u/CheedaCheezzz

After successfully pulling off an ambitious trip in the Sangres and San Juans in July, I decided take it up a notch for the week of Labor Day. Flying in from Wisconsin after work that Friday, I was able to solo day hike Antero, San Luis (South Ridge), Little Bear (Hourglass, from valley floor), Capitol, Snowmass, Pyramid, and the Bells Traverse across seven consecutive days (with a bonus Tenmile Traverse at the end).

Conditions and pictures are obviously outdated, but still wanted to share my thoughts and experiences:

- Antero and San Luis were good warm up 14ers and a great way to acclimate before all the stupidity. Definitely some of the easiest 14ers in the state
- I chose the Hourglass route up Little Bear (spooked by the death on the WRI) and even with a 3 AM start on a weekday, there were way more people than I expected. Luckily, everything went well as all parties did a good job taking turns and calling out rocks
- The rockfall rightfully gets all the attention, but I think the technical difficulty of the Hourglass goes under the radar (especially the class 4 chokepoint)
- It wasn’t the best idea to drive 4 hours from Alamosa to Capitol the next day, but still so worth it - Capitol is an unbelievable experience
- For whatever reason, traversing the knife edge made me more nervous than expected. Something about the lack of good holds and awkwardness sketched me out, even more so than other, more consensus exposed moves like the Crestone Traverse’s headwall
- I thought Snowmass was one of the most underrated 14ers in the state. Such a beautiful, easy approach and insane, Capitol-like views on the final ridge. The slog up from the lake isn’t too fun tho
- Pyramid was way easier than expected, and the entire Maroon Lake area absolutely blew my mind. Hot take, I thought the main view/area beats most National Parks like Zion
- The Bells Traverse was my grand finale for a summer of crazy 14ers, and it lived up to the hype. Honestly, I thought full length POVs were the most helpful pieces of beta/research, and I’m glad I saved these for numbers 52 and 53
- I was fortunate enough to join up with another solo climber for the Bells, and while I believe I could’ve done it solo, having another pair of eyes allowed us to move faster and make smarter decisions (who would’ve guessed lol)
- The descent down North Maroon wasn’t as bad as I expected, but you definitely want a GPS track to make sure you’re in the right gullies. Saw a lot of parties get off track and cliff out on the descent
- Compared to the other Great Traverses I’ve done, I thought it was definitely a step up from El Diente and the Crestones
- Since I still had a weekend to kill, I decided to attempt a Tenmile Traverse with low expectations of finishing. Somehow my legs held up and I was able to traverse all ten peaks in 10.5 hours
- I bypassed the Dragon (since I did zero research lol) but still got some spicy scrambling in by accidentally picking a more direct line between Peaks 3 and 4. Otherwise, the rest of the traverse was pretty straightforward, especially after Peak 4
- Hitting up Parnassus and Bard as a bonus traverse was a nice way to wrap up the trip before flying back out of Denver on day nine. I also forgot how much more crowded trails get the closer to Denver you are

The monstrous total elevation gain (49k in 9 days), awful sleep, and a stupid amount of driving all made for a classic Colorado vacation. September’s cooler temperatures and lack of thunderstorms was so refreshing after July’s trip during the heat wave.

Overall, the Elks blew away my expectations. Yes, there are sections of trashy loose rock and these mountains are definitely more on the dangerous side, but the beauty is really only matched by peaks like Sneffels and Wetterhorn. Everything feels well earned and all the climbers I ran into were all great people.

I would do anything for a fraction of these mountains in Wisconsin, and I look forward to hopefully finishing the 14ers next summer with Culebra and the Chicago Basin peaks. As someone who has only lived in the Northeast and Midwest with not much exposure or traditional climbing experience, if you told me that I would be able to summit mountains like Capitol solo and C2C, I wouldn’t believe you in the slightest. I couldn’t be happier that I made the 14ers my main hiking goal, and it’s always great seeing others also full sending it on the trails and on this sub.

Since I’m only allowed to escape to Colorado from the Midwest a couple of times a year, I gotta make the opportunities count, and this past week may have been the craziest/stupidest outing yet.

Between flying in from sea level after work Friday 7/10 and flying back to Wisconsin late on Sunday 7/19, I was able to knock out 13 14ers solo over nine consecutive day hikes (45k vert / 110 miles) in the following order: Humboldt (2WD), Lindsey (NW Ridge), Crestone Traverse (Cottonwood approach), Kit Carson/Challenger, Castle/Conundrum, Sneffels (SW Ridge), Wilson Peak, El Diente Traverse, and Holy Cross. A few general thoughts on those peaks and the trip:

- It’s crazy how much of a step up the Great Traverses are above all other technical routes I’ve done so far. Definitely do your research and expect the routes to take way longer than you think
- Hot take, I thought the El Diente Traverse was harder than the Crestone Traverse when strictly comparing the peak-to-peak traverse. Way more consistent exposure and class 3+, and the class 4 cruxes felt similar to the Crestones’
- That said, pulling off the Crestone Traverse in it’s entirety as a day hike was the toughest experience in the mountains I’ve had. The last few miles of the Cottonwood Creek approach sucked to navigate through in the dark, but I stand by my decision to do it over the slog from the 2WD trailhead from the East
- Sneffels overtook Wetterhorn as my favorite 14er. Just an unbelievably beautiful mountain, and the SW ridge is such a classic route
- Wilson Peak was my second favorite peak of the trip. I thought the class 3 scrambling was really fun, especially the final pitch to the summit
- Challenger Point’s descent is as bad as everyone says it is, and it’s a shame considering Kit Carson is awesome. Shoutout to Sneffels’ standard route and Mount Wilson for also having atrocious descents
- The only impact of wildfires on the trip was a slightly longer drive to South Colony Lakes. I don’t remember a single time hiking where views or air quality were affected
- The only time I had to cross snow the entire trip was Castle/Conundrum, and I honestly wished there was more for that route since the loose rock sucked
- Lindsey’s NW ridge was my first Class 4 Colorado 14er experience, and I thought it was a great intro climb
- Like other trips, altitude only killed me during the first day, which is why I picked Humboldt for that first Saturday

Even with all the constant 2-4 AM starts, no sleep, and long drives, this was a phenomenal trip. I’m so jealous of the Colorado natives who have these insane peaks nearby, as I’d kill for just one of them in Wisconsin. In retrospect, I wish I built up more to those Great Traverses, or at least went with someone else and not solo, but I found the scrambling and exposure to not be so bad once you’re actually doing it and not staring at it or watching videos on it. I’ve pulled off similar trips in the past, but those were usually class 1/2 routes in the Sawatch or Front Range, so this was obviously a step up.

Shoutout to 14ers.com and all the people I met along the way. I have more detailed reviews on all these hikes on AllTrails, but having trouble posting the link here. This puts me at 43/58 and I’m happy to answer any questions about these peaks, recent conditions, or climbing 14ers from sea level.