Beginners Guide to the 58 14ers of Colorado

My wife and I recently moved from Phoenix, AZ to Colorado Springs. It was a very big, very good change. We both love the being in the mountains and the winter time, so it made perfect sense for us to get out of the Arizona hell and live somewhere we could enjoy. Then we discovered hiking the Colorado 14ers!

Get Out There

The first thing we decided when we got to Colorado was that we need to hiking some Colorado 14ers. We wasted no time, and got climbing. After 6 months, we’ve bagged 12 peaks. (Everything you see pictured on the above tracker board, as well as Mt. Sherman)

BTW, if you like the above pictured 14er tracking board, we have it available for sale!

One of my favorite things about hiking 14ers is taking the dog along. Watson, our Golden Retriever smiles from ear to ear whenever we get out of the house and into the mountains.

Since we’ve done a lot of research to figure out which 14ers to hike when, I thought I’d share this guide with you that we wrote up. The 14ers in Colorado are ranked anywhere from Class 1 to Class 4.

Rankings

The class 4 routes are the most difficult, exposed and dangerous, so when you do them you need to make sure you are prepared. Some hikers even bring ropes along when hiking class 4, though it can be done without them by an experienced hiker. Below you’ll find an infographic showing all of the 14ers ranked by difficulty, along with their elevations.

(Also available in this downloadable PDF with clickable links)

Before we moved back to Colorado, I had previously climbed Challenger and Kit Carson. They were steep and exhausting but I never felt that I was in danger. Kit Carson is an easy class 3. Any more difficult than that and I would have started getting pretty nervous. The picture you see below is of me standing on top of Challenger, with Kit Carson partially blocked by my head. This was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. I highly recommend it.

Which 14er Should I hike first?

But if you’re just looking into hiking Colorado 14ers, start of with one of the class 1’s or class 2’s. Quandary, Bierstadt, Gray’s and Torrey’s are among the easiest ascents. Pike’s Peak is a long day, but the trail is very well paved and not too difficult until you get to the last mile, where there are some rock fields, but still good trail through the steep climbing.

Ever since we moved to Colorado we have different family and friends coming to visit every weekend and we always try to convince them to hike a 14er with us. My dad came to visit from Hawaii. He tried Quandary with us and made it to the saddle before the final ascent, but he got dizzy from the big elevation change. I accidentally double booked one weekend, so we took everybody to Bierstadt which was quite cold, but absolutely beautiful! Every peak is so unique, with new views, great people on the trail, and really, really fresh air.

Whether you live in Colorado or some other part of the world, the most important thing you can do is get out there and have yourself a good time! Go get up high in the mountains and see the world from a completely different perspective! Stay tuned for more detailed posts about each individual hike as we complete them!

And remember, if you’d like to track your 14ers, use this awesome board my wife designed and created!

We thrift has a coupon available for 5% off this board!