Want to climb a mountain. (Denver, Colorado Springs: buy, schools, camping)

[jman07]

I want to go to Colorado and club to the TOP of a mountain. Do the camping and everything. I know nothing about it though. Can you do this? I want a guided group and everything. I was thinking Everest, but it cost too much and is too extreme. Give me some advice. Thanks!

[Colorado Rambler]

I don't know that Colorado would have a summit high enough and rugged enough to tempt a climber who has been contemplating Everest. There's Pikes Peak, of course. Hundreds if not thousands try to climb it every year only to discover to their dismay that they should have taken the cog railway instead. People just never seem to learn. There's still 2 sherpa's and a Tibetan Monk who vanished near the summit of the Peak back in 1978 and their bodies have yet to be found.

All things considered, I'd suggest Switzerland over Colorado. I hear the Jungfrau is lovely this time of the year and the guides teach everyone to yodel. Colorado has no yodeling guides - just yet one more disappointment we have to put up with around here.

[ABQConvict]

Many of Colorado's highest peaks are accessible by hiking trails. It is not technical mountain climbing.

[Yakscsd]

Originally Posted by jman07

I want to go to Colorado and club to the TOP of a mountain. Do the camping and everything. I know nothing about it though. Can you do this? I want a guided group and everything. I was thinking Everest, but it cost too much and is too extreme. Give me some advice. Thanks!

Absolutely. This is a great accomplishment and could be a very spiritual moment. There are several tall 14,000 foot in height peaks you can drive to. There are many other peaks that are equally as impressive, but not as tall. There are guides who will help you. But it can be dangerous and you really might want to try some low elevation camping at an established campground first. There are many choices of campgrounds where you can car camp in a tent or even out under the stars. Once you are comfortable with that, move up to a backpack trip in a bit more remote area. from there practice climbing big peaks with or without technical gear. Then you will be prepared and safe in pursuit of your dreams. Don't listen to naysayers.

[jim9251]

Mt Sneffles in the San Juan range south of Ridgway is over 14,000 feet and people climb it all the time. There's other 14er's in the state too. Drink LOTS of water, don't wear flip flops as one hapless tourist did last fall.

[gn3]

As others have said, most of the 14ers in Colorado are hikes, not really technical climbs (at least in the summer, when the vast majority of people go). Buy a book on 14ers and it should have tips on attire, etc. You need to be pretty fit and be prepared for adverse weather. Leave at dawn or before. Coming from out of state, give yourself 2-3 days below 9000 feet to have some degree of acclimation to altitude. Normally, I like to recommend centennial 13ers (the 100 tallest peaks below 14,000 feet, most are just slightly below) to people to avoid crowds, but it's fine and well to be around other people if you are an inexperienced climber. Read up and don't take it lightly. People die every year from foolish decisions (and just bad luck, too) made trying to climb 14ers and other mountains.

If you want to learn mountaineering, Colorado isn't the best place in the States. That would be Washington State, in the Cascades, where there is much more snow and sizable glaciers (incidentally, also easier for people hailing from the flatlands, as the mountains are lower in total elevation, but just as rugged - more like the Alps than the desert mountains of Colorado). There are any number of mountaineering schools based out of Seattle and other locales. I can recommend Alpine Ascents International, having done a course with them. There are similar programs in Colorado - just google "Colorado mountaineering courses", for example.

So it comes down to whether you want to hike and summit a mountain, or actually learn mountaineering.

[Mike from back east]

IMO a beginner might want to start out in Colorado Springs.

Right in the heart of downtown we have an indoor rock climbing facility.

A few miles west of downtown is Garden of the Gods where one may do technical rock climbing.

Not too far from GotG is Red Rocks Canyon with lots of hiking.

Then there's Cheyenne Canon park to hike.

A few miles west of Garden of the Gods is the Manitou Incline, a very steep old incline railway path that is now a public park.

In the same vicinity of Manitou is Barr Trail, which one may hike to the top of Pikes Peak, 14,115 feet. There is a part-way hike that gets one a partial trip to the top and is a popular day hike.

All of this is in a very affordable city with all the amenities and no long drives to anywhere.

[gn3]

True, there are plenty of shorter mountains around Colorado Springs where it's an easier hike than most 14ers, but you still get to climb to the top of something.

Mount Herman - about 9000 feet, 4.5 mile round trip hike, gaining about 1200 feet. On a clear day with sun, you can see both downtown Colorado Springs and Denver from certain places on the summit.

Mount Rosa - 11,499 feet. Really cool, a small, peaked summit with 360 degree views. A couple of ways to climb it. From Old Stage Road, it's about a 7 mile round trip, 2000 feet elevation gain. You can shorten it some if you have a Jeep or other capable 4wd, as part of the hike from Old Stage is on a Jeep trail. The road would be muddy as heck this time of year, though, so I would just hike the road unless you're really sure of your offroading prowess. Or from Gold Camp Road - much longer and more grueling. 12 miles round trip w/ 4000 feet of elevation gain. If you can do this, you are in good shape for most of the hikeable 14ers. You can also stop off and see St. Mary's falls, pretty cool.

[Mike from back east]

Another neat hike in Colorado Springs, practically next door to Garden of the Gods, is Queen's Canyon and Dorothy Falls, on private property but accessible via signing in at the guard shack of the Glen Eyrie property. This property is currently closed to hikers due to the Waldo Canyon Fire the other year.

[jazzlover]

Forgive me, but the OP sounds like a person with absolutely no geographical or outdoor knowledge whatsoever--none. Before anyone gives any advice, the OP should be asked the following:

Does he/she have ANY outdoor experience at all? Hiking? Camping? Even mild walking? How about mountain driving?

Does he/she have any experience at high altitudes? Does he/she know the possibilities/risk of altitude sickness for people coming to Colorado from lower elevations, especially if they are exerting heavily?

Does he/she understand that climbing a Colorado 14'er MAY entail a vertical ascent of over a mile in elevation within just a few miles of hiking? (Of course, it is possible to drive to the summit of Mt. Evans in the summer, as well as drive or ride a cog railway to the summit of Pikes Peak in the summer.) Does he/she understand that even a "walkup" ascent of a Colorado mountain peak is physically strenuous, even for people in good physical condition?

Does he/she have ANY concept of Colorado's geography/climate? For example, that Colorado has 54 to 58 peaks (depending on whose measurements one accepts) over 14,000 ft. elevation, and over 600 peaks that are between 13,000 ft. and 14,000 ft. elevation. Or that Colorado's AVERAGE elevation is 6,800 ft. Or that snow is possible any time of year on the high peaks. Or that they are extremely lightning prone during the summer, especially after noon.

Does he/she understand the hazards of Colorado's mountain areas? Things like severe drop-offs, highly unpredictable weather, potential wildfires, flash floods, rockslides, ticks, lack of quick emergency medical services in remote areas, the potential for getting lost, heat stroke, hypothermia, even getting infected foot blisters from hiking in ill-fitting footwear.

After decades of dealing with people who get themselves in all kinds of trouble in the high country because of their ignorance, I never assume that anyone from someplace other than the Rocky Mountain region fully understands the characteristics and risks associated with the high country of the Rockies.