Watch THIS Before Hiking Your First Colorado 14er 

Kind of off topic, if you try to climb mount gannett in Wyoming, bring a gun and/or bear spray. I got attacked by a fucking mountain lion on the side of a 50 degree gradient in the middle of the night. Luckily I had bear spray and a knife but I prayed I had a pistol. Just putting this out there as it may save a life.

Know when to throw in the towel. Some years ago, one August day I took my kids to the Kite Lake trailhead and we were going to do Lincoln/Cameron/Bross/Democrat. Weather forecast: 20% chance of rain in the afternoon. We left the trailhead at around 7:00 am, the sky was already clouding up. Just short of the saddle between Democrat/Cameron the snow started falling. About 30 minutes after that it was nearly whiteout. If we'd had more clothing and traction we would have kept going, but for safety's sake I made the call, and we headed back down. Two weeks later we went back and it was a spectacular sunny day with hardly any wind. We had lunch on the summit of Democrat and smiled all the way home.

My first 14er was Mt. Elbert. Lol. Great video with good practical and experience-proven advice! Now that I live in Utah, I plan to climb more Colorado 14ers.

Had to skip Mt Whitney today due to rain hail strong 45mph high winds. Colorado it is!

Cool vid, I’ve been going to Colorado every summer my whole life I love hiking out there, hoping to do Quandary and Peak 1 next year and Grays/Torreys the next, did Buffalo this summer for the first time and it was so sick

My first 14er was Mount Sneffels, which I hiked a year ago. I just hiked Mount Elbert last week, making it my second 14er. And yes you are right about bringing hiking poles. On the way back down from Mount Elbert, my legs felt awful. Took more breaks than usual. Plus I'm getting older and I'm going to be 40 in a couple years. So yes, for now on, I'm going to start bringing my poles when I go hiking. Great video!

Headed to CO soon to do a bunch of 14ners, this was very informative - thank you! Can you share more details how you'd distinguish between an actual storm rolling in, vs maybe summit fog.

This is absolutely great tips Chad. Especially the shoe recommendation. I climbed them all in the late 70’s and 80’s. I had heavy Fabiano leather boots with 1/2 steel shank. Argh! Thanks for this vid, it’ll help a ton o’ folks and all should pay attention. Ultimately whether you climb them in 1960 or 2024 it’s all about having fun and being safe. Rock on.

Subbed my dude 👍🏻 And I’m for sure gonna start hitting some of these 14nrs I got a sun shirt and a OGIO pack vest for my bicycle ride. I just have to find a spot to hide my bike and I’m packing a tent (US Army ICS Improved Combat Shelter) and provisions to stay a night or two.

Try Salewa shoes. Absolutely amazing

Thank you so much. I don't hike with poles because I hike with my dog and hold his leash

Great video. I take a lot of friends on their first big alpine adventures here in Colorado, whether that's 14ers or otherwise, and I'm always surprised at how much little hiking technique suggestions can improve their performance. The two biggest for me are moving slowly but never stopping (which you hit on, it's so key for getting your mileage done as quickly as possible without gassing out; there's some coaching on how to pack in a way that minimizes the need to stop and get things out to facilitate this as well), and taking SMALL steps. So many people bend over at the waist and take these huge steps uphill, and it makes things way harder in the long run. Obviously there's times where big steps up can't be avoided, but the smaller the steps you can take, the less energy is used by the large muscles in your legs, which then minimizes the lactic acid build-up in those muscles, and when you have lactic acid building up in your muscles, it makes you feel out of breath, because your body is trying to get more oxygen to metabolize those waste products away. This is problematic for performance in any athletic pursuit, but it's effect is majorly amplified at 14,000' where there's so much less oxygen in each breath you take. When presented with an obstacle you have to step up, I'm always looking for the smaller rocks or clefts or ledges that let me step up half or a third of the way with a smaller step instead of doing a huge one-legged squat to get up the whole thing. It takes some practices but eventually comes naturally and you just flow up the trail.

great vid! question though- I did a lot of hiking in RMNP last year (no 14-ers, thats this august with my wife!) and i wore the trail runners you have and mannnn i twisted my left ankle 4 times or so. my god brother had boots and no issues. any recs for trail runners that have a mid rise or more ankle support?

So I’m not the only one wearing kuiu to climb mountains 😎

Great info! My first 14er was longs peak (def a tough 1st one lol) and this summer we’re doing Grays and Torreys. These tips helped me think of better gear for my hike and my buddies who are joining me for their 1st 14er

What kind of physical prep are you doing for cardio and stay in shape?

How’s the key hole route of longs peak? Ik I’ve heard people have died but didn’t find any specifics

So looking at doing the south Mt Elbert trail this summer. I’ve done pikes peak successfully without any training. Im very fit and hike alot just not over 7k feet😂. Any suggestions and specific recommendations for this trail and Mt Elbert?

Strongly disagree on shoes if you're doing a lose rock 14er, you will twist your ankle a multiple times. You want at least a mid boot. Hoka and a few other brands make trail running like mid boots now.

Im getting ready for my first ever 14er in colorado. Gonna try mt. Princeton, I think. I was gonna go today since I'm already 30 minutes away for a work trip and work got cancelled today. But I realized I forgot all my hiking equipment. So i guess I'll try again next week.

I like how everyone automatically tells others to eat sugars for energy. No way! I'll stick with my protein if I'm going to have any energy at all. If you can derive energy from candy, God bless ya. Me? Nothing but the opposite affect. So, I might suggest you tell others to pack what they know gives them sustained energy instead of telling all folks to eat sugar. Everyone's body is different. But good video regardless. Thanks.

I've done a lot of research preparing for my 1st 14er (I think Quandry in June) & this was the most informative of everything I have watched. Thank you! Had to give you a follow on IG too 😊

I figured out how to get to Estes Park from DIA, but I'm still wondering is there a Walmart, is there Uber, and realistically is it going to be an overnight?

Some advice on this video, I am not sure I agree with. I have climbed over 31 peaks in Colorado. In addition to climbs in the Alps and NZ. Wear boots! When you get a rock fall on your foot or you spring your ankle because of no ankle support - you will see that glorified tennis shoes suck! Water in the backpack? Well ok, as Colorado has a lot of military, I have an old canteen belt and I am able to carry the water on my waist which allows easy access - not to mention having other items like compass, gps and knife all within easy reach without taking off the pack. Water is heavy and putting it on your back is not as good as on waist. Also (and think these days are gone now), you can easily fill the canteen in streams - again without taking off a pack. The best first 14er are in the mosquito range and not as recommend in the front range. Why? Less people. Mount Sherman is (was) recommended by the Colorado Mtn Climb as a first good climb. Democrat, Lincoln and Bross are easy if you camp at Kite Lake. Both Alma and Fairplay have hotels you can stay at if you want a very early start and you do not want to camp. Talking about breathing - I carry oxygen - not for me, but for others. I have seen so many people hyperventilating and having paper bags and oxygen has allowed me to help them. Same reason I carry an oversized 1st aid kit - not for me but in case I have to help others.

Send my 10th 14er today by doing it solo😊looking forward for longs and capital

I failed to climb grays and Torreys a few years ago, planned on trying them again this year but my sister can’t join so I’m attempting Elbert this summer.

Can’t bring trekking poles in a carry on bag so didn’t use them on 14er. Suggestions for this scenario?

Nice video, what gloves do you use?

3:20 where is that?

36👍

Can you suggest any 12.5 and or 13k mountains for beginners anywhere in Colorado? Fixing to plan a trip

why do millennials use the word super for everything now, sounds as poorly educated as constantly saying "like"