While living in Denver, Colorado, I met one of the last
of the true great adventurists - Toby Kerr (the FunDoctor).
One of many crazy things he introduced to me was climbing 14'rs - mountain
peaks over 14 thousand feet. Since Colorado is blessed with 53 of them,
it is a wonderland of "real experience", the type which you cannot
get by watching David Attenborough. The following is my account of the
5 peaks that allowed me access to their summits.
| Grays Peak 14,270 feet
Toby Kerr, Chris Koloszar As with many first-timers, this was my first introduction to a fourteener. The Doc wanted to see what kind of condition I was in so he could assess our chances at a more grueling hike planned for later that summer. We set off a bit late (10-ish), which can end your summit hopes by loosing the battle with the electrical storms that Mr Thor likes to throw at you. On this day we were in luck though, making the summit in just over 2hours. I was ecstatic. 14,270 feet high! (thats about 2,000 feet higher that Mt Cook - which is my childhood yardstick measure of a bloody tall mountain). We sat back, signed the register, and "Gorped" up. Sitting there in that moment, soaking in the view, made me appreciate being alive and thankful for just being. Toby eyed up the weather situation and declared it safe to go for Torres, a neighbouring peak at 14,276 feet. What's another 6 feet, right? (see Torres Peak). |
Longs Peak 14,255 feet
Brian Tucker, Tim Adams, Hafid Bhenmida, Chris Koloszar
Please note the emphasis on LONG. This was a 12 hour round trip (including the 90 minute kip at the summit).
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Got up at 4:30am, which was way too early for food from
our hotel in Estes Park. Brian still managed to whip up some oats in the
"Mr Coffee" which did the trick.
Made the trail head by 5:00, still dark. Set out with flash lights and a great sense of adventure. Sunrise gilted the magnificent west face of Longs, and it was our first visual of what lay ahead. |
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The trail winds its way up towards Chasm lake, which
lies at the foot of the massive 2,500 foot west face. Just getting this
far was a test in itself, but with that magestic peak stand before you
it's hard to notice your aching legs.
A quick pit stop at the junction where the trail splits for the lake, and were off for the boulder field and keyhole. |
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| Welcome to the Keyhole! You're half way there. Notice the accomodation should you feel the need to stay the night. |
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This is the view on the other side of the keyhole. I
was expecting it to be a nice, level, grassy field that gently lead to
the summit. No such luck. Legs getting a bit shakey. Banged my head on
a rock in never saw. These things sobered me up as a reminder that a mistake
could lead to severe injury, or death.
We rested for a while, which was another mistake. It's hard to convince your legs to work after you let them rest for too long.One last push for the summit. Should be there in an hour! |
| Mount Bierstadt 14,060 feet
Brian Tucker, Tyler Tucker, Chris Koloszar Ah yes, Bierstadt. I have found the Dawson Guides to Colorado's 14'rs to be an invaluable part of preparation. I will spend many nights going over the texts and photos, readying myself for the challenge. The ascent of Bierstadt is straight forward - literally. (Thats after you have negotiated the "Willows"). I don't know about you but to me, "Willows" conjures up images of silky green strands draped over a meandering stream. Not so in the high country. It's more like anti-personel wire spread across a boggy marsh 1/2 a mile wide. Once this obstical is behind you and you're sporting a new set of tatoo's on your shins, it's straight up to the summit. The FunDoctor was not present on this trip, but I was joined by a great friend - Brian Tucker and his son Tyler - both of whom reported hearing the distant roll of thunder at the peak, but there wasn't a cloud in sight! How strange... |
| Mount Eolus 14,083 feet
Not to be. Thor and Aeolus were having a pow-wow. (see Windom Peak) |
| Sunlight Peak 14,059 feet
Not to be. Thor and Aeolus were having a pow-wow. (see Windom Peak) |
| Torreys Peak 14,267 feet
Toby Kerr, Chris Koloszar Setting out from the summit of Grays Peak, Torres is a saddle-ridge connection that tops Grays by a mere 6 additional feet. Once again, the Toby-machine is setting a comfortably blistering pace. I managed to stay with him until a recieved an urgent message from the engine room. "She canna hold out much longer, Cap'n". I was running out of gas FAST. What can you do when the boiler room goes on strike? Negotiate! I sent a reply that guarrenteed a Bo-Joe's "Mountain-Pie" if they would just hold out a little longer. It, worked, albeit on a work-to-rule basis - nice and easy. |
| Windom Peak 14,082 feet
Toby Kerr, Cam Vuksinich, Rick Elems, Chris Koloszar Bubbler-boy with his hot water bottle and a bottle of olives! Stay tuned for this epic journey... |
| Complete list of fourteeners in Colorado
Blanca Peak 14,345 (1874) Capitol Peak 14,130 (1909) Castle Peak 14,265 (1873) Crestone Needle 14,197 (1916) Crestone Peak 14,294 (1916) Culebra Peak 14,047 (1875) El Diente Peak 14,159 (1890) Ellingwood Peak 14,042 (?) Grays Peak 14,270 (1861) Handies Peak 14,048 (1874) Humboldt Peak 14,064 (1883) Huron Peak 14,005 (1880s) Kit Carson Peak 14,165 (1916) La Plata Peak 14,336 (1873) Little Beak Peak 14,037 (1888) Longs Peak 14,255 (1868) Maroon Peak 14,156 (1908) Missouri Mountain 14,067 (1880s) Mount Antero 14,269 (1870s) Mount Belford 14,197 (1880s) Mount Bierstadt 14,060 (1863) Mount Bross 14,172 (1861) Mount Columbia 14,073 (1869) Mount Democrat 14,148 (1861) Mount Elbert 14,433 (1874) Mount Eolus 14,083 (1880s) Mount Evans 14,262 (1863) Mount Harvard 14,420 (1869) Mount of the Holy Cross 14,005 (1873) Mount Lincoln 14,286 (1861) Mount Lindsey 14,042 (1875) Mount Massive 14,421 (1873) Mount Oxford 14,153 (1880s) Mount Princeton 14,197 (1877) Mount Shavano 14,229 (1870s) Mount Sherman 14,036 (1860s) Mount Sneffels 14,150 (1874) Mount Wilson 14,246 (1874) Mount Yale 14,196 (1869) North Maroon Peak 14,014 (1908) Pikes Peak 14,110 (1820) Pyramid Peak 14,018 (1909) Quandary Peak 14,265 (1861) Redcloud Peak 14,034 (1874) San Luis Peak 14,014 (1874) Snowmass Mountain 14,092 (1873) Sunlight Peak 14,059 (1880s) Sunshine Peak 14,001 (1874) Tabeguache Mountain 14,155 (1870s) Torreys Peak 14,267 (1861) Uncompahgre Peak 14,309 (1874) Wetterhorn Peak 14,015 (1906) Wilson Peak 14,017 (1880s) Windom Peak 14,082 (1880s) |
