11 Summit, week-long trip this June.

[dlc72501]

Hey there,
For reference, I am 22 years old and am in good shape, and am graduating college this June. My experience with 14ers includes having hiked Yale, Huron, Shavano, and Tabeguache with a group in 2017, and solo hiking Quandry in 2020. Otherwise, I've hiked wherever else I've gotten the chance along the way (Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado Springs, North Carolina, etc).

To celebrate my graduation, I am planning a solo road trip to summit as many 14ers as I can in a week, and would love some advice/feedback from more experienced climbers before I throw myself into this trip.

I am beginning my research now and am currently planning to hike:
- Pike's
- Bierdstadt and Blue Sky. I would love to do a combo route, but am thinking about doing these over the course of two days, for I don't know if I have experience to do the Class 3 combo.
- Gray's & Torrey's combo
- DeCaLiBron combo
- Sherman
- Holy Cross

Some questions that I have:
- Is it unrealistic for me to think that I could do this in 7 days (assuming that I do Bierdstadt and Blue Sky separately, not as a combo)? I'd love to drive out to Colorado, hike for 7 days straight, and drive back home.
- Should I give myself some more credit and give the Bierdstadt and Blue Sky combo a try?
- Are there any recommendations for camping at/near these mountains? Can I camp on the 14ers themselves, or should I find somewhere nearby? I want to do this trip for as cheap as possible, so free camping would be a plus.

Otherwise, I would love to hear any advice/feedback/thoughts/opinions that anyone might have about this trip. To everyone not into hiking/14ers at all, this sounds like a crazy idea, but I don't think it's all that unrealistic, and I'd love to hear what some vets have to think.

Thanks!

[justiner]

Totally realistic for the enthusiastic. Give the Bierstadt/Blue Sky combo a go.

Free camping on the route for Grays & Torreys (above summer th) and Holy Cross (at East Cross Creek).

Leadville has a hostel - https://www.stayinntheclouds.com/,

Free camping at Hoosier Pass for Decalibron,

you could donate some cash to camp at Barr camp for Pikes.

No free camping near the Bierdstadt TH, someone else may have a good idea for that one

[Ptglhs]

It's ambitious given the number of peaks in 7 days but it's doable. I would try to do Sherman, drive to holy Cross, backpack in and camp out at Cross Creek. Failing that you could stay at the car campground and do holy Cross in one day. But if your lights are already tired, that's going to be pretty brutal. Definitely go up the west side of pikes Peak, not bar trail.

Bierstadt, Sherman, and Blue sky are the more mellow ones of those hikes. So try to stagger those in between the longer days of hikes, holy Cross, and decalibross.

In 2020 I did all of the 13ers in the La garita range over the course of I think it was 12 days. If you're already in good shape and you stagger longer days with more moderate ones, you can certainly do it. Being fit isn't about being able to run a marathon or hike up a skyscraper or whatever, it's about being able to do that and then move the next day!

If you're on national Forest, you can pretty much set up a tent wherever as long as you're a certain distance away from roads, rivers, and trails. There would be a campground fee for holy Cross or kite Lake or the campgrounds near guanella pass. That last one is going to be very busy over the summer, and God help you if you try to do that on a weekend.

[seannunn]

The fact that you are young is a big plus for attempting that many peaks in 7 days. You might be able to do it. Get as much fitness training in between now and then as you can.
Keep in mind that you are still young and have your whole life to climb in CO. If you are weary after a few days and have to sit out one of those climbs, you can always come back and do it later.
Honestly, you can "car camp" (sleep in your vehicle) at just about any trailhead. You best bet might be to get your climb in for the day, get a meal, etc., then drive to the trailhead for the next mountain and just park there.
It's a lot easier to find trailheads at 6pm than it is at 4am, and that allows you to sleep later and be confident that you are in the right place for the next day.

Sean Nunn

[Jim Davies]

Tigiwon Road (Holy Cross) doesn't open until June 21st most years. Just FYI for your planning. https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/trailhea ... hparm=sw25

[peter303]

Which part of June? Typically there is a lot snow at the beginning of the month and mostly gone by the end of the month. Today May 18 the mountain tops are bright white from several feet of mid May snow. Much will still be there in early June.

[seano]

Totally doable if you're motivated and reasonably fit.

I would choose some different peaks, though, especially if you want to camp out between them. In general, the farther from the Front Range you are, the happier you'll be. For example, Pikes is a long hike, and while I slept in my car at the trailhead in 2009, I don't think that's kosher these days. And if you're going in June, you need to think about snowy/muddy access roads.

I think you would be fine with the bit of third class linking Evans and Bierstadt, but if you're worried about scrambling, the Sawatch will probably be more enjoyable. La Plata, Huron, and Harvard/Columbia would be good options with reasonable early-season access.

[dr_j]

Sounds realistic, they're peaks that don't involve too much elevation gain or distance in one day.

If you really want eleven summits, then I'd substitute Pikes and Holy Cross with something like Quandary and peaks in the Sawatch like Huron, Bel/Ox, Elbert. I'd be careful about the Sawtooth combo before things melt off enough.

Early June is going to be snowy everywhere, you'll have a better chance of success towards the end of the month. There has been quite a bit of snow in May this year. You might check the A Basin ski resort webcams to get an idea of the snow cover this year.

[Scott P]

Some questions that I have:
- Is it unrealistic for me to think that I could do this in 7 days (assuming that I do Bierdstadt and Blue Sky separately, not as a combo)? I'd love to drive out to Colorado, hike for 7 days straight, and drive back home.

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on your dates in June. For example, the road to Holy Cross doesn't open until June 21. There are other routes available too, but no matter which route you take if you go before June 21, it's going to be a much longer hike.

June snow (especially early in the month) can slow you down too, but sometimes you can move really quick when the snow is frozen if you start early enough.

In early June at least and sometimes in later in June the road to Grays and Torreys might not be open all the way to the summer trailhead, which will also slow you down a bit.

Also, for the Bierstadt/Blue Sky combo, I'd definitely take an ice axe in June. Do you know how to use one?

As long as everything falls in place, you should have a good chance of completing all of those. Personally I'd only want to do Pikes in the off season. I'd rather go in November or December through May or so, but at least June will be better than July and August.