7/18/26 shoutout to all the other hikers also rushing down the peak to avoid the encroaching lightening storm.

These were awesome to do! Both really had me in the “there’s no way” mindset until we got up close and then they are very climbable. The ridge up Blanca was super solid and we felt confident enough to stick to the class 3 scramble up the ridge and avoid the adjacent scree.

The traverse was super fun! It was really engaging to discover a trail across a seemingly impossible terrain.

Looking at Ellingwood I got the feeling it would be much harder than it was but I found it to be super fun too!

Worst part of the day was coming down from the top of Ellingwood when we took a wrong turn (we turned down too early from the top) and had to climb back up to find our line. Upon resummiting, I heard something like static or cicadas chirping and saw my wife’s hair standing on end. We then booked it the fuck down the rest of the way to junction before hearing the first lightening and thunder.

All in all, a beautiful day of climbing. Heading up como road is a different story and when ranking these in terms of favorites I’m choosing to forget that the hike up to Lake Como via that road exists. The hike up and down both is amazing if you’re counting it just from the campsites. Only thing I’d change is to do Ellingwood first because it’s more scree and route finding, then do the traverse, then up Blanca.

Beginner 14er at Quandary Peak in Colorado! Feeling sore and accomplished today!

I backpacked Challenger Point and and Kit Carson Peak on Sunday as my 8th and 9th 14’ers and easily the second or best hike I’ve ever done. Would recommend checking out this area. We ended up hiking 16.5 miles and gaining about 6,500 ft.

Goats are out in full force

I have done 39 14ers, including Crestone, Wetterhorn, Sneffels, Sunlight, and Kit Carson via Challenger. I have made the decision not to peruse the harder class 4s due to safety and what consider to be my limits. I never had really considered Maroon and actually planned on not doing the Elks except for maybe Castle and Conundrum. After completing Crestone and Kit a few weeks ago I felt pretty good about mountains like Longs and Lindsey, but my main hiking buddy has a parking pass for Maroon. After a discussion with him, we have plans to go after Maroon Peak (he will do the others in the area on his own) and I am hiring a guide from Aspen Expeditions to assist. I basically just said ”you know what, let’s do this“.

The Elks have always given me pause, and I am just curious as to what others think given my experience, hiring a guide, and if this seems a bit foolish. The experience I have on more technical peaks is all on pretty good rock and I know this will be different. Any feedback, even constructive, is welcome.

What 14ers have the worst roads? I have a low clearance vehicle and have hit most if not all of the ones my car can easily handle. I’ve hitchhiked from lower parking with no issue so far, people seem to be generous (I hope that’s not just luck). I plan on relying on this strategy as well as preparing for walking the road as a backup.

If you could throw some answers down here I’m sure it will help many!

How are we looking descending Cristo couloir? Any beta on the climb? We have done sawtooth and longs as well as some scrambles out west

Super enjoyable! In both cases there were few others on the route, despite it being a weekend.

Haven't seen any videos that actually discussed why it is always called the “deadliest mountain in Colorado" all the time

I've been thinking about making my own 14er ornaments for the 5 I've summited (...6 after this year....doing Pikes in a couple weeks). But then I saw that there are some options on Etsy.

Has anyone here had luck with the ornaments on Etsy? If not, I just might make my own.

Happy hiking out there!

Huron Peak - 7/18/26

Huron is truly a treat. Incredible 14er and among my favorite that I've done so far.

Parked at Winfield (Lower TH) at 7am and had zero trouble finding parking, there was enough space for 50+ more cars, I'd be shocked if that ever fills up. That did mean an extra 4 miles round trip (and 400-ish feet of gain) to get to the standard TH. I drive a Subaru Crosstrek and while I maybe \*could\* have made it to the upper TH, it would've been stressful and I would have been the least equipped car parked up there. That being said, there were TONS of pull-offs along the way that could be used. And plenty of camp sites that weren't taken as of 7-8am on a Saturday.

The trail is well maintained and very obvious basically all the way until the final 500 foot summit push, where it becomes very steep and loose. There is a faint trail but overall it's pretty CYOA at that point. Met the trail running/hiking phenom Rave Twink at the top which was unexpected but cool hahaha.

The summit is gorgeous, as is the entire basin you sit in as you leave treeline. Wildflowers still seemed to be at peak or maybe just past it. Overall, this trail is STEEP and short (from the upper TH). Once you hit the trail, you essentially don't stop climbing at 1000ft per mile til you hit the top. The .com labels this as "Class 2" but I'd only loosely agree. The final summit push is steep and loose, but I wouldn't say it pushes into Class 2 territory. I would consider this trail Class 1.

The only true negative to this trail is that I saw more than my fair share of trash, including used toilet paper - gross. But that wouldn't hinder me from ever returning.

11.6 miles, 3,832ft, 6 hours car to car from the lower trailhead. GPS strayed a little bit but these numbers feel mostly accurate.

5/5, will hike again one day. (All images except for the last shot on a fujifilm x-e5 with the Cuban Classic Negative film simulation)

Castle Peak and Conundrum Peak combo, C2 (14,274’) • 36/58 • 57th summit • 16 miles • 4,850’ elevation gain

Saturday was a beautiful day to be away. This pair is polarizing, however. I found them to be the Grays and Torreys of the Elks. I enjoyed the stunningly beautiful wilderness in the first third, but the route lacks any challenge or sense of excitement. This duo lands squarely in my bottom ten. Officially closing in on The 58, bagging peaks 35 and 36 this weekend. These are photos from that trip.

Hiked Huron yesterday; yes, on a Saturday. There were probably 80-100 people I saw in the 3 hours I was doing this hike. PLEASE.... USE WAG BAGS. If you don't know what they are, look them up. All around the TH and within the first 1/4 mile as well as just at treeline, where it's not too far off trail, I saw a SHIT TON of toilet paper. This makes me vey pissed and very sad. If you're new to hiking, old to hiking, first time hiking, learn to respect the land and learn Leave No Trace principles. It's disgusting and lazy to leave your shit and your toilet paper.

Hi all! I did Kelso ridge on Saturday in my trail runners (Topos), and although the ridge was fun, my feet didn't feel secure. A few years ago, when I was hiking in Merrels, class 3 climbing felt more secure but the boots felt heavy. Hence the switch to trail runners.

Wondering if anyone has switched back to low-cut boots and been more comfortable on class 3 terrain? Or has anyone switched to approach shoes for hiking class 3/4? The approach shoes would probably be lighter than Merrels, but I've never tried them before. Appreciate your input.

Edit: Approach shoes sound interesting, but I've heard their soles wear out faster due to softer rubber. True in your experience?

2nd Edit: Thanks to all who responded!

Im traveling to Leadville this Friday. Can anyone nearby tell me how is the smoke situation is looking?

Photos take from Chasm Lake, between 9:20-9:45am on July 18th 2026. If this is you & you want full resolution photos - message me on Reddit and I can email them!

hi, gonna be summitting sneffels via SW ridge from a blue lakes campsite on thursday 7/23- anyone interested in joining?

i’ve done sneffels before in 2024 via SW ridge.

All the coolest people summiting today. I got skittles from a random kid. Watched a man and his dog be escorted off the mountain by a goat who was not happy having doggos on his mountain…they didn’t do anything to the goat, he just didn’t like the cut of their jib.

This was 14er 6 and 7 for me and the hubs and even with the early rain that rolled in, still in my top three summits!