Place
All, CO US 14000
Description
Colorado is home to 54 distinct peaks of 14,000 feet or more, and another few mountains that reach 14,000’+ but are not categorized as distinct peaks because there is not a difference in altitude of 300’ between them and the neighboring 14er. For purposes of this Challenge we are recognizing each and every 14,000-foot summit across the state. We’re not called Suffer Better for nothing.
For your information, and with big thanks to FastestKnownTime.com, Andrew Hamilton currently holds the speed record for climbing all of the state’s 14ers, in just 9 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes, done in 2015. Danelle Ballengee is the women’s FKT holder, accomplishing the feat in 14 days, 14 hours and 53 minutes in 2000. Joe Grant did them all self-supported and self-powered (by biking and hiking the entire route) in 31 days, 8 hours and 33 minutes in 2016. For those chasing these records, or just doing it for fun, getting to the top of all the state's 14ers amounts to somewhere around 320 miles and 154,000 vertical feet.
There are, as you can imagine, a variety of ways to reach the summits of each of these peaks and there are a number where it makes good sense to tag two or more peaks in a single slog. With that in mind, we’ve arrived at the following general numbers for purposes of this Challenge:
1. To reach the summits of each of the 14ers, using any of the “standard routes” for each, an individual would need to walk, hike or run a total of anywhere from the 150 to over 300 miles, give or take. That’s a lot of miles. For purposes of our current challenge we’re going to call it 225 miles.
2. And depending upon how you approached each summit and including the various summits that can reasonably be combined into a single effort, reaching the summits of them all over the course of all those miles means you’ve climbed somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 vertical feet. That’s a lot of vert. For this challenge we’re going to call it 180,000 vertical feet.
3. And, while you can hike them all or ski them all (well, sort of), you cannot actually bike them all, because there are a number in designated wilderness areas where bikes are not welcome. But we want to welcome all those willing to take on the challenge – by foot, bike or skis.
4. So there it is, the big challenge: Over the next six months we're challenging you to run, ride or ski 225 miles and accumulate 180,000 vertical feet.
Race Contact Info
If you have any questions about this race, click the button below.
The Fourteeners
14ers.com is a phenomenal resource for anyone looking to climb any, or all, of our amazing 14ers. FWIW, here is a list of all the 14ers, and the respective altitudes.
For maps, routes, and other interesting info about each, please visit https://14ers.com/
Strava Clubs
Once you've entered, find and follow Peter Downing, and then we'll send you an invite to join the appropriate Strava Club (Run, Bike or Ski) for your specific group. If you are not a normal Strava type, we'd ask you to join for this Challenge so we can keep you all in one place and we can all see how each of us is doing as we chase our goals.
Donations
We are asking - begging, really - each of you who joins the 14ers Challenge to not only push yourselves on the physical front - 225 miles and 180,000 feet is the real deal - but also to put some of that energy and commitment to raising funds to protect our special places. Every and any amount helps. The more we raise, the more we can do and the more our two organizations can do too. Help us help them and keep Colorado beautiful.
Protect our Winters: https://protectourwinters.org/
Conservation Colorado: https://conservationco.org
Go Big(ger)!
We do know that more than a few of you love big challenges, and so maybe you'd want to tackle the 14ers Challenge via more than one mode. Maybe you want to ride and ski, or run and ride, or run and ski - well you can do that. Just register for each - you'll even get a discount for doing that - and then get out there and get after it!
Like this page and invite your friends on Facebook.
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