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And what does that have to do with this thread? Oh yeah. Nothing!
It just means that Californians can gander at one of our many Mountain ranges (The California Coastal Range) to the west from the beauty of the Pacific Ocean on a surfboard. Sure, we can still enjoy the white water in the Sierra's this time of year too!
Do you really need to keep this endless thread going?
You really know nothing about Colorado mountains, or the Sierras even!
When you say "Colorado Rockies" or "most of the rockies" what are you referring to? To say the Sierra Nevada mountains are more rugged than the Colorado Rockies is a very broad statement.
You should compare a range of the Colorado Rockies to the Sierra Nevada, such as the Sangre De Cristos, or the San Juan Mountains. Both of these ranges in Colorado are just as rugged as the Sierra Nevada. STOP JUDGING ALL OF COLORADO FROM YOUR VIEW OF THE FRONT RANGE FROM DENVER!!!!
"Most are Walk-ups" WHAT???????? The Elk Mountains in Colorado have some of the most rugged and challenging terrain in the country. The Maroon Bells, Pyramid Peak, and Capitol Peak are some of the hardest 14ers to climb in North America! Even the front range peaks near Boulder in the Indian Head wilderness are some of the most rugged mountains in America, and offer class 5 routes with 7,000 ft of vertical!!!!
Yes most of the Colorado 14ers are long walk ups with areas of scree and scramble however the Colorado 14ers, Capitol Peak, Crestone Peak, Maroon Peak, Pyramid Peak, Mount Wilson, Crestone Needle, Longs Peak, Wilson Peak, and Little Bear Peak are very challenging class 3, 4, and 5 mountains on their easiest routes and are anything but easy and require as much as 6,000 to 8,000ft of elevation gain. Many climbers have died on all of these mountains! To say the California peaks are harder just because there are fewer 14ers there to compare is stupid.
Mount Whitney is a very easy class 1 walk up, Mount Langley is another easy Sierra 14er with a short walk up route. Whit Mountain Peak another California 14er is also an easy walk up that people have bicycled to the summit of before! The remaining 9 14ers in the Sierra Nevada are harder climbs, but Colorado has just as many tough 14ers as California does. The only difference is that Colorado has 9 or 10 hard 14ers out of 53 total, and California has the same number of challenging 14ers out of only 12 total.
Crestone Peak in Colorado is definitely comparable to North Palisade in California, and the traverse from Blanca Peak in Colorado to Little Bear Peak is much more exposed than the Palisades traverse in California although less rocky. Any of the peaks I mentioned in Colorado are harder than Mount. Whitney, Mount. Langley, or White Mountain Peak. ASK ANYONE WHO HAS CLIMBED THEM ALL!!!!!
The North Cascades are incredible, but snow in the cascades is ice not snow. Ice climbs are unbeatable there I agree. The vertical relief in the Cascades is similar to the San Juan Mountains and Elk Mountains in Colorado.
Many 13,000 ft peaks in Colorado offer the same vertical gain of the 14ers with much harder climbs, look up Pigeon Peak, Mount Powell, Mount Meeker, or Lizard Head Peak or visit 13ers.com and see for yourself.
DO SOME RESEARCH CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!!
I know this isn't directed at me but I just want to point out that all I ever said was the Sierra's receive more snow than the CO Rockies. Which is true. I mentioned that totally not expecting every patriot from CO to get all uber-defensive. I think the mtns in Colorado are beautiful but after listening to a bunch of "outdoor freaks" from CO talk about the Rockies as if they are the greatest mountains on earth I stopped caring. Don't lose perspective, it's only a matter of time before some douchebag from Nepal stops by and jokes about your "mole hills".
I grew up in the Rocky Mountains and just visited the (truly amazing) Sierras this weekend. Except for the smell (the Rocky's are more pungent), I couldn't quite put my finger on the difference. The closest I could get to doing so, was analogizing them to people. The Rocky Mountains to me, are a 70 year old man with very deep-set, world-weary eyes who looks very kind, but you know not to mess with. The Sierras are a 30 year old man who's power you can see immediately, but who's also slightly wild and unpredictable.
As a fraction of land area, 14.3% of California has been designated as wilderness area (more than any other state, including Alaska). Compare this to Colorado's 5.6%. What this means is that it is harder to see the California wilderness without getting out of your car and either hiking or riding horseback.
The distance between Lee Vining (Tioga Pass Rd.) and Inyokern (Walker Pass Rd.) is over 190 miles. Between these two towns, there is no way for an automobile to cross the Sierra Nevada. The ridge of the Sierras between these two points is dotted with 12,000' and higher peaks, rising from Owens Valley at about 4,000'. Between I-80, north of Tahoe, and Walker Pass, there are only five roads that cross the mountains.
My conclusion: If you have only seen Tahoe and Yosemite, and you did not hike for many days on end, you have not really seen the Sierras. It is a very rugged range.
As a fraction of land area, 14.3% of California has been designated as wilderness area (more than any other state, including Alaska). Compare this to Colorado's 5.6%. What this means is that it is harder to see the California wilderness without getting out of your car and either hiking or riding horseback.
The distance between Lee Vining (Tioga Pass Rd.) and Inyokern (Walker Pass Rd.) is over 190 miles. Between these two towns, there is no way for an automobile to cross the Sierra Nevada. The ridge of the Sierras between these two points is dotted with 12,000' and higher peaks, rising from Owens Valley at about 4,000'. Between I-80, north of Tahoe, and Walker Pass, there are only five roads that cross the mountains.
My conclusion: If you have only seen Tahoe and Yosemite, and you did not hike for many days on end, you have not really seen the Sierras. It is a very rugged range.
I agree. Also, there is not a single Lake in the Colorado as large or as beautiful as Lake Tahoe, nor is there a mountain valley with unique peaks such as El Capitan or Half Dome as in Yosemite.
When folks drive on I-80 through the Sierras or Highway 50 they are going through the lowest range of mountains within the Sierras; they are not seeing the larger peaks, range, nor wilderness of the southern range.
"Also, there is not a single Lake in the Colorado as large or as beautiful as Lake Tahoe,"
As large? Correct! As beautiful? Opinion only! Hanging lake in my opinion is a far more gorgeous lake than Tahoe!!!!!
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I think the mtns in Colorado are beautiful but after listening to a bunch of "outdoor freaks" from CO talk about the Rockies as if they are the greatest mountains on earth I stopped caring. Don't lose perspective, it's only a matter of time before some douchebag from Nepal stops by and jokes about your "mole hills".
Sierra Nevada, California.
