Colorado non-technical 14ers
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Hey everybody, I recently broke my arm in several places and am relegated to hiking for a couple months. I was hoping to head to CO for a weekend to bag a few 14ers as I've never really pursued any in the state. So if anyone could advise cool 14er hiking link-ups or an area with a concentration of cool 14ers I could try to hike in a weekend (i.e. minimal driving between trailheads) that would be sweet! My goal is to see beautiful new places and get in a good workout so any tips are appreciated... I hope no one calls me a tool or tells me I'm gonna die but alas this is the proj :-) |
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I'd head to the Sawatch range and the Collegiate Peaks. I think that's where most people go when they aim for the most 14ers in a day record. All easy hikes, all with nearby trailheads. |
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There are also some planning tools on (CO) 14ers.com: |
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Mike Hasse wrote:I'd head to the Sawatch range and the Collegiate Peaks. I think that's where most people go when they aim for the most 14ers in a day record. All easy hikes, all with nearby trailheads.Agreed. Check out the Missouri, Belford and Oxford combo. And while up that way, Huron and La Plata are also accessible from the same approach road (Chaffee County 390). |
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Check out 14ers.com if you want information regarding 14ers. For easy 14ers closer to Denver, I recommend some of the following: Grays, Torreys, Sherman, Democrat, Lincoln, Bross, Quandary. Some longer but still relatively easy 14ers, a bit further from Denver there is Missouri, Oxford, Belford, Massive, Elbert. |
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I personally think 14ers aren't that great with all of the other beautiful places in Colorado but that might just be me. The 4 pass loop in Maroon Bells is awesome for instance fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO…. |
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The Gores are also an under-appreciated range b/c there aren't any 14ers. |
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Thanks for all the responses and ideas! I'm coming from salt lake so distance from Denver isn't too important. I'm also not particularly set on 14ers, just heard a lot of them are walk ups so fit my injury. My personal favorite mountain activities are long alpine routes and ridges so any peaks that would give some views of post-injury objectives would be great. |
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For a long day, or a short backpack, Mt Sopris, south of Glenwood Springs is pretty nice. Very striking looking peak. |
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This is 3rd class, but here's a sample route in the Gores with easy access off of I-70. There was no one on the ridge on a weekend and only a handful of people on the approach.
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Mark E Dixon wrote:For a long day, or a short backpack, Mt Sopris, south of Glenwood Springs is pretty nice. Very striking looking peak.Sopris is realllll long and has a massive amount of loose talus scramble/surfing. Beautiful mountain because of its prominence but not something I would repeat. Side note, Sopris was almost renamed John Denver mountain a few years back. I think the proposal has been officially killed now. |
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handon broward wrote: Sopris is realllll long and has a massive amount of loose talus scramble/surfing.Hmm, most of that was snow covered when we did it a couple of weeks ago. Might be less fun in drier conditions. |
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fossana wrote:This is 3rd class, but here's a sample route in the Gores with easy access off of I-70. There was no one on the ridge on a weekend and only a handful of people on the approach.Have you done the Gore Grand Traverse? How do you think this route compares? |
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Mark, I have not. Sadly, that was my only trip into the range. |
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The San Juans are a lot prettier than the Sawatch, and there are a lot of nice hiking 14ers there. |
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I agree with Andrew. I lead a few trips down in the Alpine Loop area around Lake City and now's a beautiful time to be down there. There are five pretty near each other. Sunshine and Redcloud can be done in a day. Handies is right across the valley. Then Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn are the next valley north. All are accessible from the Lake City area. Lots of good wildflowers this time of year. The Sawatch is nice as well but I like the San Juans better. |
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Another vote for San juans over the Sawatch. The view from Sneffels summit is top notch. San juans have lots of character while the sawatch 14ers are mostly rock piles. sawatch 13ers can get pretty interesting though. |