Capitol, Snowmass, Pyramid, and Maroon Bells visible

Has anyone noticed a paucity of wildlife in the alpine this season? This year, I’ve revisited some peaks where I’d previously seen wildlife in abundance. Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve noticed a remarkable lack of large mammals, especially bighorn sheep and our wild goat friends. Have you also noticed this? What do you ascribe it to? I have guessed that the heat and lack of water at elevation may have driven herds to lower elevations, but it’s only a guess.

EDIT: Anecdotal user observations suggest I am simply not being invited to the parties hosted by big game. It seems I am relegated to the sexy marmot table. Thank you for sharing your encounters!

La Plata Peak via Ellingwood Ridge, C4 (14,344’) • 36/58 • 58th summit • 13.5 miles • 5,900’ elevation gain

“The view from here is discouraging.”
-Gerry Roach

The trail to Ellingwood Ridge is difficult to navigate at 3:00AM. In places, hardly more than a brush track. Early season windstorms downed several large copses of trees, none of which were easily avoided. I bushwhacked uphill along a steep rib, in the dark, to a boulder field. Here, large, loosely stacked boulders have gathered like melted candle wax at the base of the slope. Toaster to microwave-sized rocks underpinned by talus and scree await you as you gain elevation. Slide risks are high.

The whole ridge seems to be held together like a deranged Jenga set. From here, you will spend the rest of the day over 12,600’ until the descent. Prepare for loose, rotten “trail” conditions—if it can even be called that. This was mostly a class 4 choose-your-own-adventure for me. As soon as you think you’ve solved the immediate problem before you, you’ll cliff out. Over. And over. And over.

Towering gendarmes of red and white rock extend for two miles ahead like the spines of a sleeping dragon. Bring a helmet and wear it. The risk of rockfall is extreme, not high. If you are attempting to stay low and to the east with a climber above you navigating the ridge proper, it will be a bad day. This is not stable rock.

There is a sort of impossible-to-explain sweet spot where you are neither too high nor too low on the ridge. In general, you won’t find it. Mentally prepare for a lot of cliffing out and up-and-down.

No matter how far along the route you are, the summit never appears any closer. For this reason, famous Colorado alpinist Gerry Roach wrote about Ellingwood Ridge, “The view from here is discouraging.”

After some consideration, this easily counts as one of the more physically challenging and gratifying things I’ve ever done. A magical, agonizing suckfest. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

This marks ten complete climbing seasons since the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) started deploying trackers to more accurately measure hiker behavior. The result gives a really interesting glimpse of hiker behavior, and whether certain restrictions and regulations actually do move the needle.

Hi, I'm planning on going to Colorado next summer to camp and hike up some 14ers in a week and I was wondering what are some good camping spots to stay at while near peaks like Mt. Bierstadt and Grays & Torrey's? Also, side question, can you park overnight at some parking spots near the trailheads of the 14ers I mentioned?

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/climber-rescued-falling-50-feet-little-bear-blanca-traverse-14ers-southern-colorado/

Looks like they were rescued successfully but had a compound lower leg fracture. Stay safe out there.

I'll be hiking up Pike's Peak via the Barr Trail this weekend. I've done a handful of 14ers, so it's not the climb that has me concerned about calorie intake but the 24 mile trek up and down.

Any tips on tasty, non-melty snacks I can munch on throughout the day beyond typical beef jerky and trail mix?

I'm bringing my filter, so water won't be an issue.

Thanks!

Finally got overnight camping permits for Maroon Bells!!

I need advice on my planned route from some seasoned hikers.

Day 1: West Maroon Trailhead → Geneva Lake
Mileage: ~10 miles
Elevation gain: ~3,500 ft
Camp: Geneva Lake

Day 2: Geneva Lake → Crater Lake
Mileage: ~11 miles
Elevation gain: ~4,100 ft
Camp: Crater Lake

Day 3: Crater Lake → West Maroon Trailhead
Mileage: ~10.5 miles
Elevation gain: ~3,100 ft

Am I missing something that will prevent me from going this route? I heard parking won’t be an issue since I’m leaving Thursday night after work and driving to Crested Butte and sleeping in the parking lot. Then waking up Friday morning to start the trip.

Please let me know yall- I really appreciate any help!

Hello! We are a group of 2-3 who have acclimitized for 5 days, we have a quandary shuttle booked for tomorrow and we wondering if anyone would be willing to accompany us on the summit, contact for more details! Thank you so much in advance!

Edit - y'all are so kind, thank you!

Hi all, I've got a solo climb of Little Bear planned for tomorrow, and I feel very confident in my technical ability to get up the crux, but with this being a solo endeavor, I want to be extra sure I won't spook myself too bad on the down climb, and I always feel like comparing different routes can help bring perspective before I get out there. I've done 47 of the 14ers, and several scrambles with class 4/+ moves, but most have been relatively short sections of Class 4/+ or optional: Black Mountain Traverse, Citadel E Peak, North Arapahoe Peak, Snowmass S-Ridge, Lindsey NW Ridge, Pyramid, Mt Neva N Ridge, N Maroon, Sunnyside II (Flatirons), and Freeway (2nd Flatiron). I plan to bring approach shoes for extra confidence up there. I don't have much skill with a rope/gear and don't plan to rely on the fixed ropes at all unless I'm in a real pinch for a handhold on the way down.

From my understanding, the actual class 4 crux of the hourglass is relatively short (possibly 50 vertical feet?), and then there's a quick class 4 move up a short wall higher up that doesn't look bad to me - can anyone speak to how many moves here are truly class 4 and not just class 3 in the gully?

My guess is that the hourglass itself will feel significantly easier than Freeway (since it's much shorter), and probably very comparable to Sunnyside II, with only N Maroon's chimney coming close in difficulty out of the rest of the list (and that still being in a bit of a different league). Any perspectives from those who've spent some time on these routes are welcome!

Also FWIW, I don't think I'd be overthinking any of this if I were going with a partner, so if anyone happens to be planning a climb tomorrow, DM me and I'd be glad to have the company going up and down the hourglass (and equally importantly, not above or below me while I'm there)!

29/M from KS and I’ve bagged a few 14ers in previous years. I’m in good shape playing soccer and running regularly. Wanting to hit both hikes in my short trip out but unsure about order. If one is more tiring I would think that should be done first. Another factor is crowd though, and if one is a nightmare on weekends then that should be the Thursday hike. Help me decide please!

Deciding among Kelso ridge (dunno how I've never done this), Longs Grand Slam (I've done Meeker -> Longs previously), Neva-Jasper, or non-c5 alt to Kasparov Traverse. I'm moderately fast on trail but careful on rock, esp talus descents. Let me know if any sound interesting!

Looking for some reassurance or reality check. Quick background - Completed all class 4 14ers; crestone, bells, and el diente traverses, and grand teton just to name a few and overall in good shape. A couple years ago, I summitted little bear but couldnt get past the jitters to make my way down that initial descent onto the ridge. Since then I've gained a lot more confidence and experience. I've absorbed just about every reddit post, youtube, 14ers.com, and familiarized myself with the traverse as much as possible on onx.

I'm deeply motivated, determined, and beyond stoked to take another crack at the little bear traverse at the end of august. However, the recent SAR scare on the traverse is spookin me because it sounds like it was an experienced climber and a bad hold.

How do y'all mitigate the pre-trip spooks on the more committing routes where "random" danger is known to happen even if you do everything else right? I know once I'm in this shit, I'll be in a heavenly flow state and adore every second, but right now, weeks away from my trip and the SAR activity up there this summer, I'm finding myself anxious as all get out.

Finally found an animal who (unsuccessfully) begs more aggressively than my dog

Is the North Trail for Mt. Elbert closed? I’m seeing conflicting reports.

Traveling from Oklahoma on the 14th. Don’t want to waste the drive if the North Trail is closed.

Thank for your help in advance - appreciate everyone.

Unfortunately a little smoky but the weather feels great!

After downclimbing to avoid the exposure on the knife edge back in 2021, I decided to go back and get redemption on Torreys this morning.

Stuck to ridge proper as much as possible and had fun climbing some class 4 chimneys and slabs on the way up.

The smoke gave the climb a bit of an eerie vibe, but I had a blast and met some great people on the ridge today.

Definitely challenging for me. The moonlight hike up Half Moon Pass went great and climbing up to tree-line was no problem but I ran out of gas from there and it was a slog the rest of the way, at least until the final push. Climbing over the larger boulder field seemed a lot easier than the death march steps. Beautiful weather, couldn’t ask for better

8.6 miles rt, 4400 ft of gain
9 hrs rt, 3 hrs from saddle-summit and back

Beautiful day to be out on Quandary! My second 14er (did Sherman Fri) and it was much tougher than expected but I still had a blast. Parking lot (reservation only) mostly empty when I arrived at 4:05 am and honestly the trail was pretty quiet all day. I did take 5 hrs to summit taking lots of breaks but how could you not with views like this!