the fourteener files Scott Farish, with some close friends and family dressed as superheroes, atop Mount Sneffels, on August 31, 2013.
“My fondest memories are that I started hiking the 14ers with my son when he was 4 years old. We hiked them all together and finished when he was 18. When we started I used to talk him all the way up and bribe him with food. On our last ones, he was telling me how to breath and coaxing me along. I learned more about my son and his life as we talked on those long hikes.” —Juli Frey
“The aspect of climbing all of these peaks that is number one in mind is all of the adventurous people I have met along the trail. I climbed quite a few of the 14ers with the Club and once again it’s like-minded people doing what they love. It’s a good feeling to know I’m one of them.”—Jim Finley “My first Catholic Mass on top of a 14er, Redcloud Peak.” —Father John Nepil
“The 14er journey took me to places in this state I didn’t even know existed. Chasing this goal is the equivalent of chasing storms. I drove for hours into the night, from trailhead to trailhead, sleeping out of the back of my car and days on end without a hot meal or shower. Many of the later trips required backpacking, which added a whole new element to my definition of mountaineering. Now instead of grabbing everything out of my trunk and throwing it in a daypack, I needed to handle the logistics of planning a trip into the field for 2 or 3 days using a backpack. My top memories include the snow climb of Snowmass Mountain. This was my first climb that required crampons and an ice axe. It was also the most physically and mentally demanding climb I have ever had to do. We encountered rain, snow, lightning, thunder, hail, wind, and even a little bit of sunlight. I still tell the story of this trip.”— Jake S. Phillips “Grilling hot dogs on the summit of Elbert for my finisher.”—Eric M. Holle
“My fondest memory is probably of my late friend Steve Gladbach. He led a Pikes Peak CMC trip up Mount Elbert on New Year’s Day, 1995. That summer he had summited Denali, so he was quite accustomed to extreme temperatures in a hostile alpine environment. However, that morning it was 38
Trail & Timberline
10 degrees below zero and we could not persuade him to get out of his car to start the climb. Fortunately, we finally succeeded and had the most wonderful time on the summit, amidst the calm and balmy 9 degrees.”—Denise Snow
“My first 14er was Windom, sometime in the late 1980s, on a backpacking trip from the East. . . . At the time I had no idea how many 14ers there were or that I’d ever climb them all, so I didn’t record the date. I wasn’t seriously bitten by the 14er bug until 2006. To help make the record official, I climbed Windom again on September 8, 2012, during a trip to the other Chicago Basin 14ers. Many thanks to the excellent volunteers of the Pikes Peak Group who run their courses. My comfort and confidence on the final snow climb were certainly helped by taking their Avalanche Awareness and Winter Mountaineering courses.”—John Golob “We have had a great time climbing with our friends at CMC over the years and have climbed some of the 14ers twice, along with many other worthy peaks. This past summer was quite a push for us to finish, starting out with Little Bear as a snow climb in late May, then South Maroon, North Maroon, Pyramid, El Diente, and finally Pikes Peak, which we saved for last. It was great to have a nice bathroom and recep-
tion complete with champagne and snacks and lots of friends at the top!”—Julie and Hilary Smith
“I climbed my first 14er, Longs Peak, when I was attending CSU in the summer of 1969, about the same time Neil Armstrong took “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” My climbing partners and I went up the cables, and came back down through the Keyhole. I did not realize at the time that climbing all the Colorado 14ers would one day become a personal goal. . . . One year I climbed only 3 14ers. Another year I climbed 17. . . . I finished all 54 by climbing Capitol Peak only a few months before my 60th birthday! Climbing peaks has become an important part of my life, a means and a reason to keep myself physically fit, active, and mentally healthy.” —John Redmond “The knife edge on Capitol Peak in 2012 was exhilarating. I made the summit solo that day and believe I was the only one on the Northeast Ridge trail to summit that entire day.” —Greg Peoples
“Our first 14er was Quandary Peak on August 8, 2009. We met and got married in Telluride, so the Wilson Peak finisher was a perfect conclusion to a five-year journey.”— Christopher and Noelle Whitestone
