The Road Less Traveled

Sitting on Mt. Wilson with El Diente in background-1990

When we first began climbing peaks in the 1980's, we many times had even the 14ers to ourselves. When we climbed Mt. Wilson with Steve Gladbach, (see photo above), we were the only party. When we climbed Little Bear with Penny Martens in 1988, we were the only party. Of course this probably never happens during the summer months now. The last time I climbed Little Bear in 2021, there were 30 other climbers. On more moderate peaks like Quandary, the number is staggering. The first time we climbed it in January of 1990, we again were the only party. The last time we climbed Quandary in October of 2014, we had well over 100 others with us on the peak.

Peaks 14,000-14,999 feet: 14ers

Peaks 13,000- 13,999 feet: 13ers

Peaks 12,000-12,999 feet: 12ers (You get it!)

Since completing the 14ers in 1998, we seldom climb them unless a friend or family member want the challenge. We have re-climbed 60 14ers over the years. We started climbing 13ers in the 1990's and just about any elevation since we discovered Lists of John in 2007. Many are surprised at the difficulty of the lower elevation peaks. For instance, the 5ers are much more difficult list than the 14ers. There are many 5ers I could never climb without assistance. Kissing Couple in the Colorado National Monument is a highly technical tower but only 5,800 feet in elevation. The 13ers are much, much more difficult than the 14ers.

The road less traveled consists of peaks seldom climbed. The 14ers are loved to death and for good reason. Colorado has the most 14ers in the United States by far. They are beautiful and present a great challenge. Terry and I fell in love with peaks because of the 14ers.

United States ranked 14ers

Colorado 53

Alaska 29 (many of these are well over 14,000 feet, including Denali)

California 12

Washington 2

For the last 30 years, we have focused on seldom climbed peaks. Many times, we were the only ones that have climbed a given peak in a year or sometimes in the last 10 years. Many peaks have registers to see who has climbed. There are also websites, like Lists of John, where thousands of people record their ascents. Anyhow, even in an incredibly busy tourism state like Colorado, we seldom find other climbers. We estimate 98% of the peaks we have climbed, excluding the 14ers, have been in solitude. A typical year looks like this:

1. Repeat of a 14er or two, repeat 13er

2. 20 or so new 12ers

3. 100 or so lower elevation peaks. Some years it has been 200. These include our winter trips to low elevation peaks in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. In 2024, our most challenging peak was a 5er in Arizona. You just never know...