Mt. Massive – mostly rocky, traverse several 14,000 feet peaks on the roof of the country
- Pikes Peak – long way up; famous road to the top
- Ellingwood; tough 4WD up Blanca Peak road, worst in state; stop part way up and hike
- Missouri Mountain – a fun day out
- Mountain Boy Peak – My first adventure, a 13er
- La Plata Peak – trail to top, gets rocky; can drive from Aspen,
- Humbolt Peak – impressive views of the Crestones, route is clear
- Tabegauche Peak – avoid McCoy Gulch on descent
- Mt. Sopris – not a 14er but so iconic in Aspen area
- Twining Peak – nice hike, near Aspen, 13,700’, short bit of hands and feet
Special Stories
- Blanca Peak – Class 2; Indian lore; great story, up worst road in Colorado
- Mt. Shavano – Angel of Shavano; Class 2; mountain lions spotted near trailhead
- Mt. of the Holy Cross – Class 2, Indian lore, approach is up and down 1000’ both ways.
- Culebra Peak – privately owned, book ahead, Class 2 Difficult
- Mt. Antero – highest concentration of aquamarines and topaz in the U.S; not a pretty mountain, rough 4WD to trailhead. Class 2
- Wilson Peak – fun Class 3 climb, found gold at defunct Silver Pick mine
Introduction to Class 3
- Mt. Lindsay – loose gully; car camping
- Wetterhorn Peak – beautiful San Juans area, good first Class 3
- Harvard and Columbia –loose ugly gully on Columbia but maybe improved by Colorado Fourteener Initiative, exposure at summit cone
Full Class 3 with some exposure
- Mt Sneffels – class 3 scrambling, steep loose gullies, beautiful views
- Castle Peak and Conundrum Peak – great view of Elks Range; major fun glissade
- Grizzly Peak – getting around some gendarmes; 5 feet short of a 14er; close to Aspen
- Kit Carson and Challenger Pt. long day, Challenger slope is loose and junky
- Mt Evans via Bierstadt and Sawtooth, the action is on Sawtooth with some exposure
- Mount Daly, 13,300’ but so visible from Aspen and fun; great campout at Capitol Lake
- Buffalo Peaks – 13ers with some route finding
Class 3 Difficult and full exposure; challenging
- Sunlight Peak – access via Silverton/Durango vintage train, 6 ½ mile backpack and camping
- El Diente – gorgeous camping
- Windom Peak, awesome unusual summit; a few false summits
- Mount Wilson – do it my route to avoid dodgy, loose, class 4 near summit
- Longs Peak – long day, significant exposure in places, well-marked,
- Mt. Eolus and N. Eolus –fun climb with an exposed catwalk approach
- South Maroon Peak –long approach to saddle, some exposure; impressive mountain
- Snowmass Mountain –loose and dangerous; long approach to the Lake
Top Six in Difficulty– all Class 4 and exposed with their share of deaths.
- Crestone Peak –the first of these six to try; great composite rock to climb on.
- Crestone Needle – lots of rescues, easy to get lost on downclimb, composite rock like a climbing wall, great to climb on.
- Pyramid Peak – every pitch has a name; loose rock, second hardest of all 14ers
- Little Bear, exposed, slippery, dangerous due to rockfall in hourglass gully, advanced climbing; access via “worst road in Colorado”
- North Maroon Peak – has a Class 5 section, deadly, impressive
- Capitol Peak – the King of all fourteeners; severe exposure on knife-edge ridge, longest boulder field approach to K2 sub-peak