Best Colorado 14er Information Sources

Longs Peak (14,259′). Colorado, 2014

While I am on this 14er roll, I thought I’d pass on the two of the best sources I have found for climbing these Colorado peaks.

1. Colorado’s Fourteeners, From Hikes to Climbs, 3rd Edition, 2011, by Gerry Roach

The author has been scampering around the mountains of the world for some three-quarters of a century now and knows of what he writes. He is arguably the most prolific mountaineer in history with a world-wide summit count in the thousands. In Colorado, he personally climbed all the routes in his book and his writing is light, conversational, to-the-point, and very enjoyable to read.

You’ll find descriptions and good down-home mountaineer advice on all the 14ers and the various routes to their summits–everything from simple walk-ups and Class 2 and 3 scrambles, to Class 4 and 5 climbs, and even some snow and ice routes. You’ll be surprised at the interesting options you have to summit a 14er other than the usual, often crowded, tourist routes. The text is accompanied by useful photos, maps, and charts of essential info and useful facts.

The “Bible” for the Colorado 14ers.

2. The website 14ers.com

This is a great resource, which includes route information, photos, detailed trip reports, trail conditions, weather reports, a forum, peak stats, even 3D modeling of most of the mountains and a peak-to-peak mileage chart!

For someone heading out for a climb, the trip reports, trail condition reports, and the weather forecasts are extremely useful.

This site is the “e-Bible” for the Colorado 14ers.

With these two info sources at your tippy fingers, you’ll have a pretty complete picture of your chosen objectives.