Colorado Fourteeners
The 54 mountains above 14,000 in Colorado
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Colorado has 58 mountains over 14,000 feet (4,266 meters) in height but only 53 are noted as '14ers'. To qualify as a 14er the peak must be 300 feet higher than saddle of an adjacent peak. A notable exception is North Maroon Peak so 54 has become the 'official' number. There are six distinct ranges that holds these 14'ers plus hundreds of lesser peaks. All this makes Colorado one of the best climbing areas in the world. Many are very easy to get to with many within driving distance of Denver and other Front Range cities. Some require overnight backpacking trips and are well worth the effort. Please read my FAQs for some common questions and answers plus suggestions for a first 14er.

Uncompahgre SummitJune, July and August are the most popular months with thousands of people on the hills. Some mountains can have hundreds of climbers on a sunny weekend day. But don't let the crowds keep you away. These mountains are big and there are many routes so if you want to avoid the crowds don't take the "standard" route. In fact the secondary routes are often much more interesting and rewarding!

While it may seem simple to load up the car and go "climb a 14'er", it can be deadly. Every year people die on these mountains. Thunderstorms with lightning, sudden snow squalls, high winds can turn a great day into a nightmare; so be careful and always consult the NFS and the latest weather and avalanche danger before going up.

There are many great web sites out there about Colorado's 14'ers with excellent maps, route information, trip logs and photos. My favorite site dedicated to 14ers is Bill Middlebrook's www.14ers.com. The 'bible' of guide books remains Gerry Roach's Colorado Fourteeners. Even though it was published in 1999 it is a must have for every 14er climber.

The following table lists the 58 with the ones I have climbed in bold, 38 as of August 2008. These have links to pages about that particular climb with a short essay, videos and pictures. Longs Peak is special to me since it is close to my home and I used it for training almost every weekend before my Everest and Karakorum climbs. I have summited it 15 times. Currently it has the most extensive coverage. My pages usually have photos and a very short story about the climb. The indicates one of my top 14ers thus far. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did climbing the peaks! But get out there when you can!

I have added a new utility to map the route from anywhere to 14er Trailheads using Google Maps. It was written by JMac of Highlands Ranch, Colorado - Thanks!!

Climb On!


Maroon BellsMaroon Bells
Colorado 14ers
click on any heading to sort
RANK MOUNTAIN HEIGHT RANGE EASIEST ROUTE DIFFICULTY* COMMENTS
1 Mt. Elbert 14,440' Sawatch Class 1  
2 Mt. Massive 14,428' Sawatch Class 2 THUMBSUP for the Southeast slopes route
3 Mt. Harvard 14,427' Sawatch Class 2+ for the Horn Fork Basin area
4 Blanca Peak 14,349' Sangre de Cristo Class 2  
5 La Plata Peak 14,336' Sawatch Class 2 for the Lake Creek route
6 Uncompahgre Peak 14,314' San Juan Class 2  
7 Crestone Peak 14,298' Sangre de Cristo Class 3+  
8 Mt. Lincoln
Mt. Cameron
14,291'
14,238'
Tenmile-Mosquito Class 1 Lincoln is the official 14er.
9 Grays Peak 14,279' Front Range Class 1  
10 Mt. Antero 14,276' Sawatch Class 2  
11 Torreys Peak 14,272' Front Range Class 2  
12 Quandary Peak 14,270' Tenmile-Mosquito Class 1 for Horton the Quandary dog
13 Mt. Evans 14,270' Front Range Class 2  
14 Castle Peak
Conundrum Peak
14,269'
14,060'
Elk Class 2+ Castle is the official 14er
15 Longs Peak 14,261' Front Range Class 3. for any Longs route!
16 Mt. Wilson
El Diente
14,250'
14,164'
San Juan Class 4 Both are counted as 14ers but Wilson is the 'official' 14er. Diente is adjanct.
17 Mt. Shavano 14,236' Sawatch Class 2  
18 Mt. Belford 14,205' Sawatch Class 2  
19 Mt. Princeton 14,205' Sawatch Class 2  
20 Mt. Yale 14,204' Sawatch Class 2  
21 Crestone Needle 14,201' Sangre de Cristo Class 4  
22 Mt. Bross 14,177' Tenmile-Mosquito Class 1  
23 Kit Carson Peak 14,169' Sangre de Cristo Class 2+  
24 Maroon Peak 14,162' Elk Class 3+ for the traverse South to North
25 Tabeguache Peak 14,162' Sawatch Class 2  
26 Mt. Oxford 14,160' Sawatch Class 2  
27 Mt. Sneffels 14,155' San Juan Class 2+  
28 Mt. Democrat 14,152' Tenmile-Mosquito Class 1  
29 Capitol Peak 14,141' Elk Class 4  
30 Pikes Peak 14,115' Front Range Class 1  
31 Snowmass Mtn. 14,096' Elk Class 2+  
32 Mt. Eolus
North Eolus
14,088'
14,039'
San Juan Class 3 Mt. Eolus is the official 14er
33 Windom Peak 14,087' San Juan Class 2  
34 Challenger Point 14,084' Sangre de Cristo Class 2+  
35 Mt. Columbia 14,079' Sawatch Class 2  
36 Missouri Mountain 14,073' Sawatch Class 2+ for the north face in snow
37 Humboldt Peak 14,069' Sangre de Cristo Class 2  
38 Mt. Bierstadt 14,065' Front Range Class 1  
39 Sunlight Peak 14,064' San Juan Class 4  
40 Handies Peak 14,053' San Juan Class 1 Easy and stunning climb in the summer from American Basin
41 Culebra Peak 14,051' Sangre de Cristo Class 1  
42 Ellingwood Point 14,049' Sangre de Cristo Class 2  
43 Mt. Lindsey 14,047' Sangre de Cristo Class 2+ Great rock climbing from the ridge
44 Mount Sherman 14,042' Tenmile-Mosquito Class 1  
45 Little Bear Peak 14,040' Sangre de Cristo Class 4  
46 Redcloud Peak 14,037' San Juan Class 1 wonderful summer wildflowers
47 Pyramid Peak 14,023' Elk Class 4  
48
Wilson Peak
14,024' San Juan Class 3  
49 Wetterhorn Peak 14,020' San Juan Class 3+ for the San Juan and rock climbing
50 North Maroon Peak 14,019' Elk Class 4 for the traverse South to North
50 San Luis Peak 14,019' San Juan Class 1  
52 Mt. of the Holy Cross 14,012' Sawatch Class 2  
53 Huron Peak 14,012' Sawatch Class 2  
54 Sunshine Peak 14,006' San Juan Class 1  

Dead Dog Gulch on Mt. Torreysdead Dog Couloir to Torreys

Dogs are welcome on some 14'ersDogs on Greys

Longs Peak's diamond face above Chasm LakeThe diamond face of Longs Peak

Having fun in the Colorado Rockies Who is that guy??

*Climbing Class Ratings

(based on the Yosemite Decimal System)
note: route difficulty is determined by the most difficult section so a route can have 50 feet of Class 3 and 6 miles of Class 1 and be classified as Class 3.
Mt Huron Class 1: Trail hiking. Mostly groomed trails that are easy to find in the summer and relatively smooth. Walk upright without use of hands for balance. It can be a little steep at times. Mount Elbert, the highest 14er, is Class 1 on the standard route.
Mt. Massive Class 2: Simple off-trail hiking. Some scrambling may be required on the route with an occasional use of the hands for balance. Downclimbing is straightforward. Mt. Massive is a class 2 route with some bouldering required near the summit using hands for balance.
Longs Peak Class 3: This is actual "climbing" since you scramble a lot frequently using your hands. Handholds are easy to find. You can downclimb facing out from the rock. Longs Peak's Keyhole route is rated class 3 but like most routes it is easy class 1 most of the time with the upper sections becoming more difficult thus making the route a class 3.
Moroon Bells Class 4: Simple climbing, with exposure. You must look for handholds and test them that they will hold you before using. You use your upper body muscles. A rope is often used for downclimbing (rappelling). Falls may well be fatal. The North Maroon Peak is class 4 with the traverse from South to North rated low class 5 on the upclimb on the North Bell. See my video of climbing this section.
Rapelling Class 5: True technical climbing normally using ropes, carabineers, anchors (protection), harness, etc. In the winter you use an ice axe and crampons. Long's Keyhole route is rated "technical" in the winter beyond the keyhole. Climbers belay one another. There are sub-ratings for class 5 ranging from 5.0 for "easy" climbs with frequent hand and foot holds to 5.13 that is has smooth and vertical rock on an overhang. There are many class 5 routes on Colorado 14ers plus other non-14er climbs such as the Flatirons and Monastery near Estes Park.

Estimated Time/Distance to 14er Trailheads

Updated 7/18/08
 Disclaimer

Start Address: (e.g. Street, City, State, or Zip Code, or "DIA,CO" for Denver Intl Airport)

Select Trail Head:


Tips for Google Map Newbies:

  1. How to Re-Center after Zooming:
    1. Enter a start address and select a trailhead.
    2. Select the zoom level appropriate for your search (Primary, Secondary, or Detail).
    3. Click the "get estimates" button, then wait for the resulting route map to begin loading.
    4. As the map begins to load, re-center it by clicking one of the highlighted "route-segment" numbers, located left of the route descriptions.
    5. (To center the "End" point of the route, click the highlighted "To:" link, next to the final route-description.)
    6. (To center "Any" point along the route, right-click the point, then select "Center Map Here" from the pop-up menu.)


  2. How to dynamically explore alternatives routes:
    1. Enter a start address and select a trailhead.
    2. Click the "Get Estimates" button, then wait for the resulting route map to fully load.
    3. Drag any point along the displayed route-line to explore route alternatives. The route-line is dynamically redrawn as you drag it. Also, a pop-up window is dynamically displayed with revised distance and time estimates, as you drag the route.
    4. When you drop the route after dragging it, the route descriptions, distances, and times are automatically updated.
    5. To see real-time traffic data, click the Traffic button. (Only available for downtown Denver.) When the traffic overlay is activated, route times are revised to reflect current traffic conditions. (The Traffic option can be slow with Dial-up connections.)
    6. Click your browser's back button whenever you need to undo route changes.
  • Traffic patterns are color coded to indicate approximate travel speed. (Red < 25 mph, Yellow=25 to 50 mph, Green > 50 mph, Grey = no data)
  • To delete a destination-point, right-click its (balloon shaped) icon, then select "Remove This Destination" from the pop-up menu.
  • For more information watch the Google video: http://maps.google.com/help/maps/directions/index.html

Disclaimer: This application is designed to return the standard trailhead routes, as described by Roach and Middlebrook.To achieve this, many of the routes listed have been hard-coded from the trailheads out to "main" roads. This was done to prevent Google from returning alternate (unproven) routes. (Now here is the disclaimer part.) Please Remember This: computer generated driving instructions are not always completely reliable. Routing algorithms sometimes return routes that include un-improved and/or un-maintained roads. While this may cause only minor inconvenience in urban areas, it can lead to more serious problems in Colorado's back country, where un-improved and/or un-maintained roads often require 4 wheel drive -- and can be impassible in wet or wintry weather. When in doubt you should confirm these routes with more reliable sources, such as printed maps or guide books where routes are classified and/or fully described.

Notes:

  • The "Start Address" field is remembered for 100 days if cookies and javascript are enabled in your browser.
  • If javascript is not enabled in your browser, Google will show driving instructions and estimates, but will not show a map.
  • You are free to copy, modify, and/or distribute this page, in any way or manner you like.
  • If your browser is compatible, the drop-down trailhead list should have group headings that look like this:

    Download your own copy of this web page in zip file format: getestimates.zip (17kb)
    {The zip file contains the following files: getestimates.html, multimountainbeta.html, formretain.js (a JavaScript used
    to save the start address and user preference fields), plus.gif, neg.gif, dot.gif, and thlist.gif.}

    Created 5/4/07
    Published 9/16/07
    Last Modified 7/18/08

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