For everyone calling the wambulence because they don't want to listen to the whole video: Traverse Rankings: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZpaYdKmXmpellok.htmlm47s Hardest: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZpaYdKmXmpellok.htmlm3s Hard: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZpaYdKmXmpellok.htmlm More Difficult: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZpaYdKmXmpellok.htmlm20s Moderate: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZpaYdKmXmpellok.htmlm28s Easier: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZpaYdKmXmpellok.htmlm8s

One thing I’m thankful for is I’m older (70) and did them all from late 70’s to the 80’s. I bought one pair of boots, Fabiano all leather with 1/2 shank. With two pair of gaiters, one low and one high, my feet never got wet and I never twisted my ankle. I frequently cleaned the exteriors of my Fabianos and sno sealed them. The inside I periodically washed with a ph balanced soap. This kept the leather from breaking down from salts. Today all boots I see are composite construction and appear to be throw away. The plastic ones are more technical and designed for ice and snow work, but also with artificial composite interiors.

Just did La Plata yesterday, had to come revisit this video because I vastly underestimated its difficulty, i personally found it to be harder than Elbert and even Longs simply because of how steep it is

Love your vids. I am keeping them all for my training for Everest base camp trek. Thanks a million Mick. Great job on iron man too!!!

Great breakdown. Love the content. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Virtual Sherpa, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every one of Your videos. Thank You.

I’m looking to get into 14ers and this video was great man 👍

Brilliant guide for beginners like me. These really help get an idea of where to start, thank you sir.

The list is very helpful!

Great synopsis for all the peaks. I can't wait to follow this guide and start conquering these this spring!

So glad that you put this together. Thank you. I've done 3 and will never forget it. Probably only have time for a few more.

LOVE your videos, watch them 2-3 times before I do a climb. Subscribed as a 14er! I'm only on #12 but I wouldn't do one without the watching THE Virtual Sherpa first!

Congratulations man!

I did Redcloud as my first 14er earlier this summer without much acclimation and it was tough! I plan on going back with more training and acclimation time to bag Sunshine with it as well.

I chose Elbert for my first one this October 1st. Took me six hours to summit and it kicked my ass but I made it.

Truly incredible, out of this world, at a loss of words just looking at those mountains and seeing people climb them, astonishing 👍 to me, this is as wild as it gets!

Congratulations! I’m 15 and I’m attempting to do them all. I’ve done 10 so far and will be doing 8 more next summer. I live in Washington, not Colorado, so it’ll take awhile. You’re such an inspiration. Great job!

Awesome videos, and thanks for sharing your experiences and recommendations. I visited Colorado this past October, my first 14er was Pikes Peek, then I drove out to Dillion to explore Cupid Sniktau and Grizzly. I was somewhat surprised that my old senior bones was still up to the challenge. My only regret (something you mentioned in your video) I got caught in a snow/lightening storm 50 feet from Grizzly peek and was not prepared as to what safety measures you should take during a lightening storm. Being a newbi I wasn't aware how quickly the weather can change so quickly, It was blue skies when I started the hike, but after surviving the lighten storm I research the safety measures to take when I a summit during a lightening storm. Thanks again

I did Pikes Peak via Barr. 5:15 ascent, just shy of 3 hrs descent. It was awesome. Ran a lot of it down. Then I did Pikes Peak a few years later from northwest TH/Craggs. Both are great routes with great views.

I keep watching this vid before doing 14ers. I've done 3 so far (Bierstadt, gray's &torrey's) about to attempt the decalibron this weekend sooo I needed this to hype me up more! thanks for your content!

I have no idea what you desire to gain from this channel but I see your hard work and I love this whole area so much. If we ever meet I’ll buy you as many drinks as you want, or just a meal if you don’t drink.

New subscriber. Thank you very much for your very onformative videos. Looking forward to hiking many of these.

Instantly hit that Luke button when you said you just hiked the last one. Mad props

Great vid. I transcribed everything. Have 10 down. Trust your judgement since you've done them all. Thanks again

That's funny, Conundrum was 14er #29 for me too. Thank you for the videos. Your el diente blanca traverse scared the hell out of me haha.

I love the video! Also enjoy the comments from others on their summits. I have taken several trips out to Colorado and have summited 17 of the 14ers via the standard route. I have a hard time with Longs, Elbert, and Quandary in the same category - in my experience, Quandary was no big deal (14er wise, I mean), Elbert was a lot of elevation gain but still not terrible, but Longs is definitely the most difficult 14er I have done. Once you get past the keyhole, the terrain changes dramatically, with lots of exposure and it turns to class 2/3.

Just did my first 14er at Quandary yesterday- it was definitely exhausting, but you ranking it as one of the more difficult ones gives me hope for completion of the rest 🙌

Wonderful video, super informative. Thank you (former OB instructor, San Juans)

Thanks for this valuable video!

Man would love to hike with you. I have done Bierdstadt and Grays. Looking forward to watching more of your videos to understand these hikes more. So stay Blessed and stay Safe all!

My first hike in Colorado was Challenger point. Definitely a big one to start on.

great breakdown, especially by grouping them by category. thanks

If you ever want to trade some of that Outer Range, I'm happy to help. Great video!

Great work, thanks.

My first 14er will be Pikes Peak this May. So Excited for it. I'm always doing Iron Mountain in Poway California which is only 2,696 so this will be a big jump but I'm ready for it.

This was a great video where you explained so much. One thing you might have mentioned was what to take with you and to use hiking boots (not tennis shoes) and probably a couple pairs of wool socks.. Your rankings on difficulty seem accurate. I summited Mount Elbert right after I turned 70 (without acclimating from sea level) and it was very hard with breathing. Being in very good shape doesn't matter when you get less oxygen into your lungs due to the altitude. Still a great moment to summit which I will never forget. I had pre-printed a piece of paper with Mount Elbert and 14,433 feet for a photo and which I then gave t other hikers to use. I also wanted to mention Quandry Peak which I thought was hard because coming down there was was a lot of loose rocks and I was afraid of turning or breaking an ankle. Thanks so much for your information.

Thanks for all the videos. Congratulations on completing all 58! I agreed with you on your list till you got to the more difficult 14ers. I have done most of those: Elbert, Quandary, Kit Carson, Challenger, Massive. But the one I can not agree with is Longs. Totally different league in my book. Totally subjective, I won't disagree. It is well marked. And it is in the National park. But it is more exposed, and it does require some decent scrambling, plus there is a lot of people (who shouldn't be there) kicking rocks at you in the trough. I did Quandary and Longs 2 days apart and I would not put them in the same group (imo) Congrats on your accomplishment! Thanks for the great videos!

Awesome video ! Thanks !

Very helpful video

That's interesting about Shavano. I summitted it in Aug. 2010, beautiful day, sat on the peak for a short while, saw little wisps of clouds beginning to form and I immediately started running down about as hard as I could go. There were people still up there in some awful lightning. I hope they came out OK.

Hi! Now that you've finished the Colorado 14 thousanders, it would be interesting to see you tackle other ranges like the Teton Range in Wyoming or the Sierra Nevada's in Cali.

My friends took me to Quandary as my first fourteener & it was really rough 😭 Just did Bierstadt, Grays & Torreys & enjoyed them so much more hahaha. Thanks for providing this guide!🤩

Live in Colorado for 15 years, never knew we have Lake Como - a budget friendly option :)

I took my son to Colorado to do our first 14er. Mount Elbert nonetheless......as a 48 YO in great shape I can say that I underestimated the hike up to top.....oh boy I got dizzy around 13000 feet of altitude, and my breathing was, well, very difficult to catch my breath. we are going back this year, but definitely, we are using your video and info to do the easiest traverse of them all.

I love your channel and footage. I have done 13 😊

Love your videos bro. I discovered your KZfaq channel about a month ago and I’ve been hooked on your videos. I’ve got Handies and Evans down so far. I hope to get up to Colorado more often and hike more of them while using the resources from your vids. Thx for all the entertainment. Jared from Albuquerque, NM!

I found Elbert and Quandary to be easier than Sneffels. But it could have been which trail I took. I did the main Quandary trail in winter and took the Black Cloud Trail for Elbert in the fall. I attempted Sneffels from the Blue Lakes trailhead and that was scary. Crazy windy, plus it felt like it was way steeper and exposed than the others

Congrats on finishing CO 14ers. California 14ers could use some great coverage. :)

very informative, thanks.

I’ve attempted 34 and peaked 17. Your. List and assessment seems spot on. Your advice at the end about the weather is very wise. I’ve have often seen groups hiking up into a low pressure system with associated thunderstorms. This is a good way to put yourself at risk. My wife and I were slammed by a fast moving storm on Elbert. Lightning strikes everywhere. Very dangerous. We escaped and never put ourselves in that situation again! Awesome channel and info. Thank you!

Another 14er traverse rarely done is Capital / Snowmass The best traverse ive done ( none are 14ers) is the grinadeer/ quartsite traverse in the San Juans

Great stuff...really enjoy your videos and the information you share. Excellent details and insights. As mentioned in other videos...I think you should start re-doing them for us and bring along your drone...that footage is spectacular. Big props to you for your contributions

Thanks all for watching - sorry the chat kicked me off. Hope you enjoyed the premier and be sure to leave any questions below if I didn't answer them or missed ones at the end.

Going to my first 14er Mt.Sherman next weekend! Thank you! Great vid

I climbed Blanca by myself. To get to Lake Como it requires some SERIOUS 4wd haha. Was definitely a brutal one. But soo sooooo beautiful

People that don't already love Colorado should subscribe to you and they'll see. Thank you. Keep up the great work! Looking forward to seeing where you'll go next now that you bagged all the 14ers.

So much of anyone’s opinion of difficulty of a climb/hike is the approach and you point that out. And thanks for making this video. My only criticism is the fact that, for example: Bross is mentioned as an easy 14er. What if you start at Kite Lake and ascend the West ridge? Not the same hike. Routes are important. Huron has an amazing approach from Clohesy Lake. Not easy at all. Keep doing your thing, man. Let’s all remember we all started somewhere. PLEASE, everyone know the risks of any hike at elevation. And take care of trails! Hike On!

man I'm glad you ranked Pikes Peak the way you did. The Barr Trail route was my 2nd 14er summit, and it destroyed me when i did it xD

I just did Mount of the Holy Cross and can confirm it’s “more difficult” I did Bierstadt the day before and It felt like a day off compared to Elbert the week before.

My first hike in Colorado was Mt. Elbert. Thought it was a pretty chill climb.

Thanks for all of your videos and this list man, it’s truly inspiring! I’ve been on a weight loss and fitness journey for a year and a half, and part of that journey has been to train for 14ers. I’ve done Bierestadt and Evans from summit lake! And both were incredibly tough for me. What type of preparations, or conditioning do you do to run the harder ones?

Love the video ya got me hooked nature’s crack!

Loved this! Especially the end with all the peaks!

I’m glad Yale is on the moderate side. It’ll be my first 14er in a few weeks. Appreciate the content!

you should make a video of you getting to all of the summits! love your content!

With how much you factored in mileage and elevation surprised how low you had redcloud and sunshine. Just did them on Saturday and it was a beast of a day.

Great videos! Evans from Echo lake takes it out of the bottom category. I’ll look for your Great Traverse videos.

Start Mt. Evans from the Chicago Lakes trail and you’ll be huffing by the time you make it to Summit Lake.

I come from the old school of 54 14ers back in 1995 to about 2002, but now I see El Diente has been removed due to the "300 Foot Rule" due to it's prominence being less than 300 feet. So now the "Official" is 53 with some "saying" 58 as well. But none the less climbing all these mountains is one heck of an accomplishment.

Sudden lightning with vicious winds, ice materializing all around you out of descending clouds, blizzards on Memorial day, and dehydration; all are killers. The Rockies are masters of the unpredictable.

Awesome video!!!!! You def considered mileage (approach) a lot!! Most do lists by technical difficulty only. Maroon peak is HARD physically, Glad u had it high.. quandary is def harder than most lists. I liked your easy list! I thought little bear (hourglass) was harder than you portrayed. I thought Lindsey/ challenger point/ kit carson/ and longs should be a little higher and pikes peak little lower. YOU ARE GREAT. Your videos are why I did maroon traverse and cap and pyramid!!!!! THANK YOU

Awesome vid, super helpful as always. I'm now at 10/58 and my dog has done 7 of those with me. I'm itching to knock out more but the recent snowstorms and cold have been scaring me away for now haha

I’m from Colorado Springs so I see pikes peak every day and have hiked multiple times and I can confirm, it is NOT as easy as it seems

Pikes Peak via the Barr Trail was my first ever mountain summit! My friend & I hiked/ran it in about 8-9 hours for time reasons, but we loved the mileage!! There were people running up and down the entire thing like it was no big deal, thought that was really cool and I'd love to do the Pikes Peak Marathon some day when I'm done with competing xc & track. I'd be curious to know if you also did the crags trail up to Pikes Peak, not as hard or long but the views are better in my opinion! Longs is on my bucket list for this summer too!!

Sneffels, KC, and challenger I would say are a category below what they should be. Sneffels is loose crap or Class 3 ridge. KC and Challenger has long approach and is very steep

I appreciate the side note on hiking Quandary in the winter. I've been wondering which 14er I could pull off with [relative] ease in the snow. 👍

I find it hard to justify putting something like Long's in with peaks like Elbert and Quandary. I suppose you have to balance the three qualities of class, mileage, and elevation gain so you put them together due to a mix of factors. Still, the whole stretch past the keyhole on Long's is a world of difference to the class 1 trails on Quandary and Elbert. Interesting video. My lifetime goal for Colorado is to hit all of them in winter conditions.

@jason - saw your question: the standard route of holy cross want to do halo ridge though.

I am struggling with the concept of class 3. Just did Wetterhorn and though the finish was short, I found it terrifying. Confused by your ranking of that peak. Great vidoes, thanks!!

Wish I would have saw this before I went to Colorado, did Elbert as my first 14er

Did Bierstadt first. Trying to do the easier to moderste ones near Denver first.

Interesting video. Great hikes in CO . Wish I lived there. I’ve done Pikes Peak, Longs Peak and Elbert. Each was a one day hike. I agree that Pikes Peak on the Barr Trail is very difficult due to the length 13 miles one way and elevation change which is I think over 7k ft from the town. It was a few mile walk just to the trailhead from where I parked in the town. I think it took almost 6 hours one way - then I wimped out and took the train down. I think Longs Peak via Keyhole is equally difficult due to the scrambling, narrow ledges, potential to get hit from rocks from hikers above and wind when you get past the keyhole - there have been alot of fatalities on that mountain. Trail is about 13 miles round trip - took 9 hours total. Elbert despite being the tallest is way easier in my opinion on the north trail. It’s just a steep hike with no scrambling and good trail conditions - only 9 mile round trip. I felt a lot better that day as I had a good acclimatizing hike the day before and was under 5 hours round trip. I’d recommend that one as a first 14k though make sure you are prepared for bad weather. I went up in July and it was very crowded with people that were not prepared. I got done about 11am and some very severe thunderstorms rolled in about 2pm that alot hikers must have gotten stuck in. I would like to try capitol.

Definitely recommend going clockwise on the DeCaLiBron after doing it both ways. Easier to slip and slide DOWN Bross rather than struggle up that loose rock right off the bat.

Thank you for putting Quandary higher. Some people call it the easiest. (?) I felt it was in the middle of the 16 easier ones I did. Sherman was the easiest in my view.

Born and raised in Colorado Springs, now living in NYC. I never climbed (drove up Pikes Peak lol) and it's been great watching your videos!! Thank you!

Try Longs by the East Face, that's a challenge. Did not get around to that until I was nearly 60.

Thanks!

Finished all the 14ers a few years ago. I agree with some of his rankings, disagree with others. Unfortunately, some of the easier peaks are just overrun with people in the summer (Bierstadt, Grays and Torreys, Quandry, Longs). There are more than 600 peaks that are over 13,000 ft in Colorado and some of them are just as challenging as some of the 14ers.

What did you think of the San Juans? I live in NM so head up there often. Chicago basin is amazing !

Grays and Torrey’s combo was my first summit

Cool post man and congrats. Just finished them back in August. What was the most physically challenge group you did? We did el diente wilson and mt Wilson in one day from Navaho and packed out the same day. Have never been so spent. Which 14ers did you have the most fun on? Mine would be Pyramid Lindsey Capitol Crestone traverse Huron Wetterhorn Uncomphadre Sneffels from east dallas creek Kit carson n ridge Eolus

I did Mt. San Luis last year, woohoo, I'm a moderate mountaineer lol.

La plata was tough for me and dad we felt like shit and for some reason the day I did Mt Columbia I could not move for shit and hit legs 2 days before so that was a hell day lmao

Mickey, I really enjoyed this video! My 15 year old son and I have backpacked Pikes Peak the last 2 July 4th's. We're considering Maroon Bells loop for this July 4th holiday, but...... do you have a suggestion for a 14er that has similar logistics to Pikes? i.e. Day 1: Acclimation day in the general area, Day 2: backpack up 1/2 way and camp, Day 3: Day pack summit and back to camp, Day 4: hike out. Your advice is valued! Thanks in advance!!

Awesome video, I just have a quick question. How hard/safe of a climb would Quandary Peak be in December during winter? I was thinking of going up there and saw that it is a relatively good option for a winter 14er since the avalanche risk is low. But what do you think?

Would you say the lulu gulch approach on Huron bumps it up? Doubles the distance and takes you across some super sketchy boulder fields.

At the beginning of the 2020 summer, my 13 year old son suggested we do all the Colorado Fourteeners. “It will be fun”, he said. Not knowing what I was getting into, I thought why not, and I agreed to the father & son fourteeners challenge. We started on the weekend of June 6/7th, and have climbed 34 of the 54 (58) during the weekends of the past two months. At first, I thought they were easy. The weekend before last, we climbed LaPlata, Castle, Conundrum, Wetterhorn, and Uncompahgre in 48 hours. The exposure on a couple of those mountains scared the **** out of me. So, I started watching your videos last week for help, but wish I would have watched them before making such an audacious commitment. The most difficult category really looks terrifying to me. The more exposure they have, the more my son enjoys summiting them. For me, not so much. This feels like a real labor of love for me (type 3 fun as you describe it). Will I ever get over the fear of watching my son have no fear? Or the fear of if I fall I will die? Any of your suggestions to overcome my fears would greatly help!!!

I used to work with Jerry Roach. At Dataware Technologies. Back in the 90s. That dude is an Everest climber.

Just did my first 14er (bierstadt) was not easy, but we summited in just above 4 hours

Have you ever done the Ellingwood traverse on La Plata? I think you would enjoy it.