Hello and welcome back! If you’re here, I want you to know that I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read my nonsense. As many of you know, I spent this past summer climbing every 14er in Colorado before my wedding. There’s a few reasons I wanted to do this; mainly, I wanted a fun way to get in shape for my beautiful bride. Colorado is such an amazing state, and a place I called home for 20 years, and I wanted the chance to feel like more of a Coloradan for our Colorado wedding. It was the best summer of my life. I was outside more than ever, still had the chance to travel with my fiancè, and it all ended in the best way possible. I’ve always loved the outdoors but after moving to Los Angeles in 2014 I felt like experiencing nature in such a grand way took a back seat to other facets of my life.

I’ve had people inquire about what I did to prepare my body and mind for this goal. Truth be told, I didn’t do much. I’ve always kept myself in decent enough shape, I’ve never really suffered ill effects from altitude sickness, and I have extensive experience in the backcountry so I knew I could kind of just jump in and get after it. Not everyone will have the same experience and I wouldn’t advise most people to just jump into something like this without first understanding their own body and how they would react to the stress high altitude can have on the body. I started with the “easier” mountains, the shorter hikes and non-technical routes that see a lot of foot traffic. This way, if something were to happen, I’d have multiple bail out options.

After enjoying all of these beautiful mountains, I wanted to sit down and rank my experiences on them. It might help someone get a better idea of what they can expect, maybe will help prioritize some over others, or even dissuade them from attempting something that’s too dangerous. It’s important to highlight what it takes for me to consider something fun in the high country. If you’ve followed my journey over the past few years you’d know that I enjoy a good thrill. Heights, risk, and a little bit of sketchiness are what encompass a fun experience for me. With that in mind, I rated these mountains in terms of how much fun I had on them. I only climbed each of them once so the overall experience is a big factor in my rankings. If the weather was bad or I just wasn’t in a good mood for whatever reason, that’ll affect the ranking because my personal overall experience would have been diminished.

Before I start, let’s identify exactly what a 14er is and why they’re so special to Colorado. In the United States, there’s 98 mountains that reach 14,000 feet (or more) above sea level (source). 58 of those stand in Colorado, the highest concentration of any other state. Four of those peaks don’t technically qualify because they’re not prominent enough from their adjacent peak, even though there is a different high point that stands over 14,000’. Some people choose not to climb these, but I decided it was important enough for me to hit them all anyway. The trails vary from a simple hike to full-on vertical climbing, from just a few miles to 20+ mile round trips, several even have roads all the way to the top. Some people spend their whole lives trying to summit these mountains while some are able to summit them all in as little as two weeks (the fastest known time to summit them all is 9 days, 21 hours, 51 minutes) (source). No matter how you decide to do them all, it’s nothing short of an impressive feet.

Now let’s get into it! I’ll rank about 10 at a time, starting with my least favorite and working up towards the best experiences I had in the mountains.

58.) Culebra Peak - 14,053’

If I could rank Culebra lower on this list, trust me, I would. The mountain itself is simply okay, there’s not really much of a trail or maintenance to be spoken of. That’s fine. It’s the $150 permit that’s required to hike the mountain that makes this one easily the worst of the 14ers. There are a handful of mountains that sit on private land and thus require either special privileges or, in this case, a permit in order to hike them. I won’t get into the politics around that (mostly because I’m not informed enough to have much insight) but paying $150 to access a mountain just doesn’t sit right with me. There are so many places to recreate for free in Colorado, I would advise anyone and everyone to avoid this peak.

57.) Mount Harvard - 14,424’

As I alluded to earlier, the thing that gets me excited to be in the mountains is climbing and/or exposure. Many of the mountains in the Sawatch range don’t have either of those things. That’s perfectly fine, and many people adore these mountains, but it’s just not my cup of tea. The Sawatch range consists of some of the longest standard routes and they’re mostly class 1 or 2. I’m not really built for distance and speed so I have to find joy in other aspects of climbing tall mountains. Harvard and Columbia (next on the list) can be done in one fell swoop but it’s a big day, about 15 miles door-to-door. Being the late starter that I am, I started hiking around 2pm, I full-well knew that I was going to be finishing in the dark. The valley leading up to Harvard is beautiful and there are many campsites along the way. That’s the way to do it in my opinion, hike up to the dispersed camping area, set up for the night, and summit both peaks the following day. For me, it was just a long slog of a day without much excitement along the way.

56.) Mount Columbia - 14,075’

As I just mentioned, Columbia can be done in conjunction with Harvard via a 2 mile long ridge hike that connects the two. Columbia is one spot higher because the connecting hike is actually pretty fun. You traverse and descend the ridge into a big rock field where you have to rely on route finding to guide you along. It always hurts a little descending off a peak, knowing that you’ll just have to regain all that elevation when you climb the next one. That’s just the name of the game sometimes. I summited Columbia at sunset, something I wouldn’t advise, for some spectacular views. Being up there so late also means you’re going to mostly be alone. In my case, that’s something I enjoy but it does drastically close your risk window because that means you’re fully on your own if something were to go wrong. My offline map (I use maps.me) took me down a trail that didn’t exist. It was in fact just a steep, loose gully that led directly into a stream. I was stuck bushwhacking in the dark in an area I don’t think many people have passed through. The thought of wildlife being around me at all times was omnipresent in my head so I was a little spooked by that. Eventually I just kept moving south until I eventually intersected with the main trail, getting back to my truck at around 9:30pm.

55.) Mount Princeton - 14,200’

Another major factor in deciding to climb all these mountains was the desire to see more of Colorado and spend some time in the smaller towns I’ve only ever driven through before. Buena Vista became a hub for me because it’s so close to about a dozen peaks. The town won me over. There’s a fun food scene, hot springs a stone's-throw away, even a drive-in movie theater. The same can’t be said for Princeton. You can take a dirt road to about 11,500’ and hike roughly 3 miles from there. Thankfully it was short and quick because there’s not much to be said about the hike itself. After about a mile of rock hopping, you’re met with a steep climb up to the summit. I made the grave mistake of forgetting my water in the truck so I knew I just had to push through and get it over with quick.

54.) Mount Belford - 14,202’

Just like the two peaks above, it’s possible to tag Belford, Oxford, and Missouri in one push from the trailhead. It’s another long day though so I decided to spend the night up in the mountains. From the trailhead it’s about 17 miles round trip and 7,000 feet of vertical gain. In order to get to Oxford you have to get up and over the summit of Belford. The standard route would suggest to go up the northwest ridge, a steep and loose hike up to the summit. I decided to follow the trail around the mountain to the west and summit via the southwest slopes. I think this made the experience more enjoyable. It adds a little more distance but lessens the grade and provides some stunning views.

53.) Mount Oxford - 14,158’

I already mentioned how regain can be a killer to morale. Descending down Belford to get to Oxford was exactly that. There’s a steep descent and then an equally steep ascent to gain the summit for Oxford. The hike isn’t challenging per se but it does take a fair amount of endurance. The summit of Oxford isn’t far as the crow flies but feels like a full hike when you’re up there doing it. The out and back nature of this route also can be a bummer (I usually prefer loop trails so there’s no retracing steps) but getting to summit multiple peaks in a day is always a welcome sight.

52.) Missouri Mountain - 14,071’

As I said, coming into this hike I decided I’d want to sleep on the summit of one of these mountains. I chose Missouri for no specific reason other than it seemed like the logical choice. I left my overnight pack at the fork for the other two peaks and grabbed it on my way up to Missouri. By the time I started up the northwest ridge, the sun was already setting so I knew I had to hightail it and get my camp set up. Ideally I would’ve liked to be setting up my camp with some sunlight but things rarely go how I plan in the mountains. I summited around 9:30pm and got to work. This was my third time sleeping on a summit this summer and it was by far the most mentally challenging. Typically I would bring my bivvy so I could be low-profile and cozy up in my sleeping bag. This time, however, I brought my backpacking tent because I wanted a little more space. The winds were gusting at what felt like 50+ mph and the temperature dropped a little lower than it had on my other overnight missions. All that led to me eagerly awaiting the sun to rise and restore warmth to the air around me. As soon as it did I packed up all my gear and flew out of there.

51.) La Plata Peak - 14,344’

I fully expect an uproar from hikers in response to this list because my rankings don’t align with theirs. I love that! I think it’s so cool that we can all have different experiences in the mountains. What I love, you may hate and vice versa. I read a lot of information online about how La Plata is a lot of people’s favorite mountain to hike. And truthfully, I’m not surprised. Accessing the trailhead can be done with any vehicle as it’s right off the highway, and the hike is incredibly beautiful. I might have just been having an off day because I didn’t enjoy it too much. It felt like it was just incredibly steep for a very long time. The hiking wasn’t super enjoyable for me, just loose dirt along a steep hillside. I was also met with about 20 minutes of hail near the summit. La Plata was the 50th peak I climbed so I was also nearing the end and was just ready to get into the Elks to finish the job.

50.) Mount Antero - 14,271’

Antero is another one of those mountains with a road that can take you incredibly high up. I believe the 4x4 road gets you up to 13,500’ where there’s a mining operation. The standard route is simply a hike along this road for roughly 7 miles each way, not exactly the experience I look for when venturing out into the mountains. I will say, similar to Harvard/Columbia, there’s an abundance of camping spots along the way that would be really fun to set up in for a few nights to really take in the experience. The only enjoyable part of the hike for me was the last half mile or so as you ascend toward the summit. This was probably the first time I ever stood on top of a mountain for sunset and it was an incredible experience.

49.) Mount Yale - 14,200’

Mount Yale is a great 14er to climb if you’re trying to get in shape for some bigger climbs later on. It’s also a great choice if you’re looking for something to climb with friends/family that maybe don’t have a whole lot of backcountry experience. The parking is right off the paved road, the trail is very well maintained all the way to the summit, and it’s really a beautiful hike. It really should be ranked higher than this.

48.) Tabeguache Peak - 14,158’

Tabeguache Peak can only be accessed after summiting Shavano. Ok, maybe you can access it another way but at least via the standard route, you have to cross one to get to the other. The hike over from Shavano flies by and the view looking back is nice but, for me, I just wanted to get up and down these two peaks.

47.) Mount Shavano - 14,230’

As mentioned, Shavano is the first peak you ascend when combing Shav/Tab. The hike is long and boring and once you start making your way up to the saddle it gets pretty steep. On this day I just couldn’t stay focused and found myself getting bored while hiking. I would lay down for extended amounts of time playing crossword puzzles on my phone or just taking it all in. That led me to finish in the dark, which isn’t much of a problem because everything is clearly marked. It’s just more of a testament to my lack of focus during the middle to end of these peaks.

46.) Pikes Peak - 14,109’

It’s been about 10 years since I hiked Pikes Peak so this has to be taken with a grain of salt but I don’t remember enjoying it too much. I was hiking it with a few buddies who were finishing up their own journey to summit all the 14ers. The biggest difference being that they linked all the peak via bicycle, making it all the more impressive. I met them at the trailhead and didn’t see them until I got to the summit. They smelt worse than anything I’d ever smelt, but damn were they strong and fast. I remember them being so put off by the restaurant on the summit, after having been on 57 peaks prior that offered peace and solitude. Pikes Peak, for those who don’t know, has a road you can drive all the way to the summit (there’s an annual race to the summit as well), and even a train that can take you to the top. Once there, you can buy overpriced diner food and hot cocoa. I’m sure it’s a cool experience for those looking to know what it feels like to stand atop a 14er but maybe don’t have the ability to do it without aid. I went to college in the nearby town of Colorado Springs so this mountain has always been a bit more special to me than the others.

45.) Mount Bross - 14,178’

44.) Mount Lincoln - 14,293’

43.) Mount Cameron - 14,248’

42.) Mount Democrat - 14,154’

I’m going to include all 4 of these peaks together because they can all be summited in one short 9 mile hike called DeCaLiBron. It’s probably one of the most well-known and frequented set of peaks for those looking to bag as many as they can. At least it was for awhile until the landowners made it illegal for hikers to access. Thankfully, about halfway through the summer of 23’, the landowners came to an agreement and opened it back up to hikers. It’s a fun day hike that feels a little longer than most because of the vertical gain but it’s an amazing feeling to be able to bang out 4 peaks in less than 5 hours.

41.) Mount Bierstadt - 14,066’

If Bierstadt isn’t the most popular 14er in Colorado, it’s at least got to be top 2. The drive up to the trailhead is beautiful, it’s not far from Denver, and the hiking is actually pretty fun. The day I was up there, we were dealing with some storms so the crowds thinned out considerably. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was on a short list of people who had the summit of Bierstadt to themselves for an extended period of time. It’s a good beginner hike for those coming from out of state and want to give it a shot. I would consider doing it again if I brought my skis or modified the route to be a bit more challenging.

40.) Mount Huron - 14,006

A lot of people think Huron is one of the best peaks. For me, however, I just didn’t find myself enjoying it too much. I had a couple friends come over from Aspen and join me for the hike. One of them is recovering from ACL surgery so we were being cautious on our way up (and especially on the way down). The trailhead access is fun light 4-wheeling but even still this peak gets crowded. The final summit push has a lot of loose dirt and scree so we were sure to be slow and steady. The highlight of climbing Huron for me was grabbing a beer and some pizza in Twin Lakes after the hike.