On the summit of Snowmass Mountain (#58/58)
This past Wednesday, July 9th, I crested a mountain ridge after a several-hour-long approach climb, and walked over to the distinctive rock marking the highest point. Upon reaching this rock, I had achieved something that I had worked over 14 years to complete. This highest point was the summit of one of Colorado's well known 14,000+ foot peaks (aka "14ers"): Snowmass Mountain. This moment marked the 58th time I had reached such a peak, making it my final 14er summit. My celebration was somewhat subdued at the moment as I knew I still had a difficult down-climb back to relative safety, but in my heart I knew that my protracted and arduous mountain quest was finally over....and I had found success.
The story truly begins back in the summer of 2008. As a first year graduate student, I made my first trip out to Denver in order to process some ice-core samples at the National Ice Core lab. While there, I had my first taste of big mountains when I drove up my first 14er: Mt. Evans (now called Mt. Blue Sky). I can still recall driving to the summit parking area, and then hiking the few hundred feet up to the true summit...all while gasping for air. Just three weeks later, once I had completed my lab work, I thru-hiked the entire Colorado Trail just to fully immerse myself in the mountains and learn whatever it was they could teach me.
I would ultimately make many trips to Colorado over the next few years, but it was in 2011 while working alongside another student at the ice-core lab, that I first learned of the "14ers." This student, Nate, told me that there were 58 "official" 14er peaks, and that many set out to summit them all. He went on to tell me that while most of these 58 peaks are relatively easy climbs, at least a dozen would require difficult class 3 and even class 4 climbing (a concept completely foreign to me as an east coaster). A few days after learning of the 14ers, Nate suggested we head over to Mt. Bierstadt together, for what would be my first official "summit". While technically I had stood atop Mt. Blue Sky back in 2008, I had learned that a 14er summit doesn't really "count" if you drive it. In order to truly "earn" a 14er, you have to reach its summit under your own power.
On June 19th, 2011, Nate and I hiked up to the summit of Mt. Bierstadt and I checked off my first official 14er summit. From that moment, I was hooked and I knew that one day, I would finish them all...
Me and Nate on Mt. Bierstadt (#1/58) - 2011
Over the next fourteen years, I would make regular trips out to Colorado for lab work, races, or vacation. Each time I made my way out to the Rocky Mountain State, I would find time to squeeze in at least one or two 14er hikes. Sometimes I would get in several summits on one trip, other times, I would have to abort climbs due to bad weather. Typically though, I'd average about 4 or 5 summits per year and after several years and about 30 summits, I knew that things were getting serious. I started making sincere and strategic plans for how I might finish all the peaks, including the ones that would require incredibly difficult climbing that I wasn't yet prepared for.
One last note before we get to my journey: People always ask me how I'd rank the difficulty of the summits. I think this is a hard thing to quantify as the metrics are somewhat fuzzy and it frankly depends on who you ask. Some people really detest exposure (like me), while others don't mind it. Some love a good class 4 scramble (like me), while others are terrified by them. For me, difficulty comes down to how uneasy, scared, or anxious I felt on a mountain. So given this, I would rank my ten most difficult peaks as follows:
- 1: Capitol Peak (most difficult)
- 2: Pyramid Peak
- 3. Crestone Needle
- 4. North Maroon Peak
- 5. Maroon Peak
- 6. Little Bear Peak
- 7. Crestone Peak
- 8. Snowmass Mountain
- 9. Sunlight Peak
- 10. Wilson Peak and Mt. Eolus (tie)
Now...rather than litter this post with pages and pages of text, I figured I'd best share my journey through pictures. I went back through my digital photos and was able to find summit pictures from nearly every single 14er summit (with a few exceptions). So, given this, let's now revisit my journey through Colorado's 58 14er peaks....
(All listed elevations reflect newly updated 2024 LiDAR measurements)
#1/58 : Mt. Bierstadt - 14,069' - June 19, 2011
(Summited with Nate - First 14er)
#2/58 : Mt. Sherman - 14,043' - June 26, 2011
(Summited after running the slacker half-marathon)
#3/58 : Grays Peak - 14,275' - June 27, 2011
(Summited together with Torreys Peak)
#4/58 : Torreys Peak - 14,272' - June 27, 2011
(Summited together with Grays Peak)
#5/58 : Mt. Elbert - 14,438' - August 18, 2011
(Summited before running the Leadville Trail 100)
#6/58 : Uncompahgre Peak - 14,318' - August 28, 2011
(Summitted with C, favorite 14er)
(I would probably rank this as the easiest 14er overall)
#8/58 : Mt. Democrat - 14,154' - August 5, 2012
(Summited as part of De-Ca-Li-Bron)
#9/58 : Mt. Cameron - 14,248' - August 5, 2012
(Summited as part of De-Ca-Li-Bron)
#10/58 : Mt. Lincoln - 14,293' - August 5, 2012
(Summited as part of De-Ca-Li-Bron)
#11/58 : Mt. Bross - 14,178' - August 5, 2012
(Summited as part of De-Ca-Li-Bron)
#12/58 : Longs Peak - 14,259' - August 14, 2012
(First true class 3 climb with exposure - Keyhole Route)
#13/58 : Mt. Massive - 14,427' - August 16, 2012
(Summited before Leadville 100 Trail Run)
#14/58 : La Plata Peak - 14,344' - August 14, 2013
(Summited before Leadville 100 Trail Run)
#15/58 : Mt. of the Holy Cross - 14,007' - August 20, 2013
(First experience with bad weather)
#16/58 : San Luis Peak - 14,023' - August 26, 2014
(Summited from South Ridge via Creede)
#17/58 : Huron Peak - 14,006' - August 27, 2014
(Was snowed on during descent)
#18/58 : Mt. Blue Sky - 14,268' - June 5, 2016
*No summit photo taken on this climb*
I have been up Blue Sky more times than any other 14er
(Summited via complete road run/hike with friend Gina)
#19/58 : Mt. Princeton - 14,200' - June 18, 2016
(Summited as double with Yale via South Ridge w/Jared)
#20/58 : Mt. Yale - 14,200' - June 18, 2016
(Summited as double with Princeton via East Ridge w/Jared)
#21/58 : Missouri Mountain - 14,071' - June 26, 2016
(Summited as triple with Belford and Oxford)
#22/58 : Mt. Oxford - 14,158' - June 26, 2016
(Summited as triple with Missouri and Belford)
#23/58 : Mt. Belford - 14,202' - June 26, 2016
(Summited as triple with Missouri and Oxford)
#24/58 : Mt. Harvard - 14,424' - July 14, 2016
(Summited as double with Columbia)
#25/58 : Mt. Columbia - 14,075' - July 14, 2016
(Summited as double with Harvard)
#26/58 : Mt. Sneffels - 14,155' - July 15, 2016
(Summited in the evening - difficult class 3 sections)
#27/58 : Mt. Shavano - 14,230' - July 21, 2016
(Summited as double with Tabeguache)
#28/58 : Mt. Tabeguache - 14,158' - July 21, 2016
(Summited as double with Shavano)
#29/58 : Mt. Antero - 14,271' - June 17, 2017
(Last 14er in the Sawatch Range)
#30/58 : Humboldt Peak - 14,068' - July 4, 2017
(Summited on the Holiday)
#31/58 : Challenger Point - 14,068' - July 7, 2017
*No Photo - track shows climb from Willow Creek*
(Summited as double with Kit Carson)
#32/58 : Kit Carson Peak - 14,167' - July 7, 2017
*No Photo - track shows climb from Willow Creek*
(Summited as double with Challenger Point)
#33/58 : Blanca Peak - 14,359' - July 8, 2017
(Summited as triple with Ellingwood Point and Little Bear Peak)
#34/58 : Ellingwood Point - 14,057' - July 8, 2017
(Summited as triple with Blanca Peak and Little Bear Peak)
#35/58 : Little Bear Peak - 14,041' - July 8, 2017
First true Class 4 climb via Hourglass Route
(Summited as triple with Ellingwood Point and Blanca Peak)
#36/58 : Mt. Lindsey - 14,055' - July 12, 2017
(Route featured a sustained class 4 pitch)
#37/58 : Wilson Peak - 14,021' - July 13, 2017
(Overcast fog - First truly technical ascent)
#38/58 : Culebra Peak - 14,053' - January 14, 2018
(First and only Winter summit - Paid for permit to climb)
#39/58 : Redcloud Peak - 14,037' - July 12, 2018
(Summited as double with Sunshine Peak before Hardrock 100)
#40/58 : Sunshine Peak - 14,004' - July 12, 2018
(Summited as double with Sunshine Peak as training for Hardrock 100)
#41/58 : Wetterhorn Peak - 14,021' - July 13, 2018
(Summited as training for Hardrock 100)
#42/58 : Mt. Eolus - 14,087' - July 16, 2018
Hiked the four Chicago Basin peaks in two days with C
Took train and hiked in from Needleton trail head
(Summited as double with North Eolus)
#43/58 : North Eolus - 14,042' - July 16, 2018
Hiked the four Chicago Basin peaks in two days with C
Took train and hiked in from Needleton trail head
(Summited as double with Mt. Eolus)
#44/58 : Sunlight Peak - 14,061' - July 17, 2018
Hiked the four Chicago Basin peaks in two days with C
Took train and hiked in from Needleton trail head
I DID climb the final class 4 (exposed) summit block
(Summited as double with Windom)
#45/58 : Windom Peak - 14,089' - July 17, 2018
Hiked the four Chicago Basin peaks in two days with C
Took train and hiked in from Needleton trail head
(Summited as double with Sunlight)
#46/58 : Handies Peak - 14,058' - July 22, 2018
*No Photo* - track shows descent from summit during race
(Summited during the Hardrock 100 Run w/Travis)
Hardrock 100 Finish Line - 2018
#47/58 : Mt. Wilson - 14,256' - August 17, 2018
(Summited as double with El Diente)
#48/58 : El Diente Peak - 14,175' - August 17, 2017
Did NOT do the traverse - was hailed on
(Summited as double with Mt. Wilson)
#49/58 : Crestone Peak - 14,299' - July 13, 2021
Difficult class 3
(Summited as double with Crestone Needle - No Traverse)
#50/58 : Crestone Needle - 14,196' - July 13, 2021
Scariest summit to date - very difficult class 4 sections
(Summited as double with Crestone - No Traverse)
#51/58 : Castle Peak - 14,274' - July 12, 2022
(Summited as double with Conundrum)
#52/58 : Conundrum Peak - 14,037' - July 12, 2022
Descended via long snow glissade
(Summited as double with Castle Peak)
#53/58 : Maroon Peak - 14,163' - July 10, 2023
Incredibly difficult climb - many technical class 4 pitches
(Summited before Hardrock 100 Run)
#54/58 : North Maroon Peak - 14,022 - July 14, 2024
(Incredibly difficult climb - On par with Crestone Needle and Maroon Peak)
#55/58 : Pyramid Peak - 14,029' - July 15, 2024
(Most challenging summit to date - incredibly difficult)
#56/58 : Pikes Peak - 14,109' - June 11, 2025
(Summited via Crags Trail - lots of snow up high)
#57/58 : Capitol Peak - 14,138' - July 7, 2025
(Most difficult of all the 14ers - without any doubt)
...Knife edge was terrifying
#58/58 : Snowmass Mountain - 14,105' - July 9, 2025
(Summited via West Slopes - Difficult class 3)
(Summited via West Slopes - Difficult class 3)
...and just for fun....here is a little low-res video clip of me traversing the Knife Edge on Capitol. See if your palms get sweaty watching it...
