Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

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lukePlumley
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by lukePlumley »

West Beckwith is my favorite so far. Very exposed but reasonable and a remote seldom-climbed spot. Check it out!

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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by jfm3 »

I really liked Mt. Toll. Great views on both sides of the Divide from the top. Peaks 1-4 are also excellent. The top of Peak 2.5 is one of my favorite places in Colorado, particularly looking southwest over I-70 and Copper to the Sawatch.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by d_baker »

I don't keep track of 12ers I've hiked, probably not many anyway, but a few are standouts and have been mentioned here already....Bison (5 or 6x for me) and McCurdy in LCW are both pretty cool.
Big Agnes and Zirkel are nice, with BA probably the better of the two for views.
I liked Toll.
McMillan off Red Mtn Pass is a nice winter outing, having done it twice from slightly different approaches, but both from starting at Red Mtn Pass. The views of San Juans from there are awesome!
Peak W in Gore is of course wicked.

Arrowhead in RMNP too! Can't forget that one...
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by cougar »

Some good ones in and near RMNP

East Desolation Peak - airy scramble to small summit block and rather remote

Snowbank Peak in the Rawahs, aesthetic mountain and nice scramble from north

Nokhu Crags. Easier than it looks to north summit.

The more solid Never Summer ridges on Static Peak and Lead Mtn, great airy scrambles

Least bestest: Red Mtn near Jones Pass. Ridiculously loose and dangerous mined out choss pile. Looks cool from other summits though. Howard also has a nasty loose ascent from lake of the clouds.

I thought Bison was overrated, mostly a dull forest trail hike with high treeline and some rocks at the summit. The 9er Sugarloaf below it was a bit better.

Zirkel and that area are pretty cool.

Outside CO Medicine Bow Peak in WY. Easy but scenic
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by SnowAlien »

Spearhead in RMNP is cool, but I lost count how many times I skied Buffalo. Although, I haven't always gone to the summit.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by Matt »

I have 7x more choices of ranked 13er than ranked 12er, but it's proving much harder to pick just 1-2 faves from the 12ers.
Over 1/4 of them could make the list.
This suggests that, maybe, 12ers do rule. Maybe I just have better taste in 12ers.
Bestest for me, most all because they look cool and/or have incredible views from the top:
Clark Peak
Courthouse Mountain
East Spanish Peak
Engineer Mountain
Neva (bonus for the N Ridge scramble)
Zirkel

Honorable Mention: South Twin Cone offers an amazing summit view southward and is very close to Denver, but it's a dull hike.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by two lunches »

all this LCW love makes my heart sing :iluvu:
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by colin j »

+1 for Nokhu Crags: They look stunning driving over Cameron pass on 14. The North Ridge is also a fun outing and only takes a few hours.

Outside CO I really liked Ibapah Peak: Isolated, lots of geological variety coming from the East and large prominence over the surrounding valleys.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by boucry »

Mt Ida is the bestest. Usually catch some elk and sheep near treeline, and great views of the CD for the majority of the easy trail above treeline. Runner up is Mt Toll in IPW, good memories of weaving through verdent grassy hummocks above Blue Lake to the Toll-Pawnee saddle and also fantastic views.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by bdloftin77 »

I've only done ~20 12ers, but here are some favorites:

I enjoyed Richthofen from Lake Agnes a lot. I'd recommend not going up the NW face though and taking the ridge from the Richthofen-Mahler saddle instead.

Mt Gunnison is relatively easy, but it was cool following a faint path through hundreds of aspens near Hoodoo Creek.

Lone Cone is another favorite. Short, and a fun scramble up the NE ridge.

It was super smoky on East Spanish vs a clear day on West Spanish, so I'm biased toward West Spanish. But both are cool.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by Chicago Transplant »

Class 4: "Dragon's Back" near Wetterhorn, fun scrambling on a route-findy peak. Very funky looking mountain.
Class 3: Engineer off Coal Bank Pass is a good one, fun short scramble. Need to go back for the views as it was super smoky, but based on where I can see it from they would be great!
Class 2: PT 12751, across Capitol Lake from Capitol and stares directly at its north face
Class 1: Meridian in the Gore, great views of Eagles Nest.
Ski route: Buffalo in Gore, Silver Couloir

Not enough data for a 5th class one, I have only done two that are C5 by their easiest route and they are really just short 5.2 bouldering problems. I would vote for Hiamovi Tower or Spearhead as my favorite that I did a techincal route on.

Overlook Point, honorable mention as it is a 13er now based on LiDAR data.
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Re: Most bestest and least bestest Colorado 12er

Post by mtnkub »

Most bestest in CO: Neva, Jasper, or Shoshone (all for their snow climbs).
Outside CO it's the Grossglockner.
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