Am I Ready To Hike a 14er?

Am I Ready to Hike a 14er?

If you are new to Colorado or hiking – you may be wondering: how do I know if I am ready to hike a 14er? For those of you who are not familiar, a 14er is any mountain over 14,000 in elevation. Colorado has 53 official (58 if you are counting “unofficial” peaks) and are some of the most popular hikes in the state. However, just because mountains like Mt Bierstadt, Quandary Peak and Grays see thousands of hikers each year, do not mean they are easy to tackle or come without risks. So the real question is how do you know if you are ready to hike a 14er? Check out some key areas below to help answer the question.

1. Considering Elevation Gain: I have hiked all over 100 14ers and I can without a doubt tell you that none of them are “easy”. Sure, as you hike more, you think back about ones that were less difficult than others, but even the short ones require a lot of effort. Why? Well, for most people its the elevation gain. Any time you gain thousands of feet in elevation over the course of a few miles, it’s going to be very taxing on your heart and lungs. My first tip when choosing a 14er is to look at total elevation gain vs total mileage. If you have never hiked 6 miles before, it’s probably not a good idea to attempt a hike that is 6 miles and also has 4,000 feet of elevation gain. Keep in mind that of those 6 miles, 3 of them are downhill (in most cases), so all of that elevation gain comes in just 3 miles. That is a lot.
2. Weather: If you are like 90% of the hiking community, chances are that the majority of your hiking will take place June – September. What do all of those months in Colorado have in common? The chance for a dangerous storm to come through without much warning. It’s very important to be honest about your hiking pace and plan your trip that allows for a safe weather window. Two of my favorite places to check weather are Mountain Forecast and Open Summit. I generally check both resources to compare the hour by hour chances of winds and precipitation – particularly thunderstorms in July and August. When hiking a 14er, you will reach a point (sometimes very early on in the hike) when you are completely exposed to the elements and a storm catching you off guard could be life threatening. Before you head out the door to hike a 14er, be aware of the weather for that day.
3. Overall Level of Preparedness: This point is probably the most important and is admittedly very vague when seeing if you are ready to hike a 14er. I can’t tell you the number of hikers I have seen over the years with improper clothing, poor decision making, terrible mountain etiquette and I always think to myself – you probably shouldn’t be here. No one is asking you to be Gerry Roach on your first hike, but you should have an overall level of awareness. Things like: proper layering with clothing, following leave no trace, knowing where the trail goes, how long the hike is and proper mountain etiquette with other hikers and animals is so important. We all make mistakes and are always learning, so no one is expecting you to be perfect. At the end of the day it’s about enjoying your time in the mountains but also behaving in a way that allows people in the future to do the same thing.
4. What’s in Your Bag & What to Do With It? If you have hiked before, you have probably seen people with all kinds of gear hanging off their bag. Microspikes, Crampons, Mountain Axe, Gaiters, Hiking Poles to name a few. Before attempting a hike, it’s important to know what’s in your bag but also how and when to use each item. Deciding what goes in your bag has so many factors: what time of year you are hiking, the weather, the amount of snow still on the mountain, how long the hike is etc. For me, I always have the basics in my bag for most trips. Mickey’s Mountain kit is a great place to start for some ideas on what that is. I tend to be a bit more prepared than some, but you have to use common sense: you won’t need crampons on Mt Sherman in August- people would look at you like you had three heads. What’s in your bag is important, but what’s arguably more important is knowing how to use the items in your bag. Do you not know how to use a compass? Then you probably should learn or take it out of your bag. It’s great to have all kinds of gear – but it can sometimes be more dangerous (and frankly a waste of weight) if you have things in your bag that you don’t really need or know how to use.

Hiking the 14ers in Colorado is a mini culture and if you are goal oriented, provides hundreds of boxes to check off along the way. Some people think that hiking a 14er is all about physical fitness and while that is a factor, there are so many other pieces to the puzzle. At the end of the day, you have to remember this saying: the mountains are going nowhere. If you are ever in a situation and it’s just not your day, there is no shame in turning around and coming back another time. Sometimes decisions like this will save your life. Ready to hike a 14er? Check out the 14ers section of my website and YouTube to find your next hike!