Hi so I've seen some conflicting reports as to parking at the Maroon Bells trailhead and am looking for clarification. Are you allowed to park 1/4 mile from the reservation lot on the side of the road if you don't have a reservation and show up super early AM? Thanks in advance!

Back on a 14er for the first time in two years due to injuries. Ascended via Halo Ridge and descended the North Ridge. 14er loops are fun, but this mountain humbled me and also reminded me why I love high alpine hiking so much. I’ve really missed it and can’t wait to get out there again.

My old man moved to Colorado in 1982 in his early 30s. He climbed all of the 14ners before the age of 40 and got all of them a 2nd time by his 70th birthday. He is about 20 more away from getting all of them a 3rd time (this won’t happen). This is on top of doing the Pikes Peak Accent or Marathon 25 years in a row. Ever heard of anyone this committed to bagging peaks ?

Went up and down keyhole last June, want to go up loft, looking for advice…any beta or tips? Should I go up keyhole and down loft? Up loft? How’s the climbing? Just did Kelso ridge and quandary west ridge and they both felt easy

Assuming the smoke clears, I want to get one of these in before I start my new job next month. How do they compare? Which do you prefer? I've looked at 14ers.com, and plenty of YouTube videos on both, but I can't make up my mind.

Since I’m only allowed to escape to Colorado from the Midwest a couple of times a year, I gotta make the opportunities count, and this past week may have been the craziest/stupidest outing yet.

Between flying in from sea level after work Friday 7/10 and flying back to Wisconsin late on Sunday 7/19, I was able to knock out 13 14ers solo over nine consecutive day hikes (45k vert / 110 miles) in the following order: Humboldt (2WD), Lindsey (NW Ridge), Crestone Traverse (Cottonwood approach), Kit Carson/Challenger, Castle/Conundrum, Sneffels (SW Ridge), Wilson Peak, El Diente Traverse, and Holy Cross. A few general thoughts on those peaks and the trip:

- It’s crazy how much of a step up the Great Traverses are above all other technical routes I’ve done so far. Definitely do your research and expect the routes to take way longer than you think
- Hot take, I thought the El Diente Traverse was harder than the Crestone Traverse when strictly comparing the peak-to-peak traverse. Way more consistent exposure and class 3+, and the class 4 cruxes felt similar to the Crestones’
- That said, pulling off the Crestone Traverse in it’s entirety as a day hike was the toughest experience in the mountains I’ve had. The last few miles of the Cottonwood Creek approach sucked to navigate through in the dark, but I stand by my decision to do it over the slog from the 2WD trailhead from the East
- Sneffels overtook Wetterhorn as my favorite 14er. Just an unbelievably beautiful mountain, and the SW ridge is such a classic route
- Wilson Peak was my second favorite peak of the trip. I thought the class 3 scrambling was really fun, especially the final pitch to the summit
- Challenger Point’s descent is as bad as everyone says it is, and it’s a shame considering Kit Carson is awesome. Shoutout to Sneffels’ standard route and Mount Wilson for also having atrocious descents
- The only impact of wildfires on the trip was a slightly longer drive to South Colony Lakes. I don’t remember a single time hiking where views or air quality were affected
- The only time I had to cross snow the entire trip was Castle/Conundrum, and I honestly wished there was more for that route since the loose rock sucked
- Lindsey’s NW ridge was my first Class 4 Colorado 14er experience, and I thought it was a great intro climb
- Like other trips, altitude only killed me during the first day, which is why I picked Humboldt for that first Saturday

Even with all the constant 2-4 AM starts, no sleep, and long drives, this was a phenomenal trip. I’m so jealous of the Colorado natives who have these insane peaks nearby, as I’d kill for just one of them in Wisconsin. In retrospect, I wish I built up more to those Great Traverses, or at least went with someone else and not solo, but I found the scrambling and exposure to not be so bad once you’re actually doing it and not staring at it or watching videos on it. I’ve pulled off similar trips in the past, but those were usually class 1/2 routes in the Sawatch or Front Range, so this was obviously a step up.

Shoutout to 14ers.com and all the people I met along the way. I have more detailed reviews on all these hikes on AllTrails, but having trouble posting the link here. This puts me at 43/58 and I’m happy to answer any questions about these peaks, recent conditions, or climbing 14ers from sea level.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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!

Goats are out in full force

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!

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

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)

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

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!

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.