14ers.com

I've been fantasizing about my Summer plans recently and then I started to brainstorm sleeping on top of (or close by) a 14er some night in the Summer when there would absolutely be no chance of thunderstorms. Do any of you have input as to decent 14ers to sleep on or any red flags to this idea? I've had some friends who have done this and so I think it would be awesome to do as well!

Mount Evans might be a good starter since you could park a car or bicycle nearby if there is an emergency.

Surely the red flag would be lightning.

El Chupacabra and I spent the night on a summit and we chose to do it in September. The weather was perfect which much of September usually is. I would suggest....not forgetting your ground pad. Most summits don't have smooth/flat places to lay down on! Well, unless you go to Pikes Peak and sleep in the parking lot.

On Sherman there is a perfectly flat non-rocky spot almost exactly on the summit - I spent the night there for altitude training...

REALLY watch your weather for one and (at least in this case) get ready for a windy night

The boulderfield camping on Long's is pretty nice, and it's around 12,600 feet. Certainly not "top of a 14er" but still a pretty cool campout. Especially if you go during a full moon - the rise of the moon over the ridge to the west that blocks the summit from view is especially nice.

JMB wrote:http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Summits- ... ing+summit

Even with one of their a team a professional meteorologist, Jon had to cancel about a quarter of his attempts due to stormy weather. But they were in a rush to complete this during a single season. If you have the flexibility to wait for a multi-day dry window then it may work.

For a while these guys were presenting their slide show almost every week somewhere in Colorado.

peter303 wrote:Even with one of their a team a professional meteorologist, Jon had to cancel about a quarter of his attempts due to stormy weather. But they were in a rush to complete this during a single season.

That's DR.JON to you.

^^^

jsdratm wrote:Mount Evans might be a good starter since you could park a car or bicycle nearby if there is an emergency.

This would be my recommendation (and reasoning) as well. Kushrocks stayed a night or two up for altitude preparation to climbing 21,000' Illimani. Shoot him a PM as he can provide details of his experience.

We spent the night on the top of Little Bear, Belford, and Gray's (before it was found by the herds of people). Great experience - great night sky. Lightning and storms are certainly the biggest hazards - have an emergency route off the top that you can descend very rapidly (Little Bear did not meet that criteria...). Also, marmots and mountain goats may be your partners on the summit - take steps to avoid sharing your gear and food with them.

Although it's only a 12er, I spent the night on top of Buffalo Mountain (12,777) by Dillon about 20 years ago. Did it on the 4th of July after watching the fireworks show over the reservoir. And the fireworks didn't seem near as cool as I thought they would be - you could barely hear them from up there. But it was a fun night. The stars were fantastic.