Lifes Adventures

Colorado 14'ers

Colorado 14’ers

Front Range

Tenmile-Mosquito Range

Sawatch Range

Sawatch Range – Collegiate Peaks

Sangre de Cristo Range

San Juan Mountains

Elk Mountains

The people of Colorado, particularly the climbing community, are extremely proud of their standing amongst the United States’ 14’er population. If you are unaware of the meaning of the term 14’er it is a group of mountains that meet specific topographic criteria. First, the mountain must have a 14,000’ or higher summit. Second, its topographical prominence, distance from its highest shoulder or other attached height to the summit, must exceed 300’ (in Alaska this cut-off is 500’). The last criterion is isolation or distance from other higher peaks, and is only used if the topographical prominence is less than 300’.

Colorado is the home of 53 (+/-) of the nations 88 highest peaks known as 14’ers. The 53 peaks of Colorado vary in ease of access, level of climbing difficulty, and location which allows for exciting journeys for the expert mountaineer, the adventurous beginner, or anyone in between. We have accrued information regarding these magnificent mountains from the US Forest Service, Wikipedia, 14ers.com, and Summitpost.org; please visit any of these organizations websites for more excellent information. If you would like to add to our descriptions or make a general comment please feel free to contact us. We would also love to share your pictures with the thousands of people that visit this site, and if you would like to add to our gallery please e-mail us!

The peaks are organized by mountain range starting from the northeast spanning to the southwest, and are numbered from 1 – 53 with 1 being the tallest. Any difficulty ratings are based on the Yosemite Decimal System, and may not be 100% accurate. Please be prepared when planning any backcountry trip as it can be very dangerous due to terrain, altitude, and weather. Please contact the Forest Service location in the area you plan to travel before embarking on your 14’er adventure. There are also many hiking and climbing guides available for your convenience, as well as, many shops available for equipment rental or purchase.

If you are visiting the Vail Valley and would like to bag a few 14’ers while you are here the easiest ranges to access will be the Tenmile-Mosquito, Sawatch, and Elk Mountain.

Feel free to contact us with questions. Have fun!